Industry & National

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 […]

“Alphabet Soup didn’t have to be a star. If you’d have asked him, and he’d been able to answer, maybe he didn’t even want to be a star. There was no particular destiny attached to his lineage, no heightened expectations based on purchase price. Given a choice, he might have been content at any number […]

“Michael Blowen loves “being old.” Those are his words, not mine! After years as a film critic for the Boston Globe, he snapped. In the middle of an awful movie, he stood up and yelled at the other critics: “How can you endure this?” Today, he’s so much happier. As the founder of Old Friends, a Thoroughbred […]

“It was just another day making sales calls. About eight years ago, I walked into a Farmstead Veterinary clinic in rural Indiana and looked at their wall-mounted cork board–the kind with tacked-up business cards. There was a gleaming picture of a horse with a flaxen mane and tail. I said to Ken Kimmick, DVM, “I […]

During the last week of April, Old Friends Farm purchased 161 acres of land for a sum of $3.5 million dollars, according to a property transfer. “We are excited and exhilarated by this historic step forward for Old Friends,” said Old Friends CEO John Nicholson. Read more about the purchase here.

“Something that has been on my bucket list is to experience the Kentucky Derby. I haven’t even been to Kentucky, so I wanted to soak up as much as I could on my next adventure. Kentucky is celebrating a big year. It’s the trifecta of anniversaries. The Kentucky derby is 150 years old, the state […]

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) — Michael Blowen can step outside his house any day of the week and visit retired racehorses at Old Friends, the thoroughbred retirement farm he founded in Kentucky two decades ago that attentively cares for former winners and losers alike. From his home’s backdoor, Blowen can watch one former racehorse great in particular […]

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — The horses on the track are trained for moments like these from birth, but their racing window is relatively short. The average lifespan of a horse is between 25 and 30 years old. Remember, every horse on the track for the Derby is just three years old. Read more on […]

Ever wondered what happens to Kentucky Derby horses after they retire from racing? Some lucky ones, like Silver Charm here, end up at a luxurious facility for thorough bred horses called Old Friends in Kentucky. Founded by former Boston Globe movie critic and columnist Michael Blowen about 20 years ago, Old Friends is a place where retired […]

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) — Michael Blowen can step outside his house any day of the week and visit retired racehorses at Old Friends, the thoroughbred retirement farm he founded in Kentucky two decades ago that attentively cares for former winners and losers alike. From his home’s backdoor, Blowen can watch one former racehorse great in particular […]