Old Friends Retirement Farm

Michael Blowen had no money, no farm, no horses and no backers. But he did have an idea. He wanted to open a farm that would be a sanctuary for some of the sport's biggest names who were either gelded or no longer being used as sires or broodmares. Somehow moving mountains, he pulled it off and his Old Friends Farm became home to hundreds of Thoroughbreds and a popular tourist attraction. But now he has decided to retire, 20 years after he opened Old Friends, and turn the reins...

Anyone who ever knew Brereton C. Jones can stop reading now. I won't be telling you anything new. He was smart, kind and compassionate. And that is a rare trifecta. But he was so much more than that. Nearly two decades ago, when I first started Old Friends, I made an appointment to see him at Airdrie Stud, a farm as modest and forthright as he was. "Let me get this straight," he said. "You're going to get these horses, including stallions from Japan, and you're not going to race...

MGSW Fearless (Ghostzapper) was welcomed to Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement farm in Georgetown, Kentucky on Wednesday, Aug. 2, the organization said in a release early Friday. The 7-year-old bay gelding, who was last seen running fifth June 10 at Belmont Park in the GII True North S., was retired to the farm by his owner, Mike Repole, a longtime supporter of Old Friends. According to Equibase he amassed eight wins over 19 starts and over $1.2-million in career earnings. "Fearless was a gutsy and determined racehorse with the perfect...

Old Friends in Georgetown, Kentucky, welcomed V. E. Day this week, the retirement farm said in a release Friday. The 2014 GI Travers S. hero, V. E. Day (English Channel--California Sunset, by Deputy Minister) came to Old Friends following the death of his owner-breeder Magalen O. Bryant in 2021. Bryant's representative, Johnathan Miller, and her daughter, K. C. Graham, visited Old Friends earlier this year when it was decided that the stallion would retire from stud duty. "V. E. Day was a courageous Travers winner and we inquired about his...

Albertus Maximus (Albert the Great--Chasethewildwind, by Forty Niner), winner of the 2008 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, died following a paddock accident. The 18-year-old stallion was recently pensioned to Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement from Shadwell's Nashwan Stud. Racing in Sheikh Hamdan's colors, Albertus Maximus also won the 2009 GI Donn H. He retired from racing in 2012 with six wins from 17 starts and earnings of $1,328.230. "Albertus Maximus inherited his sire's self-confidence," said Old Friends President Michael Blowen. "Like Albert the Great, Albertus was well aware of his extraordinary talents....

Shadwell Stable's Daaher (Awesome Again--Irish Cherry, by Irish Open) has been pensioned to Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement farm in Georgetown, Kentucky. Retired from racing in 2008 following an ankle injury, the Canadian-bred was best known for his upset win over the heavily favored Midnight Lute in the 2007 GI Cigar Mile at Aqueduct. In his two seasons on the track, Daaher collected earnings of $455,163 under trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, and won both the Cigar Mile and the GII Jerome H. He retired with four wins and two thirds from...

GISW Albert the Great (Go For Gin) was euthanized Friday at Old Friends in Georgetown, Kentucky, where he has been pensioned since 2017. According to attending veterinarian Dr. Bryan Waldridge, the 23-year-old stallion was euthanized due to chronic sinus infection. Campaigned by owner Tracy Farmer and trainer Nick Zito, he earned his first graded stakes while capturing the 2000 GII Dwyer S. and, later that year, he added the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. At Saratoga that summer, he was a close-up second in the GI Travers S. At four,...

John T. Botty, a retired and well-respected New England trainer known for his attention to detail, patience, and knack for developing young horses, died suddenly Apr. 30 after suffering a stroke. Botty was 65 and lived in Pelham, New Hampshire. He had remained active in the sport as a bloodstock consultant after stepping away from daily work under racetrack shed rows in 2015. For the better part of three decades, Botty, together with his wife of 32 years, Kathleen, ran a successful, mid-sized racing stable based out of Suffolk Downs...

Old Friends, the non-profit organization that cares for over 200 retired racehorses near Georgetown, Ky., has formed a unique arrangement with Georgetown's new Ashton Grove Senior Living Community, which is located a few miles from the Old Friends property. Equine retirees from Old Friends will live at Ashton Grove, which is positioned on approximately 40 acres of former Hill 'n' Dale Farm land. Ashton Grove has eight fenced paddocks, a 12-stall barn, and run-in sheds under construction. Old Friends hosted a grand opening of the new location Friday. "This is...

"There are two things that I refuse to die from," Michael Blowen said as he strode along the fence line at Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky. "The first is shoveling snow, because I'm from New England and I hate snow. And the second is boredom." The founder and president of Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm weaved among the paddocks, stopping to distribute carrots to Ide (Forty Niner), the winner of four consecutive Grade III stakes in 1995 and 1996, and then breaking into a sprint along the paddock of...