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Jersey Boy and Jennifer Alfano Steal the Show in the Sanctuary High Performance Working Hunters

Wellington, FL - March 31, 2025 - It is the last Thursday of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, and with it came numerous championships awarded in the various Green Hunter divisions, Read more

Chris Kappler and VDL Dundee Triumph in $2,500 Charles Owen 1.35m Jumpers

Wellington, FL - March 31, 2025 -Chris Kappler and VDL Dundee earned a win in the $2,500 Charles Owen 1.35m Jumpers this morning during the twelfth and final week of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. Read more

Update Regarding USEF Search for Eventing Chef d’Equipe/Technical Advisor

Lexington, KY - Following their Committee Meeting on March 29, the Eligible Eventing Athletes Committee decided that they would like to have another opportunity to interview the two short-listed candidates for the position of U.S. Eventing Chef d’Equipe/Technical Advisor, Read more

Washington International Horse Show Welcomes Bridget Love Meehan as Executive Director

Jump Canada Young Horse Series Announces 2011 Schedule

Ottawa, Ontario – The competition schedule for the 2011 Jump Canada Young Horse Series has been announced. Read more

Laura Chapot and Umberto Rush to $8,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Jumper Victory

Wellington, FL - March 30, 2025 - In the closing week of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, the $8,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Jumpers were the first class in the International Arena. Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ, rode Umberto, owned by Mary Chapot, to victory. Read more

Tired of the Status Quo? Check Out the New Atlanta Summer Classics

Conyers, GA-March 30, 2011- Spring has sprung and Summer is just around the corner! The Classic Company has two weeks of horse showing not to be missed, with increased prize money, new classes and an array of special events. “We’ve taken many of our exhibitors’ suggestions and made them into reality for the Summer Classics. I believe they’ll be as excited as we are with the results.” Bob Bell of Classic Company said. Read more

Canadian Eventers Top the Leaderboard at Red Hills International Horse Trials

Ottawa, ON—Canadian Eventing Team members Selena O’Hanlon and Jessica Phoenix were the highest placed Canadian riders at the CIC Red Hills International Horse Trials Read more

2008 Farnam/Platform USEF Horse of the Year Retired at Live Oak International

Chester Weber’s classy veteran Dutch Warmblood Jamaica, was honored in a retirement ceremony on Sunday at the Live Oak International CAI. Read more

Stakes Winner Ball Four and Baseball Great Jim Bouton to Appear at Keeneland

GEORGETOWN, KY–MARCH 29, 2011– Ball Four, the multiple graded-stakes-winning son of Grand Slam, has been retired to Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement center in Georgetown, KY. He was donated to the facility by owner Bruce Golden and trainer David Jacobson, and was shipped to Kentucky on March 12.

To celebrate his arrival, the 10-year-old bay gelding will make an appearance at Keeneland racecourse in Lexington on Saturday, April 16, Blue Grass Stakes Day, as part of the track’s “Breakfast with the Works” program.

Joining Ball Four with be special guest Jim Bouton, former New York Yankee pitcher and author of the acclaimed baseball diary Ball Four.

Fans attending the event can meet both retired athletes and purchase autographed copies of Ball Four. A portion of the proceeds will go to Old Friends.

The event will take place in the Keeneland paddock area beginning at 8:45 am.

“We’re honored to have two great athletes visiting Old Friends and Keeneland,” said Old Friends founder, Michael Blowen. “Jim Bouton was kind enough to come and meet his equine equivalent, and we’re hoping fans will come out and say hello to Ball Four and to the author of Ball Four.”

“I knew there was a horse out there named Ball Four, but beyond that I didn’t have more detail,” says Bouton. “A lot of people assumed I owned the horse,” he laughs. Bouton, who once covered behind-the-scenes racing stories at Belmont Park when he was a TV sportscaster in New York, adds that he is “delighted to see that people wanted to treat this horse well and to do the right thing by him. I am happy that there are people who love horses enough, especially older horses, and want to care for them,” he says. “I am very excited to be a part of this.”

As part of his visit to the bluegrass, Bouton will also throw out the first pitch at the Lexington Legend’s game on April 14. Ball Four’s victory in the Fayette Stakes at Keeneland in 2008 will be shown on the ballpark’s big screen.

About the Racehorse Ball Four

Bred in Kentucky by B. D. Gibbs Farm and Grand Slam Farm, Ball Four raced for seven seasons, netting nine wins from 31 starts and total career earnings of $730,470.

He broke his maiden as a 3-year-old at Belmont Park in 2004, where he set a track record for 7½-furlongs. His other notable victories include back-to-back wins in the GR2 Kentucky Cup Classic, and an upset win in the $150,000 GR3 Fayette Stakes.

In 2009, the 8-year-old Ball Four broke the five-race win streak of Rail Trip by winning the GR2 Mervyn LeRoy H.

But in the last year, the hard-knocking gelding had gone from stakes winner to $4,000 claimer. He was scheduled to run March 4 at Penn National but was scratched by Golden and Jacobson, who opted instead to donate the former racing star to Old Friends.

Blowen noted that many supporters came together to help retire the stakes-winning Thoroughbred. “Our many friends on Facebook, the people at Keeneland, and owner Maggie Moss all played a significant role in getting Ball Four here with us,” added Blowen.“ As did our vet, Dr. Doug Byars, and Salle Vans, who shipped Ball Four here free of charge. This wonderful team all worked together to raise his social security fund.”

About the author of Ball Four

Jim Bouton started his major league career in 1962 with the Yankees, where his tenacity earned him the nickname “Bulldog.” In 1963 he won 21 games and became a member of the all-star team. He later played for the Houston Astros and the Seattle Pilots before penning his diary Ball Four, a revealing and humorous account of his years on the diamond. He has subsequently worked as a TV sportscaster, an actor (starring in a sitcom based on his book), inventor, and businessman.

His most recent book, Foul Ball (2003), is a non-fiction account of his attempt to save Wahconah Park, a historic minor-league baseball stadium in Massachusetts. He is a frequent guest on radio and television.

About Old Friends

Old Friends is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that cares for more than 100 retired racehorses. It’s Dream Chase Farm, located in Georgetown, KY, is open to tourists daily by appointment. Old Friends also has a satellite facility in Greenfield Center, New York, Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division, which is also open to visitors. For more information on tours, reservations at the Old Friends B&B, or to make a donation, contact the main farm at (502) 863-1775 or see their website at www.oldfriendsequine.org.

 

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