New friends – and Old Friends, Part 2

This is part of a series depicting my day at the Grand Opening for the Old Friends at Cabin Creek: Bobby Frankel Division equine retirement facility. You can read Part 1 here.

Zippy Chippy, famous for his record of 0-100, takes in the crowd with farm co-owner JoAnn Pepper and his former owner-trainer Felix Monserrate (behind Pepper) on Grand Opening Day/Photo by Rhonda Lane

A couple of hours after the Little Silver Charm Mini-Golf Tourney wrapped up, the festivities moved out to the farm in Greenfield, NY.

Dedications and reminiscences of the farm’s benefactor’s, the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel have been covered in other articles.

Then, the farm offered up one of the experiences that Old Friends does like no other in the Saratoga area.

A chance for the “just folks” race fans to get up close to the horses, Kentucky-style.

Video from one of the Grand Opening parties for the Old Friends at Cabin Creek equine rescue

One thing I noticed on my trip to Saratoga last year is that there’s really no opportunity to get close to the horses themselves. Not like there is in Kentucky, especially at the Kentucky Horse Park.

OF course, there’s horse stuff all over town in Saratoga Springs. The statues. The neon bar signs. The equestrian gifts.

But a real, live breathing horse?

Granted, a lot of racing thoroughbreds are just too amped up for us civilians to be around. When startled, a thoroughbred in peak condition is a lot of freaked-out animal.

So, everyone involved is probably better off if gaggles of tourists aren’t ambling unattended through the shedrows. (If you want to see the Saratoga backstretch, contact the National Museum of Racing for a tour. It’s still great.)

So, with most of the horses in town eager and ready to run, there’s not a lot of opportunity for civilians to get up close to a horse. (If there is, please feel free to tell us about it in the Comments section below.)

That’s where the Old Friends at Cabin Creek, Bobby Frankel division, can step in. It’s not just a horse shelter, although it’s very good at that job, too.

Tourist attraction

When Old Friends president and founder Michael Blowen was planning his retirement home for stallions and other racehorses, he has said that he had the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions in mind.

Over the past 30 years at the KHP, various thoroughbred champions from Forego to John Henry to Cigar and Funny Cide have held court and been led out several times a day to be admired by fans. Even I have chatted at the horse park with people who’ve just come by to see one of the old champions, to thank them for fond memories or a fatter wallet.

Where else are you going to meet athletes the likes of Magic Johnson or Johnny Bench or Nolan Ryan? That’s the caliber of the horses, not just thoroughbreds, who find their way into the Hall of Champions.

With that in mind, Blowen realized that the retired champions might be able to support the “also-rans” as sort of a tourist attraction.

Back in the day, Blowen, when he wasn’t reviewing movies for the Boston Globe, worked in the backstretch at Suffolk Downs. He knew full well what happened to most of the horses who, as he’s said in tours, “don’t have 401ks.”

In those early years, Old Friends went from leasing a portion of a farm to its own facility outside Georgetown, KY. The farm now offers multiple tours, an excellent equine gift shop, a B&B and more than four times the horses it had when I first heard Blowen talk about his dream.

But now there’s a satellite facility in New York. And it’s ready for visitors.

Old Friends at Cabin Creek

For specifics about when to visit, your best bet would be to contact farm co-owner and operator JoAnn Pepper at 518-698-2377 or via email cabincreek4@hotmail.com .

Tour hours are subject to change but she told me recently that, through the Saratoga racing season, tours will be around 11 am EDT and 7 pm EDT for Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Saturdays, the farm will hold an open house from noon to 3 pm EDT.

But contacting her at the farm first is best. Remember – hours can be subject to change.

Funny Cide’s visit

However, for a week or so, as of this writing, Funny Cide is back in town and receiving visitors. For more details about Funny Cide’s time at Old Friends, see this article on the NYRA website.

Again, if you want to go visit, contact JoAnn (518-698-2377 or via email cabincreek4@hotmail.com).

After having watched Old Friends in Kentucky grow, I’m pleased to have the opportunity to see Old Friends at Cabin Creek grow, too.

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Tags: Bobby Frankel, equine tourism, Funny Cide, Old Friends, Old Friends at Cabin Creek, Saratoga racing, Saratoga Springs, Saratoga tourism, Zippy Chippy