Celebrating Old Friends: Stories from Kentucky’s Thoroughbred Retirement Farm

When Michael Blowen first dreamed of creating Old Friends, he envisioned a place where Thoroughbred stallions could retire with dignity following their racing or breeding careers. He also wanted people to visit the iconic horses. In 2003, Old Friends opened on leased land with a miniature horse named Little Silver Charm, a gelding named Invigorate and a mare named Narrow Escape. Today, the two-hundred-plus-acre farm in Georgetown has more than 160 retired Thoroughbred stallions, geldings and mares, including two Kentucky Derby winners. It even welcomed two satellite farms, one in New York and one at Kentucky Downs racetrack. In his follow-up to History of Old Friends, Rick Capone revisits the unforgettable history of this horse retirement home.