Michael Blowen, whose pioneering Old Friends Thoroughbred retirement organization celebrated its 20-year anniversary in 2023, has announced he will step down as president, with John Nicholson, former executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park, taking over as president and CEO.

Aheadbyacentury
Midnight Lute – Sunful, by Touch Gold
Bred in Ontario by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms ($51,121 purchase by John Ross, agent, at 2016 Canadian September yearling sale)

Aheadbyacentury, a stakes-winning juvenile who has continued to acquit himself well in his sophomore season, is from a sire line that has proven successful in Canada and from a prominent female family.

Touch Gold, the winner of the 1997 Belmont Stakes and resident of Adena Springs in Paris, Ky., has been pensioned from stud duty and now resides at Old Friends Equine Retirement in Georgetown, Ky.

Touch Gold, a 21-year-old son of Deputy Minister, arrived at Old Friends on Tuesday, following in the footsteps of Alphabet Soup, a fellow Adena Springs pensioner who was retired to the farm in late October.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Touch Gold, winner of a particularly memorable running of the Belmont Stakes in 1997, will have a contingent of Team Stronach supporters on hand Thursday when he is inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

The Mississsauga Convention Centre again will be the site of the annual induction ceremonies and fund-raising dinner for the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, a dual-breed facility that is located here at Woodbine.

Now that David Hofmans has proved he can win Breeders' Cup races of all shapes and sizes with horses such as Alphabet Soup, Adoration, and Desert Code, dash the Triple Crown hopes of a hungry nation in the Belmont Stakes with Touch Gold, and develop any number of fast young fillies and colts into major stakes winners, let's see if he can finally plug a hole in his resume and win a decent race on the grass with an older horse over a distance of ground.