TAKE2 Celebrates 10 Years

The Take2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program is celebrating its 10th year with a “Give 110 Percent!” campaign to raise $10,000 a month for 10 months. The ultimate goal is to reach $100,000 in donations by the end of the year. To help kick start the initiative, racehorse owner and entrepreneur Len Green has donated $10,000 to the campaign.

“I've been in the Thoroughbred industry for almost 50 years as the founder of both DJ Stable and The Green Group,” Green explained. “I have witnessed firsthand the extraordinary work by TAKE2 and their dedicated team. Their primary focus is to ensure that our horses get the best care once their racing careers are completed. I support TAKE2 and cannot thank them enough for all the work they do.”

TAKE2 Executive Director Andy Belfiore added, “We are extremely grateful to Len Green and his team for getting our campaign off the ground. Without the support of Thoroughbred lovers from the racing and sport horse worlds, we would not be able to continue our mission of promoting second careers for retired racehorses. Our horses give us 110% on the racetrack and in the show ring; we hope members of our TAKE2 family will give what they can, whether it is $10 or $10,000, to help us reach our goal.”

TAKE2 was created by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA), in partnership with the New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB). Any registered Thoroughbred can compete for thousands of dollars in prize money in TAKE2-affiliated Thoroughbred-only hunter and jumper divisions at more than 400 horse shows across the country. TAKE2 Thoroughbred League members are eligible for $10,000 in year-end High Score Awards, and for the $20,000 TAKE2 Hunter and Jumper Finals, to be held this year at the Kentucky National Horse Show Sept. 21-25.

In 10 years, TAKE2 has given out more than $1 million in awards and prize money supporting hunter/jumper competitions nationwide, with an estimated 2,000 horses competing in the TAKE2 divisions since its inception.

“Years ago, the Thoroughbred was king in the show ring, but the Warmbloods gained popularity,” said TAKE2 President and NYTHA Vice President Rick Schosberg. “Programs like TAKE2, RRP (Retired Racehorse Project) and TIP (Thoroughbred Incentive Program) demonstrate that Thoroughbreds have so much more to give after they leave the track–their competitive lives are far from over.

“I think our combined efforts are making a difference,” he added. “There is more demand for Thoroughbreds, more enthusiasm from the owners and riders and trainers in the hunter/jumper world, and that makes it easier to find homes for retired racehorses.”

The post TAKE2 Celebrates 10 Years appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

David Cassidy: A Triple Crown Life Event Held Aug. 16

In celebration of the life and memory of celebrity David Cassidy, the 5th Annual David Cassidy: A Triple Crown Life Event will be held at Putnum Place in Saratoga Springs, NY Aug. 16.

Hosted by the David Cassidy Memorial Legacy Group (DCMLG), the fundraiser aims to promote racing and to support Thoroughbred aftercare organizations, this year including the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, NYRA Cares, Take The Lead, Take2 and Columbia Greene Humane Society.

Debuting in 2021, the David Cassidy Remember Me Awards will again be included at this year's summer fundraiser. Featured among the award categories are Thoroughbred Aftercare Awards, Compassionate Trainers and Owners Awards, Heart of Saratoga Awards, Animal Welfare and Advocacy Awards, Animal Rescues and Shelters Awards, Amazing Horse Racing Awards and Thoroughbred Horse Racing Community Awards. The program will also include a concert.

The DCMLG previously announced a scholarship program, which includes four scholarships: The David Bruce Cassidy Thoroughbred Horse Racing Family Scholarship; David Bruce Cassidy Memorial Saratoga County Scholarship; The Dr. Jerry Bilinski Animal Sciences Scholarship; and The David Bruce Cassidy Theatre and The Arts Scholarship. The deadline for all scholarship applications is Apr. 12. For more information, email DavidCassidyIts4ever@gmail.com.

The post David Cassidy: A Triple Crown Life Event Held Aug. 16 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Nine Links, Beyond Comparison Named TAKE2 High-Score Champions For 2021

The TAKE2 High-Score Champions for 2021 are Patricia Hurter's Nine Links, trained by Joe Fargis, in the Jumper Division, and Jaime Gibson's Beyond Comparison, who repeated in the Hunter Division. The High-Score Reserve Champions are John Beebe's Gold Label (Jumper) and Kelly Fleming-Bentz's Purely Grateful. Beyond Comparison, an unraced 14-year-old mare by St. Alydar, dominated her division, winning by 774.5 points, but it came down to the wire in the TAKE2 Jumpers, with Nine Links finishing just 16 points ahead of Gold Label. New York-bred Nine Links was unplaced in seven starts at the racetrack, but has been a consistent performer in the show ring.

Hurter credited the success of “Niles” to riders Christina Severino and Claire Kelley, veterinarians Meredith Boulay and Joe Naranjo, and farriers Jason and Iaian Mulligan, with a special shout-out to “his Thoroughbred-loving trainer Joe Fargis.”

