The Happy Ending They All Deserve

On March 3, 2019, Happy Farm (Ghostzapper) was claimed by trainer Jason Servis for $30,000 at Aqueduct. The dark bay gelding would remain in that barn for an entire year where he'd go on to finish no worse than second in seven starts – highlighted by a victory in the 2019 GIII Fall Highweight Handicap.

Within days of Happy Farm's second-place finish in the GIII Tom Fool Handicap on March 7, 2020, Servis was arrested and charged following a multi-year investigation overseen by the FBI that identified over 30 people involved in the abuse of racehorses through the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).

According to the indictment, Servis was alleged to have made use of a specific PED called SGF-1000 and was also alleged to have given that drug “to virtually all of the racehorses under his control.” On July 26, 2023, the longtime trainer was subsequently sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to a felony and a misdemeanor related to the use of the banned substances SGF-1000 and Clenbuterol.

However, the time Happy Farm spent in Servis's barn was purely a short, tainted chapter in the gelding's otherwise exemplary career where he proved how much he loved to run, time and time again.

Early Days

It was during the 2015 Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's August Sale that Stanley Hough, a bloodstock consultant for Kevin Plank's Sagamore Farm at the time, came across the small yet stout Ghostzapper colt out of the Holy Bull mare Gospel Girl.

Hough immediately called Hunter Rankin, President of Sagamore's racing operation at the time.

“[Hough] went to $45,000 and got him. He came up to the farm and everybody [became] obsessed with him. He was just this short, stocky little thing, but very adorable, and looked like Ghostzapper. He had his exact sire's build,” recalled Jocelyn Brooks, who got her start in the industry at Sagamore where she spent six years working as the operation's Chief of Staff.

After returning from his initial training at Ocala Stud, Happy Farm was sent to Sagamore's private trainer Horacio De Paz at Laurel Park, where the colt was fondly nicknamed as 'Porkchop.' Though he was small in stature, Happy Farm proved mighty on debut where he rallied to finish third before reeling off three wins at Pimlico, Belmont Park and Saratoga that summer.

“I said, 'He may be small, but just watch.' Sure enough, [we're] watching him coming down the stretch with another horse, the way he fights back, [and he] sticks out his short neck and got the win at Saratoga. And what more does anyone want than to win at Saratoga? I'm so glad I happened to be there that weekend,” said Brooks.

Though Happy Farm showed promise, his connections also understood there was a limit to that talent, and so he continued to run at the allowance, allowance optional claiming and claiming levels. The following summer, as a 4-year-old, Happy Farm returned to Saratoga and was claimed away for $32,000.

“Operating a business and a racing stable like that, he could be a star in somebody else's barn, but he didn't need to really be in our barn,” said Brooks. “But I [had said to Hunter], 'You can't get this horse claimed.' And he said, 'Don't worry, no one's claiming Happy Farm.' Sure enough, he has to call me after the race, because I was in Maryland, and [tell me] he got claimed. I was so upset, I started crying, and I was so embarrassed because who wants to cry on the phone with their boss about a horse? But it was the little horse girl inside of me, she just started crying.”

The Claiming Game

In his 52 career starts, Happy Farm was claimed a total of 12 times and moved through 16 separate barns. Without fail, he always tried, reflected in his record of 13 wins, 14 seconds and seven thirds—finishing in the money in 34 of his starts—with overall career earnings totaling $870,338.

“He didn't stay anywhere long, which I think just shows that people knew he was a hard-knocking horse, he was a trier. Everyone that had him, people claimed him back. Certain trainers would have him back and forth. [There are] not many horses that people have in their barn where they look for them in the claims to get them back,” said Brooks.

His victory in the Fall Highweight Handicap was one of the most surreal moments for Brooks and the rest of the Sagamore team as they watched their former horse beat Sagamore's contender Recruiting Ready, who finished third.

“It was an interesting moment, to say the least. It just didn't make any sense to me that our little [former] claiming horse was winning a graded stakes race,” said Brooks. “Then fast forward, we find out that Happy Farm and a lot of the other horses in [the Servis] barn were part of this FBI investigation.”

All of the horses in Servis's barn, along with Happy Farm, were moved on to new trainers. After 10 months off, Happy Farm returned to the races on Jan. 2, 2021, in the care of trainer Linda Rice, who had conditioned him previously.

“She said he was the same old guy. That made me really happy that no matter what was going on, he was the same old Happy,” said Brooks.

