Old Friends

The world we share with these amazing animals may be an ever-changing one, but its mysteries abide. We consider ourselves ever more knowledgeable, ever more certain, riding the slipstream of science. Yet how much do we truly know, when Afternoon Deelites holds out for all those years and then waits just six days before following his owner to whatever shore may (or may not) lie beyond the horizon of life? The same journey was made this week by the trainer of Alydar. John Veitch laid the ground for the greatest...

Just six days after the passing of his owner Burt Bacharach, Afternoon Deelites, a six-time graded-stakes winner, was euthanized Feb. 14 at Old Friends, the Kentucky-based Thoroughbred retirement farm, due to complications from colic. He was 31. Old Friends President and Founder Michael Blowen announced his passing Wednesday morning. The dark bay stallion, who was the farm's oldest resident, was just two weeks shy of his 31st birth date. Bred by Blue Seas Music Inc., the son of Private Terms--Intimate Girl, by Medaille d'Or, was foaled in West Virginia on...

Argentinian Group 1 winner Star Plus (Arg) (Alpha Plus--Nannar {Arg}), by Big Play) died Saturday following a paddock accident at Old Friends retirement facility in Georgetown. The 20-year-old had been at Old Friends for 11 years. Following a win in the 2007 G1 Joaquin S. deAnchorena, Star Plus was purchased by Earle Mack to race in the United States, where his best finishes were a runner-up effort in the 2008 GIII Turfway Park Fall Championship S. and an allowance victory at Keeneland. Star Plus suffered a major ankle injury and...

Kudos, a MGSW gelding, died on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, at Old Friends Thoroughbred retirement farm in Georgetown, Ky., announced president and founder Michael Blowen. The 26-year-old bay Thoroughbred (Kris S.--Souq, by Damascus) was found dead in his paddock during late-afternoon feeding. A reason for his death is unknown at this time. Necropsy results are pending to get an accurate cause of death. Bred and owned by longtime Old Friends supporters, Jerry and Ann Moss, Kudos was foaled in Kentucky on Apr. 17, 1997. Trained by Richard Mandella his entire...

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Georgetown, KY, will host an Open House Saturday, Nov. 26 from noon until 2pm for fans to meet new retiree Lava Man (Slew City Slew). The event is free and open to the public. Pizza and lava crunch cakes will be served. The now 21-year old posted an impressive resume during a racing career that spanned seven years including victories in the GI Pacific Classic, GI Hollywood Gold Cup, and the GII Goodwood H., now called the Awesome Again. Lava Man retired as...

Dave Litfin, the widely respected former handicapper for the Daily Racing Form, died Thursday night in Saratoga Springs after a long battle with cancer. He was 64. The news was announced by his wife of 39 years, Robin, on her Facebook page. Litfin was a call-taker with the Form and joined the New York Racing Association's publicity staff as the press box manager in 1984. He went to work for the DRF in 1990 where he wrote the "Handicapper's Corner" column. He was the author of two books, "Dave Litfin's...

Kentucky's Thoroughbred retirement farm Old Friends, which previously announced a Breeders' Cup celebration to be held Sunday, Nov. 6, has opened up absentee auction bidding for halters worn by Affirmed Success, Authentic, Groupie Doll, Gun Runner, Lava Man, Midnight Bisou, Paynter, War Front, and Yoshida (Jpn). Each item is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Interested buyers unable to attend on Sunday can bid by emailing name, address, phone number, and highest bid to: [email protected]. For more information on the event, click here. Bidding deadline is Saturday, Nov. 5, at...

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Georgetown, Ky., will host a special Breeders' Cup Celebration Sunday Nov. 6 from 12:00-4 p.m. Tickets are $40 for the general public and $20 for Old Friends Clubhouse members. Children under 12 are free. Reservations can be made online by visiting the Old Friends website (www.oldfriendsequine.org), or by calling the farm at (502) 863-1775. Guests will enjoy a barbeque buffet by Proud Mary's, live Bluegrass music from Steve Norman and Friends, and both live and silent auctions of racing memorabilia, collectible stallion halters,...

Jonesboro (Sefapiano--Mom's Command, by Top Command) has been pensioned from stallion duties and retired to Old Friends near Georgetown, Ky. The hard-knocking millionaire, who won 10 black-type events, including the GII Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. and three other graded stakes, has stood since 2011 at Lake Hamilton Equine in Royal, Ark. His nine small crops of racing age include three stakes winners. Jonesboro is a son of Mom's Command, the 1985 Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly whose five Grade I wins included the Filly Triple Crown. Bred by Peter Fuller, who...

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Facility in Georgetown, Ky., lost two retirees Wednesday--multiple graded stakes winner Dumaani (Danzig--Desirable {Ire}, by Lord Gayle), who was 31, and European champion and GI Breeders' Cup Classic third-place finisher Swain (Ire) (Nashwan--Love Smitten, by Key to the Mint), who was 30. Both were humanely euthanized due to the infirmities of old age. The stallions stood most recently at the Lexington-based Shadwell Farm, where they were originally pensioned. They relocated to Old Friends in the spring of this year as part of a downsizing of...

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement facility in Georgetown, will host a homecoming event May 8 beginning at noon. The event features a live and silent auction of artwork, prints, and racing memorabilia, including several premiere collectible stallion halters. Absentee bidding on the halters, which include halters worn by American Pharoah, Arrogate, Zenyatta, Cigar, Rachel's Valentina, and Authentic, is also available. To bid, email name, address, phone number and highest bid to [email protected]. The deadline to receive bids is May 7 at 9 p.m. The Old Friends Homecoming will also include...

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement facility in Georgetown, KY., will inter the ashes of multiple graded stakes winner Medina Spirit on Tuesday, April 5. Medina Spirit will be laid to rest in Old Friends's Nikki Bacharach Memorial Garden alongside such champions as Kentucky Derby Winners Charismatic (1999) and War Emblem (2002), as well as Eclipse Winner Hidden Lake and Breeders' Cup Classic Winner Alphabet Soup. Old Friends will host an open house Tuesday, April 5, 2022 from 12:30pm to 2:30pm to offer fans an opportunity to visit the grave site...