John Nicholson

New Jersey-bred GSW Joey P (Close Up) was euthanized at Old Friends Monday after succumbing to complications from a respiratory illness at the age of 23, the farm announced via release. A frequent face in the black-type ranks his entire career, Joey P won the GIII Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Stakes at Monmouth Park as a 3-year-old and was even given a shot at the GI Haskell Invitational Handicap. While it was not to be, the gelding visited the winner's enclosure 18 times in his career and retired in 2011...

The Amazing Mizzen (Mizzen Mast) has earned 'retirement for life' at Old Friends via her victory in Race 2, the Old Friends Purse, at Pimlico Saturday, May 18, the organization announced via press release Sunday afternoon. Claiming victory as a 44-1 longshot, the grey will have an automatic entry at Old Friends upon her retirement or pensioning, should she require it. The Old Friends Purse benefits Old Friends and its 'Old Friends for Life' retirement program. If The Amazing Mizzen joins the farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, she will be accompanying...

Old Friends has welcomed 2015 Eclipse Award Champion Grass Horse Big Blue Kitten (Kitten's Joy) to the farm on Thursday, Apr. 24, according . The 17-year old stallion was donated to Old Friends courtesy of Calumet Farm. "We are so excited to welcome this robust, battle tested late bloomer to Old Friends," said President and CEO of Old Friends John Nicholson. "His accomplished career, his impressive connections and his pleasant demeanor will make him a favorite with our thousands of visitors. We are deeply grateful to Calumet Farm for allowing...

The third annual Blue Jeans, Boots and Bulls Derby Eve Charity event, hosted by the Barn Door Grill & Bar, will benefit Old Friends, the organization announced Tuesday. Held Friday, May 2 from 5:30-11:30 p.m. at The Bluegrass Stockyards in partnership with the Coaches for Kids Foundation, the event will also benefit The University of Kentucky Children's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and Timbers Grateful Companions. It will include a silent auction, a Derby horse calcutta and a live auction along with live music and a buffet dinner. "Blue...

Intidab (Phone Trick) and Kayrawan (Mr. Prospector), both graded-stakes winning stallions previously owned by Shadwell Farm, were euthanized due to the infirmities of old age, Old Friends announced Tuesday. Intidab was euthanized at the age of 32 on Jan. 23 while Kayrawan was euthanized at the age of 33 on Jan. 25. The stallions came to Old Friends following the death of Shadwell Farm's founder, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in March of 2021. "Our Old Friends family is saddened to lose these two Shadwell stallions," said...

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, welcomed last month 2003 GI Kentucky Oaks winner Bird Town (Cape Town) and 2009 Kentucky Oaks runner-up Stone Legacy (Birdstone), the nonprofit via a release on Thursday. Bird Town is the first Kentucky Oaks winner retired to the farm. Both horses were donated to Old Friends thanks to the generosity of Marylou Whitney Stables. "Under any circumstances, Old Friends would be honored to welcome these two accomplished mares," said John Nicholson, Old Friends's president and CEO. "The fact that they come...

Old Friends' HayRaiser fundraiser kicks off Wednesday, Nov. 27 and continues through Tuesday, Dec. 3. The campaign is aimed to raise funds to support the organization's herd of over 270 horses which requires in excess of 400 round bales to get through winter. "The Thanksgiving season is a perfect time to remember all of our retired Thoroughbred athletes at Old Friends," said John Nicholson, President and CEO of Old Friends. "They have given so much and now it's our turn to give to them. Our ability to care for over...

Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, has welcomed Oct. 30 MSW Noble Drama (Gone Astray), according to a press release early Friday. The 9-year old dark bay gelding arrived at the farm courtesy of his owner and trainer, David Fawkes. Noble Drama earned his ticket to Old Friends when he won the 2018 FTBOA Silver Charm Florida Sire Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, which had been designated as a "retirement for life" at Old Friends race. "From the day we presented Noble Drama with his Old Friends for...

Old Friends will host a Family Day: Meet & Read to Old Friends Retirees event Saturday, Oct. 12 from 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. The event will highlight the book 'Jockey & Her Horse' by Cheryl White, the first black woman jockey to ride and win a professional race in the United States. The Family Day is part of The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers, a traveling exhibit sponsored by the Keeneland Association and developed and shared by the Keeneland Library, which is open to the public in the Josephine...

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, welcomed to its retiree roster Cozmic One (Bernardini), the first foal out of 2010 Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer, Zenyatta, the aftercare non-profit said in a Wednesday release. The 12-year-old dark bay gelding arrived at the farm on Tuesday, Oct. 1, courtesy of his owner, Ann Holbrook, who along with her late ex-husband, Jerry Moss, have been long-time supporters of Old Friends. "We are thrilled to welcome Cozmic One to retired life at Old Friends," said John Nicholson,...

Big Brown (Boundary), impressive winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness Stakes, has arrived at Old Friends in Kentucky where he will live out his days. Bred in Kentucky by Monticule LLC, Big Brown was a $60,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling and was purchased by the late Paul Pompa, Jr. for $190,000 at the Keeneland April Sale in 2007. Winner of a two-turn turf maiden by better than 11 lengths for trainer Patrick Reynolds, Big Brown made his next start for Rick Dutrow, Jr. after IEAH Stable joined the...

Old Friends will host The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers, a traveling exhibit sponsored by the Keeneland Association and developed and shared by the Keeneland Library, from Oct. 2 to 31, seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, the retirement organization announced Tuesday. The exhibit, which highlights the lives and careers of 100 African American horsemen and horsewomen from the mid-1800s to the present, will be held in the Josephine Abercrombie Center at Old Friends at Dream Chase Farm in Georgetown, Ky. It will...