For ex-Derby winner Silver Charm, it's a life of leisure and Old Friends at Kentucky retirement farm
Michael Blowen can step outside his house anytime and visit retired racehorses at Old Friends, the thoroughbred retirement farm he founded in Kentucky two decades ago
GEORGETOWN, Ky. — 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 amble aimlessly in a nearby pasture: Silver Charm, the champion thoroughbred that won the 1997 Kentucky Derby.
“Hey, handsome,” Blowen called out as he sidled up to his longtime friend that now has only four remaining teeth and spends much of his day napping. Silver Charm moved toward Blowen, who fed him a handful of Mrs. Pastures horse cookie crumbs before pouring the rest into a feed bucket. The oldest living Derby winner then wandered to his water trough, sipped and dozed off.
“He’s pretty predictable,” Blowen said. “He knows what he wants, and when he wants it.”
Welcome to Old Friends farm, a 236-acre (95.51-hectare) racehorse retirement community outside Georgetown, Kentucky, where champion thoroughbreds and lovable losers retire in leisure amid the splendor of Kentucky’s scenic bluegrass region, whiling away in the shadows of former glory, then posing for pictures with devoted race fans who — especially during Derby season — visit the farm.
The Derby will be held Saturday. At Old Friends, every day is Legends Day.
For $30, visitors take a guided, 90-minute walking tour while getting up-close looks at some of the farm’s most famous residents, including Silver Charm and I’ll Have Another, the 2012 Kentucky Derby and
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