Florida TRAC | Horse Racing Free Tips

New Lady Pleasantry Arrives At Our Mims Retirement Haven

Our Mims Retirement Haven is pleased to announce the arrival of Pleasantry to the farm. This sweet senior lady has had quite a journey. The stakes-placed mare arrived on May, 19, 2021, to the farm in Paris, Kentucky, via Florida TRAC, where she resided for 11 years.

Born April 15, 1992, Pleasantry is by Cutlass, out of the Master Derby mare Logiealmond. She had 13 starts winning $72,455 and was trained by Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens (who also campaigned War Front, Devil His Due, Belong to Me and many other known names in Thoroughbred history). Pleasantry's breeder/owner also had an illustrious career in the Thoroughbred industry, with the latest winner being Country House, the 2019 Kentucky Derby winner.

Pleasantry has had 12 foals, sired by such names as Rubiano, Wagon Limit and Full Mandate.

Florida TRAC reached out to Our Mims Retirement Haven owner/President Pete Mirabito late last fall, inquiring about an opening for the mare. Diagnosed with Cushings, she wasn't tolerating the Florida heat and humidity. Katie Schmit, TRAC Farm Manager commented on the Florida TRAC Facebook page that Pleasantry has “handled the trip with her usual class and grace and is looking forward to meeting her new friends at her forever home.”

Jimmy Jerkens, the son of Allen Jerkens, trained Pleasantry during winter racing while his father was in Florida. He remembered Pleasantry, sired by Cutlass, who he also remembered well. He said “She was sort of a small chestnut with a white face, and I remember she tried really hard and certainly had 'desire.'” Jimmy was also happy to hear she has a soft landing now at the Haven.

Haven President Pete Mirabito said “Jeanne built Our Mims Retirement Haven for horses like Pleasantry: horses who have contributed to the industry as best they could and are now ready for a forever home where they can roll in the bluegrass and relish in the love and adoration of their fans”. He also added, “I am looking forward to getting to know Pleasantry and watching her find her place among “the ladies of Our Mims”. I am grateful to Florida TRAC for taking such great care of this wonderful soul and to all our loving supporters who keep Jeanne's dream alive.”

“It is very heartbreaking when we lose one of our residents here because we love them all dearly”, said Ann Cheek, OMRH Vice President and Farm Manager. “But the excitement of getting a new 'lady,' knowing she will spend the rest of her life in peace and comfort, always helps with that heartbreak, because they reminded us of what our mission is.”

OMRH became a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2006: Founded by Jeanne Mirabito. Featured in Barbara Livingston's More Old Friends, the Haven specializes in “restoring health and spirit in aged mares.” The Haven is supported through donations, and its online shop.

Our Mims Retirement Haven is accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and the Kentucky Equine Health and Welfare Council. OMRH has received grants from Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA), After The Finish Line (ATFL) and the Annenberg Foundation.

Current horses include Exciting Bucket, Braggin Rights, Jo Jo's Gypsy, Play Book, Kidnap Katie, My Heart Sez Yes, Theheartofdixie, Alpha Heat, Sweet Ambition, and the OMRH mascot, Tea Bisquit. Our Mims grandson, Elmhurst, arrived at the Haven in October of 2011, and passed at the age of 31 on January 4, 2021.

Trio Of Off-Track Thoroughbreds, Now Police Horses, To Present Colors At Pegasus World Cup

Three retired Thoroughbreds who have excelled at second careers as members of mounted police units in South Florida will help present the colors before the singing of the national anthem Saturday at the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational at Gulfstream Park.

Tizrobertcharles and Guidoinaspeedo, both members of the Davie Police Department's Mounted Patrol Unit, and Rockaway, a member of the City of Coral Gables mounted unit, will help present the colors before the playing of Saturday's anthem on Pegasus World Cup Day featuring the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational (G1) and $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Championship Invitational (G1).

“Gulfstream Park focuses on racehorse aftercare to provide one time competitors a meaningful second career,” said Mike Lakow, Vice President of Racing at Gulfstream Park. “We welcome these athletes back to the track alongside local equestrian law enforcement. The Stronach Group supports accredited programs so these horses can be retrained, rehomed and retired to caring homes.”

Tizrobertcharles, retrained at the Florida Thoroughbred Retirement and Adoptive Care (TRAC), was adopted by the Davie unit by former trainer and Officer Gary Cortolillo. An 11-year-old son of Bwana Charlie who won his seventh and final start, Tizrobertcharles patrols the town daily and has attended several special events. 'Charlie' has a soft eye and a great mind.

