Industry & National

The three Kentucky divisions of Old Friends welcomed 27 new retirees in 2020; through the photography of Anne M. Eberhardt.

Michael Blowen glanced at the 1977 Sports Illustrated cover of Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew when it arrived in the mail and immediately discarded it. A horse on the cover of such a prominent magazine? “I thought thinking of them as athletes was absurd,” he said.

Michael Blowen is spending a beautiful summer morning doing his favorite thing – checking in on a few of the 175 residents of Old Friends at its Georgetown, Ky., base. As the sun comes up, the light is turning from orange to yellow.

Old Friends Farm is where some of the greatest athletes of all time retire and spend the rest of their days. Now some of those horses will be connecting with some other special retirees.

Old Friends, the non-profit organization that cares for over 200 retired racehorses near Georgetown, Ky., has formed a unique arrangement with Georgetown’s new Ashton Grove Senior Living Community, which is located a few miles from the Old Friends property.

When Michael Blowen decided to start a retirement farm for racehorses, people were skeptical. “They all thought I was nuts,” he says. “I was just going to put horses in my yard and hope visitors would come see them.”

A retirement facility for Thoroughbreds located in Georgetown, KY, Old Friends Farm was founded in 2003 by former Boston Globe film critic, Michael Blowen. It began with only one horse and is now home to over 160 happy retirees.

Breeders’ Cup, one of Thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious international events, and Makers Mark®, the original premium bourbon, today announced the 2020 Limited-Edition Maker’s Mark® bottle from the Charity for Champions program, which began in 2015, with the goal of raising money for Thoroughbred industry charities.

It was just his second time at the Preakness, a race the future Hall of Fame trainer would later come to own, so pardon Bob Baffert if he was a little confused by the idiosyncrasies that come with being the second-oldest racetrack in the United States.

Silver Charm, a 1,200-pound Thoroughbred with a white coat peppered by tiny flecks of gray, leaned over the top railing of the pasture fence and nibbled at the lips of the man with the cap turned backwards. Michael Blowen, his eyes closed, accepted the proffered kiss, then turned to a visitor standing nearby.