Blowen steps down as CEO and president of Old Friends

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.

While Old Friends founder Blowen will not be running the Georgetown, Ky., flagship farm, on which he resides, on a daily basis anymore, he will continue in roles greeting visitors, giving tours, and various other activities. In the announcement issued Wednesday, Blowen said he had begun looking for someone to take over as president.

“The most important thing I was looking for was someone that really, really, put the horses first,” Blowen said. “It's not like they’d just be saying it, but that they really have to think about the horses first. Then maybe about six months ago, I ran into John and we started talking, and I said to him, ‘You know, I'm really looking for somebody to take over Old Friends because I've really taken it as far as I can take it. It started out with [wife] Diane and I and a golf cart and feeding the horses; a little mom and pop operation on the corner. And, today it's like a multi-million dollar corporation, and it needs somebody that can handle that kind of operation. It needs a really good CEO that has managed a much bigger facility than we have, and the only way that we can improve is to get more space for more horses, which means more money, more donations, and an executive CEO that knows how to handle big business.’

“So when John said he would like to take the position, I just thought this was the greatest thing,” Blowen added. “I’ve known John for decades, and what he did over at the Kentucky Horse Park was just phenomenal. He did a wonderful job over there.”

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Nicholson, who served as executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park from 1997 to 2014, will officially assume his new role on Feb. 1. He will be responsible for the leadership of the organization which is based out of the flagship Georgetown, Ky., facility that has grown to over 240 acres with close to 300 horses. Old Friends also has two satellite farms. Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division opened in 2009 in Greenfield Center, N.Y., a short drive from Saratoga Race Course. Old Friends at Ashton Grove, a senior retirement community in Georgetown, Ky., gives seniors a chance to interact with horses. There are also a few small annex farms near the main farm.

Nicholson’s achievements during his tenure at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington included working to attract the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games to the Park, and leading the largest expansions in the history of the Park. During that time, the Kentucky Horse Park received an Eclipse Award in 2008, and the USEF's Sallie Busch Wheeler Trophy, which honors distinguished service in equestrian sports.

After leaving his position at the Kentucky Horse Park, Nicholson accepted a position as the CEO of the Virginia Horse Center from 2015 to 2021. Nicholson also served as chairman of the board of directors of Brooke USA, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the health, welfare, and productivity of working horses, donkeys, and mules.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity of joining the Old Friends family to continue and enhance Michael Blowen’s vision and values,” Nicholson said in the release. “Old Friends has been at the vanguard of the Thoroughbred aftercare movement, and I feel privileged to be a part of such an important cause.

“I have always had a deeply felt respect and appreciation for Michael’s vision and tenacity,” Nicholson continued. “What he has accomplished is beyond remarkable. I have treasured our friendship over the years, especially having had a great collaborative relationship between Old Friends and the Kentucky Horse Park. He and I have always shared a spirit that the horse has given far more to us than we could ever give in return.

Nicholson added that he looks forward to collaborating with Blowen during the transition.

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“It is also very gratifying and reassuring that Michael will remain a part of the daily world of Old Friends as the founder,” he said. “We are blessed that he is in good health and his passion for the mission of Old Friends is undiminished. I plan to sit at his knee in the weeks and months ahead to listen and learn. I know for certain that working with him and the Old Friends team will be exhilarating and rewarding. And, at this stage of my life and career, having had much experience in the equine, tourism, and non-profit worlds, I believe I am in a position to help assure that Old Friends will remain a strong and viable force for all the good things it does for decades and generations to come.”

Old Friends is known as the first aftercare organization to repatriate horses from Japan, including current farm star Silver Charm, the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, and the oldest living Derby winner. Over the years, Old Friends in Georgetown has also been home to American classic winners Charismatic, Sarava, Touch Gold, and War Emblem, brought in from locations in the U.S. or overseas. Those victors, as well as other prominent runners, have helped make the farm a major tourist destination.

Blowen and Old Friends have earned a number of awards, highlighted by the 2014 Special Eclipse Award, which honors extraordinary service or contributions to the Thoroughbred industry.

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