I’m curious as an OTTB owner if the breeders or previous owners ever wonder or would like to know to where their one-time horses end up.
My horse was bred by Janis Whitham and I’ve been tempted to contact her (not really sure how though!) and let her know where he is and that he’s happy enjoying a new life, but I wasn’t sure if the big-time breeder/owners even really cared??
I would LOVE to hear from anyone about any of the babies I have bred and sold. I have kept track of most of them - and actually just bought one back - I posted about it on off course - most breeders are pleased to hear about the horse’s current job. Trainers might be able to provide some info too - depending on how “big” they are and how many horses they deal with. I know that Michael Dickinson was very pleased to hear about a horse that a COTH-er had rescued and offered any help possible to get him into a good home. I’d call or write - the worst you can hear is, “So what” - and it might really make someone’s day.
Cool idea. Anyone know how to get in touch with Luann Baker (Fla). I googled her but didn’t come up with much.
There are Breeder/Owners do care!
I had one OTTB for 28 years, just lost him last January. The Veterinarian who had helped me obtain that horse referred me to another breeder/owner who is a really wonderful caring person. She has entrusted me with three of her OTTB’s. She knows that they have a great home with me for life. I also board two of her retired broodmares. We have had a great friendship for 12 years!
Originally posted by summerly:
To SabinoPonyLover
I wouldn’t dismiss Stronach that fast…At his beautiful training facility in Ontario he has just completed a show barn, totally gorgeous, complete with indoor and lounge, where he has many of his retired horses and has employed a trainer and such to retrain his Adena horses for a future in showing and life after the track…
And he also sends horses to LongRun, which is an organization that places OTTBs into new careers.
I found out that the breeder of my horse, Meryl Ann Tanz, was married to David Cassidy (for less than a year)! Funny
Anyone know her info? Nothing came up for Tanz in KY in a whitepages.com search.
I work for several big time breeders who love to know where their babies end up. They often try to help place ones they find out are in trouble and one even has a gallery in the farm office of pictures of some of theirs in their ‘second life’.<s>
Reading this string is inspiring me to contact the breeder(s) of my OTTB - but I’m not sure who I should contact now…he was bred by William Naify (his breeder is officially 505 Farms) and I know they had a dispersal sale a few years back after Naify’s death. Does anyone know if there’s a family member of his or an entity that might still have info on my guy or be interested?
He’s a 1996 colt by Bertrando, a Cal bred, and was foaled in CA. (Incidentally, I have a website up for him:Silent Thunder’s Homepage)
I contacted Lane’s End about the OTTB that I just got, Special Squall.
They were so kind! They sent me all the info they had on him, and some Lane’s End bling too!
I often wonder about this myself. My beloved OTTB’s breeder was Tom Gentry of Kentucky. I’d give a front tooth for a foal picture of my guy - what do you think the odds would be? (Of course, would need Tom Gentry’s address, first)
I found the info for the breeder of a mare I used to own. She was very hapy to hear the mare was well. She sent pics of her as a weanling and even offered to sell me her full brother. She’s been in some contact with me over the years and was so nice to talk to.
My current gelding was bred by a big time breeding farm in KY. I contacted them about him. By email, just to let them know he was happy and healthy. Although the staff didn’t know of him (he’s older) they appreciated the info and thanked me for letting them know the horse was okay.
I also found the breeder of my current racehorse. They was extrememly excited to hear how he was doing. They had never had anyone contact them before to let them know how their babies were doing. Whenever he’d run I would get an email from them. I sent a tape of all his wins to them as well. The lady cried she was so happy.
So, I too, think it’s worth it to just try. I do a lot of internet searching to find breeders. One thing will put me on a path to another thing that helps me loacte contact info.
Do it! What do you have to lose!
VCT, if you get a copy of his pedigree through www.equineline.com, it will have the breeder’s name and the state where the horse was foaled. This doesn’t always mean the breeder lives in that state (especially if it’s KY) but it’s a start. Then you can Google the name or use a tracing service (I use www.ameridex.com). Or you can post the name here and frequently people will be able to steer you in the right direction. Sometimes if I’ve been really stuck, I’ve pulled the listing of foals out of the same mare. Then I can see if the mare has always been bred to stallions at a certain farm, which usually means the mare is boarded there year-round and the farm managers can give me contact information.
Also, if you get a race record through Equine Line, it will tell you the last recorded trainer and owner.
If you want to PT me the breeder’s name, I can help you look for contact information.
With a big opearion (Adena Springs etc) the breeder listed may never have seen the horse but often the staff or people involved in handling/raising the babies WOULD be interested.
I met a girl a few years ago who had broken/trained babies at a farm in So Carolina. It turned out that she’s broken several babies that other firends of mine had handled in NY. I put them all in touch and they all had a great time talking/emailing about “their” racehorses, even though none of these folks OWNED any of them. In the backstretch world handlers often refer to their charges as “my filly” or “my little brown horse.”
From what I know of her (I’ve never met her) Janis Whitham would probably love to hear that you have “her” horse. Many breeders are just concerned that you want to dump a horse on them. My guess is that most breeders would be pleased to know that your riding/show horse was once theirs.
I can tellyouhat Lazy Lane farms inUppervile, VA. does definitely wantto know. 
I believe that Mrs. Whitham lives in California but breeds in both Ky and Cali. I’ll never forget the sight of her standing in the winners circle at Blemont after the BC Distaff win by Bayakoa. She was bawling, crying because Bayakoa’s win came after rival Go For Wand crashed to the track with multiple fractures.
I think she’s involved with the “Kids to the Cup” program as well.
Linny that is VERY cool. One day I would love to see Highcliff Farm and meet Suzie and see Thunder Regent - he was definitely on a downhill spiral. I’m glad he’s living the high life now. Exceller Fund and the other TB placements really do a super job.
How’s this for an owner response: I contacted the owner about a TB I bought at Unadilla. They were mortified that I had him. They were led to believe that when the horse blew his tendon he had been “donated” to Cornell University. Guess that opened up a huge can of worms for the trainer! There was this beautiful boy, still with racing plates on, standing in the kill pen at Unadilla.
I would go ahead and attempt to make contact… what have you got to lose? If you get no reply or a negative reply then just leave it be. If you get a positive reply, you could learn more about your horse’s past and possibly make a breeder very happy.
I know I am always glad to hear news of the horses who were bred or owned by our stables in the past And there are some I wonder about and will probably never know.
Thanks for the impetus–I think I’ll contact my OTTBs breeder just for fun.
Sarabeth, I know Olin (sp) Gentry lives on Harp-Innis. Not a bad guy, but I don’t think he’d be too interested. I doubt the Gentrys would have foal pictures, but you never know. Are they still part of Gaines-Gentry? I guess I need to do some research–I was away too long and haven’t been back long enough
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