My Thoroughbred Blog

Many, LA horse seizure Update

2012-01-24T18:45:00.014-06:00

On January 23rd, 2012 six more of the 60+ horses seized from Charles Ford's thoroughbred farm in Many, LA arrived at Remember Me Rescue. The most anticipated was Be Bop Baby, a 15 year old grey thoroughbred mare. My heart broke the first time I laid eyes on her January 7th. She was in a large over grazed pasture with 23 other mares and 2 geldings. Be Bop was definitely the most poor and weak of the bunch and I knew then and there I wanted to bring her to RMR to help her in every way possible to regain her strength and dignity.

I was also very concerned about a small unidentified bay gelding that was turned out with the mares. He too is severely under weight and has the worst case of rain rot I have ever seen. He is actually abscessing from his withers to his tail on both sides and it is extremely painful to touch. We will be starting him on antibiotics and topically treating the irritation but I am very worried about his condition. We are nicknaming him Spanky, he is very sweet and knows we are here to help him. You can see the excruciating pain he is in but still allows us to do what we have to do. It's heartbreaking.

We also picked up a 3 year old grey stallion named High On Punch that was still at the Sabine Humane Society awaiting the 15 day period his owner had to post bond for his return. Bond was not posted and all the horses are now safely away from their cruel and irresponsible owner. High On Punch was one of the last horses that ran for owner Charles Ford and trainer William Young. Punch is doing well, has a good appetite and appears to be sound and healthy other than very malnourished.

In addition to these horses we have 3 more young thoroughbred colts also from the same farm that have experienced the same horrors. I feel confident that all three can recover from their extreme condition with time and proper nutrition. As a little fundraiser we are having an online contest and the highest bidder can name one of these guys. You can see the auction at the Remember Me Rescue facebook page at http://facebook.com/REMEMBERMERESCUE and bid to name them.

To continue to meet the needs of these horses we are asking for donations to Remember Me Rescue, a 501(c)3 non profit organization. You can join TEAM RESTART and become a monthly supporter of our program for as little as $10 on the RMR website at http://www.teamkeen.com/ . Please consider donating and helping us continue to help these horses and others like them. There is a Paypal button on the site for donations or you can mail a check to

Remember Me Rescue, 4100 Conveyor Drive, Burleson, Tx 76028

All donations are tax deductible, EIN# 26-3974010

60 Thoroughbreds seized at Louisiana Farm

2012-01-10T15:01:00.010-06:00

On January 7th and 8th 2012 Remember Me Racehorse Rescue and the Louisiana Horse Rescue assisted the Sabine Humane Society in conducting a 60 horse seizure at a thoroughbred breeding and training farm in Many, Louisiana. There were originally reported to be about 120 horses on the property but by the time the case was built and the seizure was conducted half of them were either missing or deceased.

When we arrived at Charles Ford's farm it reminded me of a puppy mill. Horses everywhere. A large pasture that originally had 20 yearlings only 6 were still alive, 14 had died before we arrived. 53 broodmares were reported on the property, only 23 were still alive. 25 dead horses were either found or were euthanized upon arrival and countless fresh graves were found. Most of the broodmares had aborted their fetuses and their tiny little bones were scattered across the pasture along with the bones of many dead mares that were left out to rot. A true death count is impossible to obtain without resuming bodies from the graves.

Not only were the horses at Charles Ford's farm in horrid condition there was a large dog kennel full of hungry barking dogs with deceased dogs only feet away. There were also pigs and goats on the property that looked like staggering skeletons.

Remember Me Rescue and the Louisiana Horse Rescue are in possession of most of the horses and the Sabine Humane Society has fosters for a few. The SHS has moved the dogs and small livestock to safety. As of 1-10-12 Ford has still not signed over his rights to the horses.

Louisiana law gives owners the right to place bond for the horses in the amount of $1500 per horse within 15 days from the seizure. If he does so the horses will remain in foster care with the above mentioned agencies for 30 more days when Ford will appear before the local judge. With evidence that seems to be piled ten miles high we don't forsee the judge giving him rights to the horses.

We estimate the cost to care for these horses will exceed $450 a day while in our care. We are in desperate need of financial assistance to care for and meet the needs of these unfortunate horses. Please give if you can and support our efforts to not only save these horses but to ensure the owner Charles Ford and the trainer, William (Bill) Young never touch another animal for the rest of their lives.

