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Old Friends Welcomes 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Winner I’ll Have Another

Dual Classic winner and champion 3-year-old colt I'll Have Another (Flower Alley) has been donated to Old Friends by owner Paul Reddam. The 14-year-old former stallion arrived to the Thoroughbred retirement farm Wednesday.

“Welcoming I'll Have Another is an auspicious and historic moment for Old Friends,” said John Nicholson, president and CEO of Old Friends. “We are deeply grateful to Paul Reddam and Doug O'Neill for choosing Old Friends to care for this great champion and to celebrate his magnificent legacy with thousands of our annual visitors. Being able to welcome our fourth Kentucky Derby winner to retire at Old Friends is further tribute to the vision and values of our founder and my friend, Michael Blowen.”

Reddam added, “It is fantastic that he will have a permanent home at Old Friends where everyone can visit him. There was a lot of concern when he went to Japan for stud duty and that is permanently put to rest with his return to Kentucky.”

I'll Have Another is the fourth GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. winner to be retired to the farm. The other three are Silver Charm, War Emblem, and Charismatic.

“I'll Have Another is an amazing horse–very blue collar, workmanlike,” O'Neill said. “He was so naturally competitive. He meant and still means so much to us around the barn. He took us on the ride of a lifetime winning the Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. We're so grateful for his brilliance and being able to work alongside him during his amazing career.”

Upon his retirement, I'll Have Another was sold for $10 million to the Hokkaido-based Big Red Farm in Japan and began his stud career there in 2013. He remained there through 2018, then returned to the United States and stood at Ballena Vista Farm in Ramona, Calif. from 2019 to 2020, before moving to Reddam's Ocean Breeze Ranch in Bonsall, Calif. from 2021 to 2024.

He was pensioned in 2024.

“We are so grateful to Mr. Reddam and to Doug for trusting us to give their Derby and Preakness winner a safe, healthy, and fun retirement,” said Michael Blowen, founder and past president of Old Friends. “We're planning to put I'll Have Another in the paddock adjacent to Lava Man's. How cool is that?”

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Blowen, Hatfield Team for Old Friends Legends Tour

Old Friends founder Michael Blowen and longtime Three Chimneys Farm stallion manager Sandy Hatfield will join together for a special tour of the Old Friends retirement facility in Georgetown Apr. 9. The tour, with a $150 per person cost, will be limited to 20 people.

“Old Friends is blessed with, not only legendary horses, but with legendary people within our family,” said John Nicholson, president and CEO of Old Friends. “Our founder Michael Blowen, and longtime Three Chimneys' stallion manager Sandy Hatfield are just such legends. I can't wait for their tour, which is a rare opportunity to have these legends take you on a special journey with many of the equine heroes at Old Friends.

“Old Friends is proud to be a part of Thoroughbred racing and these Legend Tours are just the latest way we celebrate the great horses and people in the sport we love,” continued Nicholson. “We look forward to introducing new and different ways, like these Legend Tours, of sharing the story and heritage of horse racing with, not only our sport's old friends, but sharing it with new friends as well.”

Blowen, who founded Old Friends in 2003, and recently stepped down as president of the farm, will tell visitors the stories of some of his favorite Thoroughbred retirees on the farm.

Hatfield, who has spent most of her life working with stallions, in particular, Kentucky Derby winner and Old Friends retiree, Silver Charm, will share her stories of some of her famous old friends.

To reserve a spot on the tour, call the Old Friends office at (502) 863-1775.

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C Z Rocket Retired To Old Friends

Kentucky's Thoroughbred retirement home Old Friends welcomed the recently-retired MGSW/MGISP C Z Rocket (City Zip). The 10-year-old gelding arrived Feb. 29 to the farm and was welcomed by founder Michael Blowen and current Old Friends CEO John Nicholson.

“CZ Rocket has captured the affections of countless race fans throughout his many years on the track,” said Nicholson. “After such a successful career, this special gelding has earned the right to enjoy being pampered and celebrated here at Old Friends. We are grateful to his connections for seeking such a well-deserved happy retirement for him.”

“”We are very grateful to Peter Miller and Tom Kagele for donating C Z Rocket to Old Friends,” added Blowen.

C Z Rocket last raced at Oaklawn Park Feb. 19, finishing sixth against a starter allowance field.

“Tom [Kagele] and I talked to each other after the race and we both agreed,” Miller told the Paulick Report after the race. “We said, 'It's time, he's done enough. He's sound, healthy, and happy. Let's not push the envelope.'”

The gelding retired with a record of 46-13-9-7 and earnings of over $2.1m.

“CZ was a special horse that took us to two great finishes in the Breeders' Cup and became one of the best claims of all times,” continued Miller, who also donated Stormy Liberal (Stormy Atlantic) to Old Friends in 2019. “He was a pleasure to be around and train. We chose Old Friends for his retirement because of the care and love these horses receive and the chance for the public to visit and enjoy this magnificent animal as much as we did.”

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Blowen Steps Down as Old Friends President

Michael Blowen has announced he is stepping down as president of Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement facility he founded in Georgetown, Kentucky in 2003. John Nicholson, who served as Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Park from 1997 to 2014, will take over as president and CEO, effective Feb. 1.

“I started looking a couple of years ago for someone to take over as president,” said Blowen. “The most important thing I was looking for was someone that really, really, put the horses first. It's not like they'd just be saying it, but that they really have to think about the horses first.

“Then maybe about six months ago,” Blowen continued, “I ran into John and we started talking, and I said to him, 'You know, I'm really looking for somebody to take over Old Friends because I've really taken it as far as I can take it. It started out with [wife] Diane [White] and I and a golf cart and feeding the horses; a little mom-and-pop operation on the corner. And, today it's like a multi-million dollar corporation, and it needs somebody that can handle that kind of operation. It needs a really good CEO that has managed a much bigger facility than we have, and the only way that we can improve is to get more space for more horses, which means more money, more donations, and an executive CEO that knows how to handle big business.”

In accepting the position, Nicholson said, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity of joining the Old Friends family to continue and enhance Michael Blowen's vision and values. Old Friends has been at the vanguard of the Thoroughbred Aftercare movement and I feel privileged to be a part of such an important cause.

“I have always had a deeply felt respect and appreciation for Michael's vision and tenacity,” Nicholson continued. “What he has accomplished is beyond remarkable. I have treasured our friendship over the years, especially having had a great collaborative relationship between Old Friends and the Kentucky Horse Park. He and I have always shared a spirit that the horse has given far more to us than we could ever give in return. Old Friends is making an important and vital contribution, not only to the racing industry, but most importantly to the lives of the horses who have given so much to us. I have been fortunate in my career to be a part of some meaningful endeavors, but Old Friends offers all of us who love the horse a unique opportunity to serve the animal who has served us so well.”

Since its beginnings in 2003 at Afton Farm in Georgetown, Old Friends has moved twice and has has grown to over 240 acres with close to 300 horses.

In addition to the main farm in Georgetown, Old Friends has two satellite farms, Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division, which opened in 2009 in Greenfield Center, New York; and Old Friends at Ashton Grove, a senior retirement community in Georgetown, Ky., a place that gives seniors a chance to interact with horses. There are also a few small annex farms near the main farm.

Blowen will remain a presence at the farm, greeting visitors and giving tours.

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