She added: “Niles has a huge team behind him. It takes a village to keep a Thoroughbred happy and healthy and fit and Niles has the best team ever. Everyone was super thrilled to hear the news! He has placed in the top 10 pretty consistently in the TAKE2 Thoroughbred League over the past few years, but this is the first time he's managed to come out on top.”

Hurter would encourage everyone to ride a Thoroughbred.

“They are lovely horses, so brave and fun,” she said. “And you can't beat their incredibly gorgeous fine coats and elegant look. There are so many lovely horses out there looking for a good home, it just seems like a great thing to do, and I love the way they are so sensitive and intelligent and forward. No kicking required!”

Click here for the Final Standings for the TAKE2 Thoroughbred League.

Maybe it's their shared youthful exuberance, but the compatibility of Thoroughbreds and Junior Riders is off the charts. Just ask this year's winners of the TAKE2 High-Score Junior Rider Awards, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA). Alyssa Paulette partnered with Check the Label to win the TAKE2 Junior Rider Award in the Hunter Division, and SeaSea Dance captured the Jumper Division with Dandelion Dust.

This is the second TAKE2 Junior Rider Award for Paulette, who earned the honor with Always Drama in the Jumper Division two years ago. “Warmbloods are fun, but I still prefer the sports car ride of a Thoroughbred,” she said.

Dance, who also finished fourth in the Hunter Division of the TAKE2 Junior Rider standings on Dandelion Dust this year, has nothing but praise for the Thoroughbred.

“I've had the opportunity to show and train so many Thoroughbreds in my junior years, and I give these horses credit to helping me become the rider I am today,” she said. “I think every kid should work with this breed for at least one chapter in their journey.

“When you step into the ring with 'Dandy,' you feel her change, she truly has a competitive edge,” she added. “The more you challenge her, the better she gets. She's quick, brave, and has all the heart for this sport. I don't doubt for a minute that that's the Thoroughbred in her; they just have this drive in them that really brings so much to the ring.”

The TAKE2 Junior Rider Award, presented by TCA, was created to recognize the juniors competing on Thoroughbreds in nationwide TAKE2-affiliated Hunter and Jumper classes, and to encourage young horsemen and horsewomen to consider the Thoroughbred when looking for their next sport horse. The award is just one example of the many ways TCA supports the racing industry and retired racehorses.

“TCA is thrilled to once again support the TAKE2 program by sponsoring the Junior Rider Award,” said Erin Crady executive director of TCA. “TCA believes strongly in supporting not only the organizations that are rehabbing, retraining, and rehoming Thoroughbreds, but also organizations like TAKE2 that are working to create a demand in the marketplace for off-track Thoroughbreds. We congratulate Alyssa and SeaSea on their accomplishments this year and applaud their support of Thoroughbreds in the Hunter/Jumper rings.”

TAKE2 Executive Director Andy Belfiore said, “We're really proud to partner with Thoroughbred Charities of America to put the spotlight on the Junior Riders, who prove day in and day out that a Thoroughbred can be the perfect horse for riders of all ages. TCA has been a staunch supporter of TAKE2 for many years, and is helping us to fulfill our mission of ensuring happy and healthy lives for retired racehorses.”

The post Nine Links, Beyond Comparison Named TAKE2 High-Score Champions For 2021 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Blue-Blooded Irbywood, Blue Collar Mo Bandit Earn 2021 TAKE2 Jet Run Awards

Irbywood was a blue-blooded colt who sold for $625,000 as a 2-year-old and broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park. Mo Bandit never hit the board while making his five career starts at Penn National. What do the two horses have in common? They were both retired through accredited aftercare organizations and found success in second careers in the show ring. They are also both winners of the 2021 TAKE2 Jet Run Award.

Irbywood was retired through the New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program, while Mo Bandit retired through After the Races.

The TAKE2 Jet Run Award was created in 2016 to recognize the importance of the organizations that transition racehorses to second careers. The Award, named for the Show Jumping Hall of Fame inductee, honors the TAKE2 Thoroughbred League High-Point Hunter and Jumper that graduated from an aftercare program accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance or affiliated with the Thoroughbred Charities of America.

Jet Run Champion Jumper Irbywood was raced by Stonestreet Stable. He was retired after undergoing surgery for a condylar fracture, and given ample time to recover before being sent to New Vocations, the country's oldest and largest racehorse adoption program. New Vocations, established in 1992, has facilities in Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and retrains and rehomes approximately 500 retired Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses every year.

Anna Ford, New Vocations' Thoroughbred Program Director, remembers the bay's first days at their facility. “He came into our program ready to start transitional training, as Stonestreet has provided all the rehabilitation for him,” she said. “He was a very stout yet elegant gelding who had great confidence and was full of class. We didn't have to work with him much to realize he was an athletic and talented gelding. He was only with us for a month.”

Aftercare organizations provide the necessary rehabilitation for every horse, and give each one the foundation needed to excel in a second career. But their most important role might be placing the horses with the perfect adopter. Irbywood was adopted by Michael and Sharon Kvistad of Indiana. How did New Vocations know this was the right fit?