Please visit the official Remember Me Rescue website at http://www.teamkeen.com/ and click on the LA Horse Seizure page for more information about this project. There is a paypal button provided for donations or you can mail your check to:

Remember Me Rescue

4100 Conveyor Drive

Burleson, Texas 76028

attn: LA horses

Don't forget to share this story with everyone you know and ask them to do the same! By sharing this you are helping us to inform irresponsible breeders that we are looking for them, we will find them, and we will prosecute them to the fullest extend of the law for abusing these animals.

Grey Goose Anyone?

2011-10-20T14:23:00.009-05:00

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue
Autographed Bottle of
Grey Goose Vodka
to benefit retired racehorses

On October 16th Future Covenant won his first race of the meet at Santa Anita Park. For the win Santa Anita gave us a HUGE bottle of Grey Goose Vodka in the winners circle. Future Covenants owners, Ian Yarnot and Brent Gasaway, donated the bottle to Remember Me Rescue to raise money for our retired racehorse program.

The 1.75 liter bottle of Grey Goose Vodka has been autographed by all the top jockeys, great trainers, and legends from the West Coast. Signatures from John Henry's trainer Ron McAnnally to Bob Baffert, Legend Jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, beautiful and talented female stars Chantal Sutherland and Kayla Stra, young Joe Talamo, David Flores, Patrick Valenzuela, Mike Smith, and many, many others. I will continue to collect autographs until the auction is over.

The auction for this one of a kind piece of racing memorabilia will be auctioned on EBAY.

CLICK HERE

or copy and paste the text in your browers to go to the auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180743226002

For more information please email remembermerescue@live.com or call Donna at 817-689-1214.

Current live bid is $1000 as of 10am 10/22.

Retired Racehorse, Lights On Broadway, 2001 Tx-HOTY

2011-09-04T12:26:00.004-05:00

A couple of years ago a group of people that call themselves the Fans of Barbaro, Alex Brown, and a man named Greg Sanders helped save Lights On Broadway from slaughter. Over the past 2 years I have been asked many times over how Lights is doing and where he is now. I thought I would update all of you on his status.

Lights On Broadway is calling Remember Me Racehorse Rescue home. He is one of two permanent residents along with 28 year old Yeah Me Do. He is safe, happy, and is the official spokeshorse for our organization. We still ride Lights around the farm and hope to have a fundraiser or two for him this year where he will be the guest of honor.

I have made Lights his own webpage on the RMR site. I posted new photos of him at the farm riding and even jumping without a bridle. He is truly on the the coolest horses I have ever met. If you can teach a racehorse to ride with out a bridle you can teach them anything!

Everyone has heard about the terrible drought in the south. We usually keep 6-10 horses at any given time in the RMR program. The cost of taking care of them is constantly increasing.

Please keep Remember Me Rescue in your thoughts and prayers. There is a paypal button on Lights page if you would like to make a donation towards his care or to help us with the other horses in our program.

Remember Me Rescue placed over 80 horses in the last two years. We are funded totally from donations from horse lovers and by adoption fees we charge when a horse is placed with a new family. We appreciate your support. Now go ride your horse! (and if you don't have one, adopt!)

Blue the Pony, aka the carrott thief

2011-03-01T05:01:00.002-06:00

Volunteer Susan made her usually Monday morning visit to Remember Me Rescue. I had to share this with all of our followers.

Hi Donna,

Well, thanks to Blue, Yammi was able to eat carrots today for the first time! Blue stuck his head down into the grooming carry-all where my bag of carrots was, picked up the bag and slowly started to walk away. As I came after him to retrieve the bag, he being no dummy, stepped into a trot and made his way across the pasture. Now I know Blue can MOVE when he puts his mind to it!

Fortunately, the carrots dribbled out of the bag as he trotted along, and as soon as the bag was empty, which didn't take long, Blue stopped, turned around, and walked back to me. He is one smart horse!

I retrieved all the carrots and several of them were crushed into little bits from when Blue bit the bag to pick it up. I fed those bits to Yammi and he was able to eat them! He's not able to eat a regular small chunk of carrot; I guess b/c he has teeth problems?? Anyway, he was able to mash up every little smushed bit of carrot I fed him today.

All the Rescue guys were groomed--Blue, Yammi, Hajii, Teddie, Belfast, and Mack. I really scrubbed Hajii and Yammi with the curry to get a lot of the loose, shedding hair off them, and I was able to get all the mats off of Hajii. I also trimmed Hajii's and Yammi's manes a little...they look ready for the track again!I don't know if you guys have been unable to work on Teddie's mane and tail, but I've told you I CANNOT get him to let me brush them. Today, after probably 10-15 minutes of walking him down, cooing, and being persistent, I was finally able to brush him!

