Kim Weir | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pastures of Point Lookout Honors Wyeth Memory

After spending many years helping to teach incarcerated inmates life skills and equine care, a lot of 10 retired Thoroughbreds boarded a van July 23 bound for Pasture of Point Lookout, a Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania-based sanctuary farm founded by world-renowned artist Jamie Wyeth in memory of his late wife Phyllis. On the anniversary of her passing Mr. Wyeth turned to longtime friends, Graham and Anita Motion of Herringswell Stables.

“To honor my late wife, Phyllis Mills Wyeth and her Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags, I am transforming our farm into a retirement sanctuary for racehorses,” Jamie Wyeth explained. “I view Pastures of Point Lookout as a lasting reminder of the contributions to the world of horse racing by Phyllis and her champion, Union Rags.”

Anita Motion will serve PPL as its executive director. The farm used by PPL has been modified to support the “pasture lifestyle” to which the TRF horses have become accustomed over their many years at the TRF Second Chances Program at Wallkill.

“It has been a remarkable experience to participate in the creation of Pastures of Point Lookout and to enable Mr. Wyeth to realize his dream for a legacy in his wife’s honor,” said Anita Motion. “Watching the horses step off the van on Tuesday and soak in the beauty of their new home was genuinely like experiencing a dream come true.”

The horses will live together, as they did for so many years at Wallkill, in a natural pasture setting. Run-in sheds will provide shelter from the sun and inclement weather, water is available from a nearby stream flowing through the farm, and the two full-time farm managers will manage their hay and grain, to supplement the abundant grass of their 20 acre pasture. All expenses for the operation of the farm along with the feed, farrier and veterinary care required by these horses will be covered by Pastures of Point Lookout according to the TRF’s Adoption Policies.

“When I first received Anita’s call to share this idea in late January of this year, I could scarcely believe what I was hearing. It simply seemed too good to be true,” said Kim Weir, Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at the TRF. “In less than six months, and despite all the challenges we have faced around the world in 2020 due to COVID-19, the dream has become a reality. With this bold and generous gesture, Mr. Wyeth has given ten horses the happiest possible final chapter of their lives while saving twenty total – the ten adopted by PPL, and the next ten retired racehorses that the TRF can accept into our herd to take their places over the months ahead.”

To learn more about adopting a horse from the TRF at https://www.trfinc.org/adoptretire/

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Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Drive-Thru BBQ In Saratoga Set For Aug. 11

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF), an equine retirement facility accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), will host a unique Drive-thru BBQ on August 11 at the Saratoga Winery.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and its horsemen are committed supporters of the TAA, which accredits, inspects, and awards grants to approved aftercare organizations to retrain, retire, and rehome thoroughbreds using industry-wide funding.

In order to comply with social distancing guidelines, the annual TRF BBQ at the Barn has been reimagined as a drive-thru experience at Saratoga Winery which will feature a drive around the grounds complete with miniature ponies, racing celebrities, and a special appearance by Joey, the TRF Herd Ambassador, who will be returning to Saratoga from the TRF Second Chances Program at Wallkill to see all his friends from last summer.

“In this summer unlike any other, the TRF is committed to keeping our mission and our horses in the minds of the racing community across New York, and across the country”, said Kim Weir, of the TRF. “With this creative and light-hearted approach to our summer BBQ we're hoping to expand awareness of our work within the Saratoga and Capital Region community, while also giving fans and horsemen unable to travel to the Spa this summer an opportunity to join us – at least in spirit, with their support.”

Friends of the TRF Herd across the country can participate in spirit by purchasing a bale of hay ($5) or a bag of grain ($15) for the horses, by making a gift of sponsorship (starting at $100), or purchasing raffle tickets for an online raffle.

Working in partnership with The Saratoga Winery and the Barnsider BBQ of Lake George the $30 single meal (carry-out) will include pulled pork, BBQ bone-in chicken with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. Other items on the menu include the TRF Signature Cocktail featuring Pick Six Strawberry Jam Vodka along with your choice of apple, blueberry, strawberry or rhubarb pie from Mourningkill Bake Shop.

For a full list of menu items and other TRF merchandise, please visit https://www.trfinc.org/event/bbq-at-the-barn-2020/.

All orders must be placed by 12 p.m. on Friday, August 7 (pre-ordered, carry-out only). Sponsorships are welcome.

To retire a horse to the TRF, horse owners are asked to visit the TRF website at http://www.trfinc.org and review the retirement process and apply online. Each application is reviewed by the TRF's national herd manager, in consultation with the Herd Committee of the TRF Board of Directors, who then review each application and approve, place or waitlist each horse that meets retirement criteria.

For more information about the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, or to sponsor a horse at Wallkill or at one of the 500+ retired racehorses in the TRF Herd, please visit https://www.trfinc.org/you-can-help.

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NY Race Track Chaplaincy and Saratoga Community Come Together for Backstretch Families

Nick Caras, Programs Director of the NY Race Track Chaplaincy, Kim Weir, a Saratoga Volunteer Coordinator, and Mark Kehrer, Pastor of Revelation Church, have organized a small army of volunteers and sponsors from the Saratoga Springs community in recent weeks to improve housing conditions for backstretch families who have traveled to Saratoga for the duration of the meet.

For years, many of the stable workers have stayed at rudimentary cabins at the Pine Grove Family Camp on Pine Road in Saratoga Springs. Caras always wanted them to have something better.

“The sheets in their beds were even turned down, and each cabin was lovingly prepared,” Weir said.

In addition to the sparkling clean conditions, each family received some special gifts:
• The Saratoga Chamber of Commerce donated one box of masks and one bottle of hand sanitizer for each cabin
• Impressions of Saratoga donated one tote bag full of goodies to each cabin.
• Temple Sinai donated one loaf of Challah bread to each cabin

“To see so many different entities within the Saratoga community come together to help some families they don’t even know was really heartwarming,” Weir said. “It was really a group effort and it couldn’t have happened without the generous and widespread support we received.”

Among those who pitched in were: Impressions of Saratoga (owner Marianne Barker and daughter Maddy Zanetti); The Dominguez Family; Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren, and Washington Counties; The Brown Family; The Brindle Family; The Lautenberg Family; Saratoga Springs Friends of Recreation; The Weir Family, The PNECC Social Concerns Committee, The Saratoga Immigration Coalition, Temple Sinai; and Friends of Spa City.

“I think this outpouring of support is just another example of the tight bond that exists between the good people of Saratoga and the Thoroughbred racing community,” Caras said.

“Champions Talk,” a virtual benefit for the organization featuring legendary racecaller Tom Durkin along with Hall of Fame jockeys Angel Cordero, Jr. and Ramón Dominguez, Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds, trainer Dale Romans and Pro Football Hall of Fame and two-time Super Bowl winning coach and Thoroughbred owner Bill Parcells will premier on Facebook and YouTube Aug. 5 at 7 p.m.

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