Old Friends Farms

From Michael..

An interviewer recently asked me to reflect on the 20th anniversary of Old Friends. Naturally, I'm very proud of Old Friends' accomplishments. Starting with one horse and growing to the point where we have more than 200 retirees in Kentucky and a branch with JoAnn Pepper at Old Friends at Cabin Creek in Greenfield Center, New York and a very successful Old Friends in Japan and rumblings of a farm in

California and another in Florida..it's all very gratifying. But it's not me. Old Friends has evolved because of the momentum generated by the idea itself. It's not because I dreamed it up and made it happen. It happened and took me along with it. Old Friends owes its existence to the thousands of fans and visitors who fully appreciate how these horses have improved their lives. They come to Old Friends for the same reason rock and roll fans go to Cleveland or basketball fans go to Springfield or baseball fans to Cooperstown... to pay homage to the sport they love and the stars that inspire them.

  But, while I appreciate the accomplishments of our Thoroughbreds (and Little Silver Charm), it's the future that allows me to feel that I live in the perfect place for me. There are so many horses running today that should be guaranteed a satisfying post-racing career. And I don't mean just the Hall-of-Famers like Silver Charm and Lava Man but my old pal, Summer Attraction who I claimed for $5,000 at Finger Lakes on Mother's Day in 1999, and he's still with me. The future is much brighter with the spotlight on aftercare and the efforts of so many groups such as Our Mims and New Vocations and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, all under the watchful eye of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, to give these athletes the dignified retirement they deserve. So, let's press on and think of new ways we can try to re-pay the unpayable debt we owe to these magnificent creatures.