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Jockey Club Breeder Check-off Donations, 2011
In 2008, the Jockey Club announced a check-off program that would enable breeders and owners to contribute money towards Thoroughbred retirement with each horse that they registered. The program began...
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Spooky Mulder Re-Visited
In today’s second race at Saratoga, the youngest horse is four years old; the oldest is seven. Among them, they’ve made 124 starts. The race is called the Spooky Mulder, and I suspect that its namesake...
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John Hettinger, Akindale Farm, and Callmetony
Photo courtesy of Akindale Farm Dormant for most of the year, the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds spring to life this week, in preparation for the yearling sales on August 6, 7, 11 and 12. Thoroughbred...
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Weathering the storm: Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue Recovers from Isaac
Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue is no stranger to adversity. As a non-profit operating on a shoestring in Loxahatchee, Florida, it has faced budget shortfalls and unexpected expenses; it has responded on...
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Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Announces Funding Support From Industry...
TAA press release New York, N.Y. – October 11, 2012 – The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) announced today that several industry groups, including 13 prominent breeding farms in Kentucky, The...
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A winning combination for retired racehorses: Hertler, Hettinger, and Akindale
John Hertler and Akindale Farm go back a long way together. Akindale’s John Hettinger was one of Hertler’s first clients when the trainer went out on his own in the late 70’s, after working for Hall of...
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From Horses to Hope: The calendar that raised $25,000 for horses
Horse lovers and auction owners make strange bedfellows. Oh, not those high-end, Keeneland/Fasig-Tipton/Lexington/Saratoga auctions, where well-bred babies are sold for hundreds of thousands, sometimes...
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A birthday and Christmas present for Stud Muffin: retirement at Akindale Farm
He made his first start at the very end of two-year-old year–December 16, 2006–and it was not what you’d call an auspicious debut. Racing for his breeder, Majesty Stud, Stud Muffin finished seventh by...
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Tie Break And Me, And A Long Road To Akindale Farm
It all started at Aqueduct, on a Saturday afternoon in January of 2005. It was the day of the Sunshine Millions: a horse named Lava Man was racing at Gulfstream, and an undefeated Florida-bred,...
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For Bobby Flay, Thoroughbred Aftercare Is A “No-Brainer”
Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay doesn’t have a horse running in this year’s Belmont Stakes, but next Thursday night, he’ll join his two passions—food and horse racing—to support two major racing charities....
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Old Friends & Akindale Come to Saratoga
Two high-profile Thoroughbred aftercare organizations will have a presence today in Saratoga. Old Friends at Cabin Creek is holding an open house this evening to celebrate Palace Malice’s victory in...
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“All my best friends have four legs.” John Hettinger’s vision at Akindale...
A year ago this month, multiple stakes winner Stud Muffin was on a farm just outside Saratoga, resting up for a fall racing campaign. Then eight years old, he hadn’t hit the winner’s circle in 2012. He...
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Stud Muffin: Going the Distance
Stud Muffin & Alan Garcia winning the Empire Classic, 2008. Photo credit NYRA/Adam Coglianese In his six years on the racetrack, Stud Muffin showed a definite predilection for distance: the bulk of...
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Booming Thoroughbred Sales: Good News For Retired Racehorses?
“Spectacular.” That was the word the Keeneland Association used to describe the results of its Thoroughbred yearling sales last month. The 12-day sale started with a bang, with four horses selling for...
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“Just What Racing Needs”: The Retired Racehorse Training Project
A couple of dozen Thoroughbreds took to the track at Pimlico last weekend, but not to run in a race. There was no starting gate, no betting, and no jockeys, but more than 600 people bought tickets to...
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Progress In Thoroughbred Aftercare Requires More Than Money
At Pimlico last month, more than 600 people attended a two-day exhibition produced by the Retired Racehorse Training Project. Dozens of retired Thoroughbreds performed in a variety of disciplines,...
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Flashback Friday: Spooky Mulder & Callmetony Take Saratoga
Earlier this week, perhaps in anticipation of this afternoon’s Spooky Mulder Stakes at Aqueduct, Barbara Livingston posted a photo of Spooky himself, dueling with fellow game gelding Callmetony at...
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TAA Money Being Put To Good Use in the Mid-Atlantic
On December 11, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance announced its first significant round of accreditations, giving its stamp of approval to 20 organizations across the country. Among them were four...
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Community Action: Steuart Pittman & The Retired Racehorse Training Project
On a Sunday afternoon in October, Steuart Pittman stood on the track at Pimlico, surrounded by jumps and horses. A microphone in his hand, he spoke to hundreds of people sitting in the stands as...
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New York Horsemen “Take The Lead” In Thoroughbred Retirement
Frisky Cat’s mother wasn’t much of a racehorse, but his sire, Tale of the Cat, was a multiple graded stakes winner, as was his damsire, Dynaformer. It seemed reasonable to expect that Frisky Cat,...
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