Oaklawn: Now I Know retired after fracturing knee

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Now I Know, the winner of the Grade 3, $500,000 Delta Downs Princess in December, has been retired after coming out of the $75,000 Martha Washington on Saturday with a fractured left knee, according to her trainer, Don Von Hemel.

Now I Know, 3, finished second in the Martha Washington, which was her first loss. She retires with a record of six wins from seven starts and earnings of $461,721. She won three stakes during her career, the Princess, the $50,000 Dixie Belle at Oaklawn on Jan. 14, and the Oklahoma Classics Lassie last fall at Remington Park.

Von Hemel said Now I Know was to ship Tuesday to Dr. Mike Major in Oklahoma City, where she could have surgery to insert a screw to stabilize the injury. Plans are to breed Now I Know.

“We didn’t want to take the chance of cheapening her up because she’s already done more than most horses ever do,” Von Hemel told media officials at Oaklawn. “For every ending there is a new beginning, and we are looking forward to that.”

Now I Know is a daughter of Pure Prize. Von Hemel co-bred and co-owned Now I Know with Wayne Stockseth.