And I LOVE Belfast!! Is he as sweet as he seems?? He lay his face right against mine and just stayed there. And he doesn't mind his ears being handled. And he is great when cleaning his hooves. And he's so beautiful! I looked up his race record, and he raced against one of Larry Jones' horses once, and Robby Albarado has ridden him!
And that paint baby is a doll! I watched her race around the stall, back and forth, back and forth, like she had just discovered the greatest thing!

If it's okay with you, I'd like to bring some paper, paints and brushes out next Monday and see if I can get Yammi and Hajii to create some Moneighs. Gwen plans to come next Monday, so she can help me. I have the directions from Mary Simons on what to use/what to do/ etc. Maybe if they turn out, you could add them to the raffle for the fundraiser. Let me know.

Susan

First Annual "Trail Ride for the Racehorse"

2011-02-15T21:16:00.007-06:00

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue is holding its First Annual "Trail Ride for the Racehorse" on April 9th at Loyd Park in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Proceeds from the trail ride and cookout will used to build a barn for the injured and long term rehabilitation horses in the Remember Me Rescue Program. Everyone knows just how brutal this winter has been and we are in need of a new barn to help protect the horses in the RMR program from the elements.

Everyone is welcome. If you don't ride come to the cookout! Thoroughbred Trainer Dallas Keen will be in charge of the grill. Plates for the cookout will be $5/ person, kids under 10 are free. There is no charge to ride in the trail ride and we will have free t-shirts for the trail riders.

We will also hold bridleless riding demonstration and hold a question and answer seminar to answer questions about training and 'retraining' your rescued horses.

2 WAYS TO HELP...

Consider being a trail ride sponsor. Basic Sponsorship is $250, Premium Sponsorship is $1000.

We will also hold a raffle after the trail ride. Tickets are $1 and we will have lots of neat stuff. All proceeds go to Remember Me Racehorse Rescue. You may purchase raffle tickets the day of the ride or in advance. No need to be present to win but may have to pay shipping for large items.

We still need a few volunteers. If you are interested we would love to have you join us for our fundraiser!!

For more info contact Lilly at 270-668-6837 or email remembermerescu@aol.com

Directions From I-20 to Loyd Park:
Take 360 south towards Mansfield.
Turn left on Ragland Rd.
The entrance to the park is a ¼ of a mile down the road on your

Eight Belles, Triumph Beyond The Wire Fundraiser for RMR

2010-12-01T08:12:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas to all.

Just in time for gift giving we are offering the outstanding book by 16 year old author Maria Michalak, Eight Belles, Triumph Beyond The Wire. For a $100 tax deductible donation to Remember Me Racehorse Rescue we will send you one of these special books. They are autographed by the author and by Eight Belles trainer, Larry Jones. We only have ten of these books so don't wait, email us now for your copy at remembermerescue@live.com

You may make your donation via paypal or by check. Please add $10 for shipping.

Bridleless Riding, transitioning racehorses to bridleless horses

2010-11-12T17:37:00.010-06:00

Many people that know Dallas and I know that we enjoy riding our track ponies bridleless. Some people think we are just showing off and in a way they are right. We are showing the retrainability of exracehorses. If a horse recently retired from racing can ride without a bridle there is a definitely possibility that horse could be retrained for anything.

It all started with a paint gelding I purchased in 2006 from quarterhorse trainer Roe Gordon. Roe had loaned the horse to the Lone Star Park outrider to use during morning training at the track. The horse, appropriately named Spot, was a quick super flashy thing with catlike moves. You could see that he had some previous reining and or cutting training in his past. I really liked the looks of this horse and inquired about purchasing him.
When I asked Roe if I could arrange a test ride before buying the horse he said he would ask the outrider to bring him over after training. After training I received a phone call from Roe, laughing himself silly, saying the outrider said I wasn't a good enough hand to ride a horse like Spot. Me being the hard headed easily wound up type person I am I told Roe, 'Well, I was going to have him vetted, but not now, just come get your check', and Dallas and I went to pick up Spot.
When we arrived at Spot's stall. When we open the gate he wheeled around. As Dallas stepped in the stall to halter him he wheeled away again. After 2 or 3 more attempts Dallas looks at me and says, "HOW MUCH DID YOU PAY FOR THIS HORSE???"
After we caught him and made our way back to the barn our vet, Diamond W's Dr. Jacks, arrived. I told him about purchasing Spot and he said, "I sure wish you would have told me. You have to tranq him to shoe him, tranq him to clip him, in fact you have to tranq him to tranq him". I immediately got the 'look' again from Dallas.
Needless to say within a very short time Spot improved leaps and bounds. He loved life and his new stable pony job and never needed any tranquilizer, just a calm quiet hand.
We began training Spot to ride bridless at Louisiana Downs. He loved it. Dallas put together our first bridleless collar. Spot was the closest I think we will ever have to having a horse with telepathy. He new what you wanted before you could ask for it. Shortly after arriving in New Orleans for the Fair Grounds meet East Coast trainer Steve Klesaris fell in love with Spot. We sold him at the end of the meet for $15,000. (That time I gave the look)
Since then we have trained many horses to ride without bridles. Texas Horse of the Year Lights On Broadway, Outrider Pony Kansas, and Dallas current rides retired racehorse Eye Man Who. I am currently riding Majestic Commander, stake winner of over $250K, as my totally bridleless stable pony.

