GEORGETOWN, KY—Old Friends, the landmark Thoroughbred Retirement Facility based in the heart of Kentucky bluegrass country, will be featured in a segment on the CBS Evening News With Katie Couric on Thursday June 7th—just two days before the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown. This will be the first news piece about Old Friends to appear in a national broadcast.
In an attempt to draw nationwide attention to the facility’s mission, an Old Friends volunteer contacted CBS about featuring the farm on its news show. CBS News correspondent Richard Schlesinger and his producer, Chloe Arensberg, visited the 52-acre Georgetown facility last week to create the segment. They spent several hours with the farm’s 23 retired racehorses, including Eclipse-Winning Turf Champion Sunshine Forever, the first stallion ever to be returned to the United States after standing stud in Japan, eight-time stakes winner Ruhlmann, hard-knocker Swan’s Way, West Coast star Special Ring, and Popcorn Deelites, a gelding that appeared in the Oscar-nominated film Seabiscuit. “Mr. Schlesinger had a great rapport with the horses and I’m sure that will come out in the piece,” said Old Friends founder and President Michael Blowen, a former Boston Globe film critic who initially started the organization to bring back to the United States stallions that were sold to stud duty overseas. “One of my theories has always been that famous racehorses are tremendous tourist attractions,” adds Blowen. “In retirement, they can generate a lot of income that could benefit less-fortunate horses.”
The segment will be part of the June 7 CBS Evening News With Katie Couric broadcast. Please check your local listings.
Old Friends is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing a safe and dignified retirement to former racehorses. Founded in 2002, the facility is now based on its own 52-acre farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, which is open to the public daily by appointment. (502-863-1775). Old Friends has been featured in Louisville’s Courier-Journal, the Lexington Herald-Leader, The Thoroughbred Times, The Blood-Horse, and in Southern Living and Keeneland magazines, among many other publications. For more information contact the farm or visit their website at www.oldfriendsequine.org
Flashpoint Media Services, based in Harrodsburg, KY, is a comprehensive public relations firm specializing in the equestrian sports. For additional information contact Robbi Meisel, 859-734 3713, [email protected] or Cynthia Grisolia, 347-423 7322, [email protected].
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Photo Credit: Swan’s Way ©Flashpoint Photography
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