“Mike and Sharon were past adopters and have always done an amazing job helping each horse reach its full potential,” Ford said. “They had contacted us looking for their next project. Once we started working with Irbywood it became apparent that he would be a good match for them.”

The Kvistads brought Irbywood home in October of 2014.

“We have adopted a number of horses from New Vocations since we moved to Indiana in 2002,” Michael Kvistad said. “Prior to that we bred, raised, and trained Thoroughbreds for the hunter ring. Thoroughbreds have been our breed of preference since the 1980s. Sharon competed for years in the hunter ring as an amateur.

“We discovered New Vocations in the early 2000s as we transitioned from the breeding aspect of the industry,” he continued. “Our first horse from New Vocations was a horse by the name of Sox and the City, who went on to become a zone champion as a hunter. We currently have Irbywood and another New Vocations adoptee, Italian Syndicate, in our barn.”

Kvistad was quick to credit a team of people for Irbywood's achievements in the show ring.

“We are blessed to have a great primary vet in Janssen Vet Clinic; our farrier, Dion O'Brien; our trainer, Michael Burnett; and amateur rider Taylor Embs, who allow us to remain involved in a sport which has been a part of our lives since we were both much younger than we are today,” he said.

He was also enthusiastic in his praise for New Vocations.

“New Vocations is important to the equine industry, not just racing, because they serve as a qualified gateway linking the owners, professionals, and amateurs in various equine sports with the racing industry,” Kvistad said. “Most Thoroughbreds in the country are bred for the racing industry. But the Thoroughbreds are competing in the jumper, hunter, eventing, western, dressage, and multiple other disciplines in equine sport beyond racing. The equine industry needs organizations like New Vocations to link the various involvements for Thoroughbreds in a qualified and professional manner.”

[Story Continues Below]

Mo Bandit, who finished in the top 10 in the Hunter Division of the TAKE2 Thoroughbred League, was adopted by owner Melissa Rega from After the Races, a Thoroughbred rehabilitation and rehoming center located in Elkton, Maryland. The organization was launched in 2010.

Mo Bandit came to After the Races following his final race in 2014.

“Penn National has a track-based retirement program called New Start for Horses, but New Start doesn't typically house horses themselves, but rather connect horses at the track directly with partners like After the Races so that they can come to us for any needed rehabilitation, retraining, and eventual adoption,” explained Bonnie McRae, the founder and executive director of After the Races.

According to McRae, Mo Bandit's transition to a second career was relatively seamless. “Mobie was always a sweetheart,” she said. “He was a leggy, gangly youngster in our barn, but always easy to work with. He was very kind and uncomplicated. He was the type of Thoroughbred we would now call amateur-friendly.”

Mo Bandit did prove a bit of a challenge when it came down to finding him a new home, as he had filling in a hock that frightened off some would-be adopters.

“We did radiographs and ultrasounds and our vet confirmed it was a blemish, just a pocket of harmless fluid, but I remember being frustrated watching so many people he'd do well with overlook him,” McCrae said. “That was until Melissa came along. She breezed through our application process as she had the right background and good help to bring along a young, green Thoroughbred.

“As he shipped off to Kentucky, I remember hoping he would go on to do big things after he was passed over here so many times,” she added. “We just knew he would be one of the good ones. I am so grateful he went to Melissa as he has truly thrived in her care. Some might say he ended up exactly where he was meant to be.”

Rega was just getting back into riding after a 20-year hiatus when she connected with Mo Bandit. She grew up around horses, first in upstate New York, and later competing on hunters in Virginia. She retired from the saddle after a spill in 1995, but had the chance to foxhunt in England late in 2014, and started looking for a horse when she got home to the States.

“I now live in Kentucky and was again surrounded by Thoroughbreds, so it seemed natural to search out the perfect Thoroughbred mount,” she said.

But joining the TAKE2 Thoroughbred League had not been in the original plan.

“Initially, I wanted a horse that would be safe to hack around at home and take some jumping lessons,” Rega admitted. “However, my competitive side took over when I was made aware of the TAKE2 Thoroughbred classes being offered at the shows, and I refocused my efforts to get Mobie in show ring.”

Rega believes that TAKE2 is helping to bring the Thoroughbred back to the show ring and opening up opportunities for retired racehorses. “I have watched the program grow, and the 2021 TAKE2 Finals showed that there are some beautiful and talented Thoroughbred Hunters that are not only competitive amongst Thoroughbreds, but also in the Warmblood-dominant classes,” she said.

Added McRae, “TAKE2 does a wonderful job promoting Thoroughbreds as show horses and bringing them back into the national spotlight. Having breed-based incentives for competitors helps normalize the consideration of a Thoroughbred for your next hunter or jumper and really helps bolster the market for retiring Thoroughbreds. Just look how far a horse like Mobie has gone, from being outrun in all of his five races, to transitioning from the track in a responsible aftercare program, to being adopted by Melissa and clearly brought up with such care and talent to reach the upper levels of his new sport. His story is one that people need to read.”

The post Blue-Blooded Irbywood, Blue Collar Mo Bandit Earn 2021 TAKE2 Jet Run Awards appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights