National Museum of Racing Offers Saratoga Farm Tours

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is partnering with seven Saratoga County farms to host 90-minute tours of each Thoroughbred farm from April through October. The farm tour series kicks off Apr. 27 at  McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds and includes tours of Old Tavern Farm May 18 and June 7. A tour of Song Hill Thoroughbreds will be held June 15; Old Friends at Cabin Creek on July 20; North Country Horses on Aug. 17; Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga on Sept. 21; and Sugar Plum Farm on Oct. 20.

Each tour is $30 for museum members and $40 for non-members. Click here for more information.

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NY Aftercare Day at Saratoga Aug. 17

The New York Racing Association, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and New York Thoroughbred Breeders will host the third annual New York Thoroughbred Aftercare Day Aug. 17 at Saratoga Race Course.

The featured race on Thursday's card will be the $125,000 Rick Violette, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for New York-bred sophomores named for the late trainer and NYTHA President who spearheaded the creation of the TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program and TAKE THE LEAD Retirement Program.

Representatives from Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited organizations will be on-site to educate both racing fans and the general public about the importance of responsible aftercare efforts, including Akindale Thoroughbred Rescue, ACTT Naturally, Equine Advocates, Lollipop Farm, Lucky Orphans, New Vocations, Old Friends at Cabin Creek, ReRun, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, and Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga.

New York Thoroughbred Aftercare Day will begin with an on-track demonstration of retired racehorses showcasing the skills learned in their second careers. New Vocations will be the first to demonstrate the Thoroughbred's athleticism with a jumping display prior to the day's races, and ReRun will follow after the second race with flatwork/dressage exhibition.

The Horse Sense stall, located just outside of the Saratoga grandstand, will feature retired racehorses from Old Friends at Cabin Creek between 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and from the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation between 1:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.

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Zippy Chippy Dead at 31

Edited Press Release

Zippy Chippy, horse racing's most loveable loser, has died.

A retiree at Old Friends at Cabin Creek in Greenfield Center, NY., a satellite of Kentucky's Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement, the son of Compliance was 31.

Campaigned by owner-trainer Felix Montserrate–who acquired the horse in 1995 by trading a Ford Truck–Zippy is known more for losing races than winning them. In 100 starts, he never crossed the finish line first. But he earned fame in other ways–for being cantankerous and for putting on carnival exhibitions where he once raced against a baseball player.

In 2000, People Magazine even voted Zippy Chippy one of the year's “Most Intriguing Characters.”

Banned from numerous track due to such antics as refusing to break from the gate, Zippy finally retired from racing in 2004 and had a brief second career as an outrider's pony at his home track, Finger Lakes in New York.

In April 2010, the aging campaigner found a home at Old Friends at Cabin Creek. Under the guidance of Cabin Creek owner and manager JoAnn Pepper, Zippy finally found solace with a paddock mate, Red Down South, a chestnut New York-bred gelding.

In recent years, they were the stars of Cabin Creek.

“Zippy was our main character here, and he lived his life his way,” said Cabin Creek's Pepper. “He was so content, and would not do anything he wasn't in the mood for. He taught me so much about life, and I'll miss him forever.”

“Zippy found his greatest success as a retiree,” said Old Friends founder and President Michael Blowen. “Joann and all of the volunteers at Cabin Creek adored him, and he attracted hundreds of fans to the farm each year. He was finally a star. Our thanks to Joann and Mark Pepper and everyone at Cabin Creek for the wonderful care they gave Zippy,” Blowen continued. “I know he will be deeply missed by all.”

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Saratoga Mini-Golf Challenge Leads To A Bonanza For Backstretch Charities

When NYRA TV analysts Andy Serling and Anthony Stabile kiddingly challenged one another to a mini-golf game during the Sunday, July 18 broadcast of Talking Horses at Saratoga Race Course, neither could ever have dreamed the outcome.

The joke quickly gained traction after Serling received a text from Kirk Wycoff of Three Diamonds Farm. “Make it a foursome – two-on-two. Get the losing team to donate $5,000 to New York-based backstretch charities,” Wycoff suggested.

And with that, the on-air challenge became a reality.

More texts and many more donations proceeded to pour in, including $5,000 from thoroughbred owner Louis Lazzinnaro of Nové Italian Restaurant in Wilton, N.Y., who encouraged some friends to give as well. And by the time the mini-golf game ended on Monday, Aug. 2, it had raised $100,000 for New York-based backstretch organizations.

“It's a testament to the generosity of people in horse racing,” said Serling, half of the Serling/Wycoff mini-golf team which took on Stabile and Lazzinnaro amidst the waterfalls and rotating windmill hazards at Goony Golf in Lake George, N.Y. “And it shows what can happen when a lot of people gather and are ready to have some fun, which affords the opportunity to create real benefit. That's one of the beauties of Saratoga, which lends itself very well to that.”

Sharing the donations will be another foursome – the Saratoga-based aftercare organizations Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Old Friends at Cabin Creek; as well as the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America, New York Division, and the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA), which serve backstretch communities in New York.

“The horse racing family is the greatest family in the world,” said Stabile. “While we're competing for the same dollars, we're still a family and when the chips are down, we're there to lift each other up. We're fortunate enough to be able to make our living at the track, so giving a little back to the people and to the horses who keep it going is the least we can do.”

Serling said the unique concept grew thanks to the generosity of Wycoff, Lazzinnaro and a lot of like-minded racing enthusiasts.

“It shows the commitment of people involved in horse racing and the importance of doing something for the workers on the backstretch and the horses, all of whom give so much to us,” he said. “Who would ever have figured that this is where a game of mini-golf would lead?”

Ah yes, the game.

“Kirk Wycoff is one of the greatest mini-golfers I've ever seen,” said Stabile.

Fortified by Wycoff's three holes-in-one, the Serling/Wycoff team defeated Stabile and Lazzinnaro, otherwise known as “Team Nové,” by 15 strokes.

“In this case, it's just fine to be on the short end,” said Stabile. “There's no such thing as a donation that's too small. But raising $100,000 for these great charities? I could never have predicted that – and it comes at an amazing time.”

Stabile refers specifically to the BCCA, where he serves as a member of the advisory board.

“There's never a bad time to donate,” he said. “But given that the BCCA has just opened its Saratoga child care center to go along with the one they operate at Belmont Park, it's great timing.”

Lazzinnaro agreed. “All are superstar organizations,” he said of the donation's recipients. “The people who work there have dedicated their lives to what they do. That's why it's great this worked out.”

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