Old Friends gets $50,000 grant

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Old Friends, the equine retirement facility based in Georgetown, Ky., has received a $50,000 grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The funds will be put toward building four new paddocks at the Old Friends Kentucky facility, Dream Chase Farm. That will allow the 501(c)(3) organization to help more retired Thoroughbreds, said Old Friends president and founder Michael Blowen.

The grant is the second Old Friends has received from the ASPCA and is part of the ASPCA’s Rescuing Racers Initiative, which provides possible grants totaling $1 million. Old Friends also received $50,000 in 2010.

Old Friends maintains more than 100 retired racehorses, including 12 at what it calls its Bobby Frankel Division, at Cabin Creek Farm in Greenfield Center, N.Y. The farms are open daily to visitors, by appointment.