Officer Mark Groeneveld, 'Charlie's' partner, has been an officer for 21 years and joined the mounted unit in 2019.

Katie Schmit, farm manager and trainer at TRAC, says retired Thoroughbreds can be retrained for lesson horses, therapy horses, trail, pleasure and show and performance horses.

“What makes OTTBs so incredibly special in my eyes is their impeccable work ethic and desire to please,” she said. “They are meticulously bred to win and thus have an inherent need to feel successful. The exposure they receive at such a young age gives them a huge step up when their racing careers are over. When we match their second careers with their personalities, they truly take it from there. They thrive on learning new things and have a love for adventure. We have seen them graduate from our organization and excel in every area imaginable, from simply bringing a smile to their owner's face each morning, to the most demanding athletic pursuits.”

Guidoinaspeedo is a 9-year-old son of Maryland-bred Meadow Monster who also won once in seven starts while racing in the Mid-Atlantic. 'Buddy,' as he's affectionately called, has been with the mounted unit since 2015.

Officer Richard Spradling, 'Buddy's' partner, has been an officer since 2007 and joined the mounted unit in 2019. Spradling has an equestrian background, having ridden Criollo horses in Argentina.

Rockaway, a retired Thoroughbred who raced 10 times in South Florida, is the first documented police horse in Coral Gables in nearly 90 years. Rockaway, who served as a flag horse at Bergeron Rodeo, enjoys the attention he receives from the public. His partner is Officer Ashley Sheran.

Lt. Dan, a 15-year-old Quarter Horse who has been with the mounted unit since 2018, will join Tizrobertcharles and Guidoinaspeedo. Officer Angela Creel is Lt. Dan's partner and has been with the unit since 2016. Lt. Dan will serve as the flag bearer.

Drako, a 21-year-old Belgian-Quarter horse cross, will also join the group. Sergeant Chad Bishop will partner with Drako, formerly a member of the Miami-Dade mounted unit. Bishop has been an officer since 1997. He is currently the K9 sergeant as well as a mounted unit sergeant.

The post Trio Of Off-Track Thoroughbreds, Now Police Horses, To Present Colors At Pegasus World Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

A Non-Winner On The Track, 17-Year-Old Rescued Mare Earns Blue Ribbon In Dressage Debut

Fourteen years after her racing career ended without a victory, rescued mare Back to Front officially became a winner.

Competing in her first show since DNA testing reunited her with previous owner Michelle Macatee earlier this year, and ridden by Macatee's 8-year-old granddaughter Rylie Beauchamp, Back to Front won first place in the Lead Line Walk class during the Skip Ahead Dressage Schooling Show Oct. 18 in Marlton, N.J.

As part of the Halloween-themed show, Rylie dressed as a princess while 17-year-old Back to Front – lovingly called 'Bebe' by Macatee and her granddaughter – was fitted with a unicorn's horn and rainbow stirrups.

“She learned how to salute the judge 10 minutes before her class,” Macatee said of her granddaughter. “The judge told her she needed to make her walk a little faster next time. After [the show], she showed Bebe her ribbon and gave her a big kiss.”

Back to Front was relocated from the Florida Thoroughbred Retirement and Adoptive Care facility in Indiantown, Fla., to Westhampton Farm in Bergen County, N.J., on June 8, after Macatee discovered her on the Florida TRAC website. Macatee had previously adopted Back to Front but life circumstances forced her to give her up in 2011.

To read more about Back to Front's story, visit: https://www.gulfstreampark.com/racing/news-details/2020/06/16/back-to-front-back-at-home-with-owner-after-long-journey

The post A Non-Winner On The Track, 17-Year-Old Rescued Mare Earns Blue Ribbon In Dressage Debut appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

DNA Testing Brings Retired Racemare Back To Front Back Home Again

Her racing name was Back to Front, but as far as Michelle Macatee is concerned, the now 17-year-old mare is back where she belongs.

It took 13 years after originally adopting her, and more than a decade of searching after life circumstances forced their breakup, for Macatee and the horse lovingly called Bebe to be reunited.

“She was just meant to be back with me,” Macatee, 50 said. “I got her back.”

Foaled Jan. 20, 2003, New York-bred Back to Front is a bay daughter of Senor Speedy out of the Badger Land mare Turnback and Count who raced five times in 2006, finishing second in her debut during the Maryland State Fair meet in Timonium. Her other starts came at Charles Town Race Track in West Virginia.