Dallas and I operate a non profit organization called Remember Me Racehorse Rescue. We have many horses donated to our program yearly that we rehab and retrain after their careers at the track are over. We rely totally on donations from horse lovers, breeders, and friends to keep our program going.
We recently started a new website, www.thewayiride.com offering information about bridleless riding and how you can purchase a bridleless collar for yourself. 100% of the proceeds from the collars will go to our rescue efforts. Yeah, it takes some training and some trust but it will be one of the best experiences you have with your horse.
Please consider making a tax deductible donation to Remember Me Racehorse Rescue to help us help retired racehorses in their transition from the track to the families that will love them. Donations can be made through the RMR website by clicking the paypal button or by check to the address on the site.
For more information about adopting or sponsoring a horse in the RMR program go to www.teamkeen.com or call Donna Keen 817-689-1214.

Oceans Finer get a new Chance, and a new name

2010-07-20T12:01:00.005-05:00

Oceans Finer, newly named Chance, is a thoroughbred gelding recovering from a really rough few months. Chance, (who won his last race as a racehorse), along with 3 other horses were sold by their owner/breeder at a slaughter sale in Louisiana. These horses along with others were purchased by a killer buyer. After several days they made their way to the holding pens of Eagle Pass on the Texas Mexico border to await their entry into Mexico for slaughter processing. With the intervention of many hard working dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly raising money and making plans to rescue Chance he and the other thoroughbreds there were purchased and relocated to safety.

Chance seemed to be suffering from some aggression issues after all of the traumatic experiences he had endured. He frequently pinned his ears at the people trying to take care of him causing much concern. Lynn Parks, the woman in charge of finding Chance a new life, called me asking if we could help. Chance was moved to Remember Me Rescue for therapy and training.

Chance bit two people the first week he was here. When I arrived home later in the week we began working with him and to my surprise with no problems. One day I led Chance up to the fence to meet some folks and he pinned his ears at them when they tried to pet him. I began working him through some paces and brought him back to the fence. He was good that time. He was a very unpredictable horse to say the least.

After several days in a row of working with Chance with no issues I gave him a day off. The following day as I walked into the pasture to get him he started walking towards me, his big ears flopping and a kind look in his eye. Suddenly he charged me with no warning. Luckily I had a lead rope in my hand and swung it at him and he retreated.

Back to the drawing board. After I caught Chance I took him to the round pen and began a new more intense training regiment. Chance was desensitized to tarps, pool noodles and taught to walk up and down our mounted patrol training steps. He is also being ridden several times a week and on days he is not ridden he is worked in the round pen. We still do not let volunteers approach him without supervision but I feel like we have made big progress in teaching him he is not as tough and scary as he thought he was. Because of his previous aggression issues Chance will not be suitable as a family horse but needs a real job and a real leader to help him work through his issues.

(Training Obstacle Sponsored by Maggie Moss)

ADOPTION PENDING

Chance has a pending adoption with a young man who is an accomplished horsemen. He will have a challenging job and be ridden frequently by his new owner if the adoption is a success. I wanted to thank everyone who participated the rescue of this really neat horse. He has come so far and looks like it is going to be a success. A big special thank you to Michelle Fields who has donated her time to ride Chance and start him on his path to a new career. Thanks to Lynn and all who helped her by researching and raising the money needed to rescue Chance from Eagle Pass.

Attention Ladies of Horse Racing...

