The Georgia Horse Racing Coalition, a group of leading business and civic leaders who are dedicated to bringing first-class horse racing to Georgia, announced today a partnership with Old Friends, one of the nation’s leading Thoroughbred rescue and aftercare organizations.
Old Friends, the non-profit Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, Ky., cares for more than 125 horses representing some of the finest bloodlines in American racing, including Bluesthestandard, a multiple graded stakes winner who was bred in Georgia.
“The Georgia Horse Racing Coalition supports efforts to help find all racehorses—once their racing careers are over—a new home and a new job,” says Dean Reeves, Coalition president and owner of 2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, Mucho Macho Man, whose earnings are $5.58 million. “Financial support of these retired athletes will be an integral part of our legislative efforts to bring racing to Georgia. Partnering with Old Friends is an important first step in our commitment to this standard of care for horses after they leave the track.”
“Our partnership with the Georgia Horse Race Coalition will help us in our mission to spread the word about the necessity for dignified retirement and second careers for these great horses,” says Old Friends founder Michael Blowen. “By promoting these celebrated horses at Old Friends through a campaign of education and tourism, we draw attention to all retired Thoroughbreds and all equines in need, and we appreciate the support of GHRC.”
Old Friends is considered a “living history museum of horse racing,” attracting nearly 20,000 tourists annually to see such stars of the turf as Breeders’ Cup Champion Gulch; multiple stakes winners Rail Trip and Commentator and the losing-est horse in the history of racing, Zippy Chippy. Learn more about Old Friends at www.oldfriendsequine.org.
The Georgia Horse Racing Coalition is a non-profit 501 C (6) organization whose mission is to educate Georgians about the value that horse racing will bring to our state by generating jobs, tax revenues and tourism. The Coalition is working with state leaders to pass legislation allowing pari-mutuel wagering in Georgia in order to encourage and support a statewide racing industry, including a state-of-the-art entertainment complex. Learn more at www.gahorseracing.org.