Claimed for $10,000 out of her second start, Back to Front ran two more times but was retired after refusing to break from the gate in what would be her final race.

It wasn't long before Macatee acquired Back to Front from a Thoroughbred adoption agency in New Jersey, where she was living at the time during a period of 12 years going back and forth between Florida.

“When I first got her as a 4-year-old, I had her for maybe three months and I was out at a bar on the Jersey Shore, I met a guy and went out on a date with him. He lived in Pennsylvania, and she had come from a track in New York to the New Jersey adoption,” Macatee said. “So I'm telling this guy the story of how I just adopted a horse. He asked her name and I told him and he said, 'Did my friends put you up to this?' and he just looked at me really strange.

“He said, 'Show me a picture' and I did, and he said, 'You adopted my horse,'” she added.

Macatee showed horses as a teenager and was in her late 20s when she adopted her first horse off the racetrack, an experience that led her to her love affair with Back to Front.

“I had him for years and sold him to a good home. I was kind of a beginner adult again. I called the adoption agency and said, 'Give me something nice and safe that's not going to kill me, and has a puppy-dog personality,' and that's how I got her. That's her,” Macatee said.

“I originally adopted her as a 4-year-old out of Thoroughbred adoption in New Jersey. I had her on my property here and when I moved to Florida, I brought her with me to Florida,” she added. “I had her a few years and we were just about ready to go to our first show, probably about a month away, and I had a job circumstance change and a breakup and I just couldn't afford her anymore. The horse adoption that was on the property told me that they had a great family with two kids and she was going to live in the backyard. It just seemed like the perfect home for her.”

Fast forward two years. Back on her feet and renting a property in Wellington, Fla., Macatee reached out to the adoption agency to check on Back to Front with the ultimate goal of bringing her home.

“I wanted to offer the people a lot of money to get her back, or at least go visit her,” she said. “They said they didn't have the records of her. All these years I just wanted to go visit her. I would Google her online and her name wasn't coming up. I just kept looking.”

Having moved back to New Jersey full-time, Macatee found herself back in Florida recently for work when she decided to look again. She visited the Florida Thoroughbred Retirement and Adoptive Care (TRAC) website, and was stunned with what she found.

“I've been looking for another horse, so I was going through their horses and I was on like the fourth page and then I was going to go back to sleep. I got to the last page, and there she was. Back to Front,” Macatee said. “It was 3 o'clock in the morning. There was nothing I could do. I was walking in circles – I get teary-eyed just talking about it. It's now 9 years later, she's 17 and she was at the adoption for a really long time.”

Macatee had previously noticed a horse that resembled Back to Front, but was listed under the name Annie.

“So what they did was, a year ago, they sent the DNA on her and found out her name. They had a management change [at TRAC] and the management team was getting the records together and they were told she wasn't even a Thoroughbred and she had a different name,” Macatee said. “They saw her tattoo and they did the DNA and got her name, and that's the only way I found her.

“After I found her, I went to TRAC and saw her. She was just as sweet as ever,” she added. “I set up the trailer to come back here to New Jersey that day and I drove up ahead of her.”

Bebe arrived at Macatee's property in New Jersey June 8. The following day, Macatee presented the mare to her 8-year-old granddaughter, Rylie, who is just beginning to take riding lessons.

“Bebe just stood on a loose lead for her half-hour bath, and they walked around the field together and Bebe followed her. And now she's eating lunch in her stall,” Macatee said. “The perfect horse turned out to be her. Rylie said, 'I couldn't have picked out a more beautiful or perfect horse myself.' I'm still crying.”

Back to Front's home now is Westhampton Farm, a state-of-the-art Thoroughbred facility located on 100 acres in Bergen County that backs up to the Burlington Country Club and offers large fields, a pool and other amenities.

“She'll be spoiled rotten,” Macatee said.

Macatee is grateful for having her persistence pay off and culminate in a success story not only for her and her granddaughter, but for their horse.

“I've just been so emotional. I'm talking to you and I'm just sitting here crying. For years I just wanted to go visit her, and here she is. I don't have to worry about her. You always worry about what if somebody sells her or she goes to a bad home or something,” Macatee said.

“It broke my heart when I had to find a home for her, but I thought that she was in a great place. I think the important thing is to find a way to just find them again. The DNA was just amazing,” she added. “She would have been lost without it.”

The post DNA Testing Brings Retired Racemare Back To Front Back Home Again appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post