YOU CAN’T MAKE OLD FRIENDS
Many national racetracks, including Churchill
Downs and Keeneland, have enacted stringent
anti-slaughter policies that would impose race
bans to anyone who is caught selling a horse to
a slaughterhouse or to an intermediary auction.
There are also many thoroughbred enthusiasts
who have started organizations that adopt
unwanted or retired horses so they can have
a dignified retirement and protect them from
being slaughtered.
In 2003, a former Boston Globe film critic
named Michael Blowen founded Old Friend
Thoroughbred Retirement Farm. This 501(c)3
nonprofit organization is located in Georgetown,
Ky.
According to their website, “The organization
has grown from a leased paddock and one horse
to a 136-acre farm, a herd of over 175 rescued
SMOKEY’S TOBACCO
and retired horses, and two satellite facilities:
Old Friends at Cabin Creek in Greenfield Center,
Ny., and Old Friends at Kentucky Downs in
Franklin, Ky.”
I had the pleasure of visiting Old Friends farm
this past fall, and I highly recommend visiting if
you are even slightly interested in horses.
If you are not a fan of horses, you will be before
you leave the farm.
Their website states, “Our guests come to visit
a few ex-racehorses, but they often leave having
been touched by the heart of a Thoroughbred
hero.”
During my visit, I had the pleasure of talking
with Michael Blowen, as he often talks to the
tour groups. He introduced us to the only non-
thoroughbred on the grounds, a miniature horse
named Little Silver Charm, who follows Blowen
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