GEORGETOWN, Ky. − Michael Blowen emerges from the garage of his home with a red Solo cup full of treats that have been ground up specifically for the 31-year-old horse he calls his favorite living thing in the world.
It’s quite a statement. Blowen, 78, has a wife and a family and befriended all sorts of famous people in his years as the film critic for the Boston Globe. But as he walks toward a grassy field a few hundred feet from his house, an almost completely white horse − who just happens to be the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner − perks up.
Bowen smiles and opens the gate. The horse knows the routine. They start jogging, side by side, as quickly and energetically as two old men can move. After 10 or 15 seconds, they both give up.
