Two new retirees arrive at Old Friends at Kentucky Downs

Kentucky Downs announced on Tuesday that two more horses, Lusty Latin and Hussonfirst, will be among the retirees at the Old Friends at Kentucky Downs facility in Franklin, Ky. The aftercare facility opened on the racetrack complex this summer with five horses: Ball Four, Rumor Has It, Sgt. Bert, Thornfield, and Tour of the Cat. It also now has a miniature horse, Fonzi, at the facility.

Lusty Latin, a 16-year-old gelding by El Prado, won 6 of 50 starts and earned $439,729 while racing from ages 2 to 9. He started his racing career on the West Coast and completed it on the East Coast. He won the 2004 John D. Schapiro Memorial Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Pimlico and the 2005 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial Handicap at Laurel. In 2002, he was third in Came Home’s Santa Anita Derby and then 15th in War Emblem’s Kentucky Derby.

Hussonfirst, a 10-year-old son of Hussonet, won 1 of 7 starts while racing in New York. He had been at the main Old Friends facility, Dream Chase Farm, in Georgetown, Ky., since 2008.

Farm manager Lisa Salmon said, “Both have quickly taken to their new surroundings and love the lush paddocks and their beautiful view of the track. They each have such kind demeanors, too. They fit really well with the others and will thrive on the attention they will receive from fans taking the tours.”

Old Friends at Kentucky Downs offers tours to visitors of its aftercare facility, and has a gift shop on the grounds.

Kentucky Downs is located near the Kentucky-Tennessee border off Interstate 65 and offers simulcast betting year-round, Instant Racing machines, and a live race meet in September.