by Jonathan Horowitz|01.30.202301.30.2023|1:10pm1:27pm Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: Grand Lily’s Retirement Plans Pay Off For Her And Her Racing Connections Racehorse trainers will be part of many decisions in their horses’ careers. Dirt or turf. Sprint or route. Put on blinkers or take them off. Trainer Linda Loftin was part of the two biggest decisions someone in racing can make for a horse’s welfare when it comes to Grand Lily. — Number one: when to […]
by Jonathan Horowitz|12.29.2022|10:45am Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: Finding New Messages For Helping Retired Racehorses If there’s one thing that’s predictable when it comes to horses, it’s that they’re unpredictable. And, that’s a big part of their intrigue and attraction. In 2022, a year when crowds returned to racetracks at full capacity, an 80-1 longshot won the Kentucky Derby and a once-in-a-generation star emerged that was worthy enough to be […]
by Jonathan Horowitz|11.29.202211.29.2022|1:53pm1:55pm Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: Prince Of New York Shows New Potential For Marketing Thoroughbred Stallions When Prince of New York arrived at Morning Line Equestrian in Paris, Ky., in the spring of 2021, his new owners needed to come up with a barn name. Chris and Celia Bennings’ first idea was “Pony,” the first letter of each word in the horse’s name. “We thought that would be cute, but then […]
by Jonathan Horowitz|10.27.202210.28.2022|10:07am11:14am Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: A Partnership Worthy Of A (Godolphin) Blue Ribbon There are many decisions to be made in the life of a racehorse, with no guarantee that they will work out. When 15-year-old Isabel Wells calmly walked 5-year-old chestnut gelding Hieronymus over to the final obstacle of the competitive trail course during the finale of the 2022 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover and raised a […]
by Jonathan Horowitz|09.29.2022|11:07am Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: OTTBs Inspired Fawcett To Jump Into Racehorse Ownership The Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover has led more people to find their next sporthorse at the racetrack, providing more homes and new careers for OTTBs. It also goes the other way, and the off-track Thoroughbreds are inspiring new people to head to the racetrack. Like Samantha Fawcett, a lifelong equestrian from Ontario, Canada, who […]
by Jonathan Horowitz|09.14.2022|4:17pm Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: Lessons Learned From AA Two Face…And Mr. Ed I began this column in January 2020 because my goal was to go from announcing horses to riding them. (See “Horowitz’s Unlikely Journey from Broadcasting to Riding Horses”) Specifically, it was to compete with an off-track Thoroughbred at the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover. Unfortunately, I did not get to compete in the 2020 Thoroughbred […]
by Jonathan Horowitz|08.13.2022|1:02pm Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: Meet The Colorado OTTBs Bringing New People To Horse Racing Sunday, July 24, 2022, will go down as an historic day for Bally’s Arapahoe Park — and not just for what took place at the racetrack in Aurora, Colo. On the track, Collusionist won his tenth career stakes race at Bally’s Arapahoe Park in the six-furlong Arapahoe Park Sprint. The 6-year-old dark bay Colorado-bred gelding […]
by Jonathan Horowitz|07.05.2022|11:55am Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: For Many Ex-Racehorses, The Makeover Is Just The First Step Amy Bowers knew she found something special when she first saw Del Mar Belle. The bay Thoroughbred filly had raced seven times as a 3-year-old in 2018, including a win in a maiden race at Bally’s Arapahoe Park, followed by an attempt against the top horses of her age in Colorado in the Encantadora Stakes. […]
by Jonathan Horowitz|06.08.202206.09.2022|4:15pm2:10am Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: Arabian Racehorse Completes Two Eventing Shows, Now Back To The Track I’ve been a sports fan for as long as I can remember. I didn’t play sports in high school or college, but at the age of 37, I did finally get the chance to take on some of the best riders in the Rocky Mountain region in the equestrian sport of eventing because of the […]
by Jonathan Horowitz|04.28.2022|4:52pm Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: The Value Of Cross-Training For Racehorses “Is that an Arabian?” I took that question as a compliment when asked it at the Spring Gulch Combined Test in Highlands Ranch, Colo., on April 23. That’s the first horse show I competed at with the precocious 4-year-old grey Arabian racehorse AA Two Face. The reason that question was a compliment was because the […]