Happy Farm remained a staple on the New York circuit until the fall of 2023 when he was sent to Parx in Bensalem, Pa. He raced in Pennsylvania through the spring of 2024, as a 10-year-old, before closing out his career at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, NJ. In his final start, on June 2, 2024, he finished fourth.

Jocelyn Brooks and Happy Farm | Sara Gordon

Coming Home

Throughout Happy Farm's racing career, Brooks kept an eye on him. She'd reach out to a friend in the barn of the current trainer he was with, or contact someone at the track where he was training, to check on the gelding. And every time, Brooks always extended the offer to bring him home when that time came.

“I reached out to Steve Schauer at The Players Group [last year] and just said, 'Hey, I know he's aged out of New York. I don't know what your plans are for him. I know he still likes his job because I just know him. But if you get to that point where you're not sure that he wants to do it anymore or that he comes up with an injury, I would love for you to just keep me in mind.'”

It was a few months later that she got a text from Schauer: “Call me tomorrow.”

“I truly had a spot in my heart for Happy. Financially, it's hard to have any horse, especially one right off the track that's going to need a lot of time off. [But] I just figured I would find a way. I had said since he was claimed away that I would find a way to make it work. And so, we're making it work,” said Brooks.

Happy Farm arrived in Lexington, Ky., last summer, where he enjoyed some well-deserved downtime at Justin Wojczynski and Gemma Freeman's farm, White Pine Thoroughbreds. In September, Brooks moved him to Carriage Station Farm to acclimate him to a routine before saddling up for that first ride off the track.

“I kind of just continued letting him chill, get used to life here. I started working him on the rope. I knew I wanted to do the Thoroughbred Makeover with him in 2025, so he was limited to a certain amount of rides, [but] I got on a couple times and went on some hacks around the farm. He acted like he'd done it a hundred times,” recalled Brooks.

Along with Happy Farm, Brooks owns two other retired racehorses: 13-year-old gelding Perpetual Optimism (First Defence), fondly known as 'PO,' and 11-year-old gelding Maryland Pride (Hard Spun), who has been given the barn name 'Rye.' All three were owned by Sagamore at one point during their racing careers.

“All three of them came to Sagamore in different ways. PO was purchased as a 2-year-old. Happy came as a yearling and then Maryland Pride, of course, [was] a homebred. They were all horses that we rooted for. I had their win photos and now they're my pets. It's hard to imagine something like that,” said Brooks. “Sagamore is such a special part of my life. It's where I learned everything about the industry.”

Perpetual Optimism with Jocelyn Brooks in the irons | Sara Gordon

Perpetual Optimism was the first Sagamore-connected OTTB to come into Brooks's life, in the spring of 2017, following the passing of her first horse, Buttermilk Sky (Kafwain). Years down the road, at a time where Brooks was 'casually' looking for a horse to train and compete with at the Thoroughbred Makeover, Maryland Pride became available through Maryland's aftercare program, Beyond the Wire. Brooks brought him home in February of 2024.

Last year, in a bittersweet twist of fate, Brooks got the news that Happy Farm was retired from the track within the same week that her vet diagnosed Perpetual Optimism with a neck injury that would no longer allow him to be ridden.

With Perpetual Optimism officially retired, Maryland Pride and Happy Farm have big horseshoes to fill. And with a rider partner like Brooks, both have bright futures ahead.

“I still can't believe [Happy] is mine and that I see him every day. All those years of worrying about him and just making sure he'd be okay, I cannot believe he's here with me. It's just incredible, so I feel very lucky,” said Brooks.

Though Brooks now works full-time in Kentucky as the Director of Bloodstock at Flying Dutchmen, she continues to serve in another important role as a passionate advocate and avid supporter of Thoroughbred aftercare.

“I think the reason most of us are in this industry is because we love the horses. First and foremost, you want them to be successful on the track. You want the people that bred them and own them to do well with them. But they have so much life to give after they retire. After knowing them and caring about them their whole careers, and then knowing that we've got hopefully 10-plus years to go, that's what's so rewarding,” said Brooks.

“I can't adopt 50 horses that I want to adopt and everyone can't find every horse they've ever tried to keep track of. You can't fix it overnight. For Happy Farm, yes, he's one horse, but he's got it made right now and I plan to keep it that way. [We] take the victories we can get. Knowing that he's safe and he'll have everything he needs and wants, that's good enough for today. And then, hopefully, we can help another horse tomorrow.”