2010-07-03T18:33:00.002-05:00

Calendar Model Opportunity

If you are woman involved in the horse racing industry we invite you to take part in a "Ladies of Horse Racing" Calendar. In the year of Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra it seems only fair we recognize the other hard working women in our sport. Proceeds from this calendar will be to donated to Remember Me Racehorse Rescue and will go towards rehabilitating and retraining the horses we all love so much.

You may submit your photo's to remembermerescue@live.com along with your name, address, and tons of information about YOU. We hope this fundraiser is a huge success for our program and with any luck we can do more than one calendar, hopefully several calendars for different regions of the country.

When you submit your photo you are expressing that you own the photo being submitted and are giving Remember Me Rescue and their agents permission to use the photo or photos for fundraising events. You are also giving Remember Me Rescue and their agents permission to use your name for advertising and promotional purposes upon submission of your photo.

Thanks to all the women of racing who send in photos and good luck!!

ZENYATTA could break the record of CITATION and CIGAR

2010-06-08T10:38:00.006-05:00

On June 13 ZENYATTA could very possibly make history. By winning The Vanity she will break the record of 16 wins in a row by great horses in racing history, CIGAR, CITATION and MISTER FRISKY.

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue is auctioning a Mike Smith autographed photo of ZENYATTA, matted and framed. 100% of the proceeds from the auction will be designated to a Mounted Patrol Training Course for the purpose of retraining retired racehorses for new careers in the police field.

You could own a piece of her history making career and help retrain retired racehorses at the same time. For current bid information or to place a bid please go to the Remember Me Racehorse Rescue site at www.teamkeen.com.

Remember Me Rescue is also looking for training obstacle sponsors. The cost to sponsor an obstacle is $1000 and your name, business logo, or silks will be placed on the obstacle to show your support in the retraining of retired thoroughbred racehorses.

Please mail your tax deductible donations to

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue
Obstacle Sponsor
4100 Conveyor Drive
Burleson, Texas 76028

Mike Smith autographed picture of Zenyatta Auction, proceeds benefit mounted patrol training of exracehorses at Remember Me Racehorse Rescue

2010-05-24T10:44:00.004-05:00

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue is building a mounted patrol training course and to kick off the fundraising and awareness campaign we are auctioning a Zenyatta photo autographed by her jockey Mike Smith. The auction will be run through June 10th, 3 days before the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park. Proceeds from this auction will go towards purchasing materials needed to build a course specifically for training horses to overcome obstacles that they might encounter as a mounted patrol, police, or search and rescue horses. Many of the objects needed for training the horses to be qualified for police work are costly. Although we plan on building many of the training aids ourselves the expected cost to complete this project is around $25,000. All donations are truly appreciated and are tax deductible as Remember Me Racehorse Rescue is a 501(c)3 non profit organization.

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue has been endorsed by members of one of the most difficult and most challenging police departments in the United States, the New Orleans Police Mounted Patrol Division. After the training course is completed we plan on producing training and horsemanship videos to benefit police and mounted patrol divisions around the country.

As this project progresses our goal will be to provide these retrained retired racehorses to mounted patrols free of charge, but to do that we need annual sponsors. For more information you may contact Donna Keen at 817-689-1214.

Donations for the Mounted Patrol Training Course can be mailed to

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue
Training Course Project
4100 Conveyor Drive
Burleson, Texas 76028

You may email your bids for the Zenyatta photo to remembermerescue@live.com and check the Remember Me Racehorse Rescue website for updates on the bidding at www.teamkeen.com.

"Moneigh" to be Raffled at Lone Star Park

2010-04-23T14:08:00.003-05:00

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue and Lone Star Park are raffling a "Moneigh" with 100% of the proceeds going towards the rehabilitation and retraining of retired racehorses. Raffle tickets may be purchased early for $1 each or you can buy them in person on Kentucky Derby Day at Lone Star Park.

For those of you not familiar with a "Moneigh" it is an original work of abstract art, created by a horse using a brush, muzzle, chin, whiskers, tail, and or hoof. The name is derived from the name of a famous artist and the sound a horse makes. The word "Moneigh" is a registered trademark of ReRun, Inc., a Thoroughbred horse charity.

The "Moneigh" we are offering was painted by FRANCONIA, a retired thoroughbred mare. The painting comes framed with a certificate of authenticity and pictures of FRANCONIA painting her masterpiece.

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue is operated by Dallas and Donna Keen in Burleson, Texas. RMR retrained and placed 36 retired racehorses in new homes last year. This year the need for donations and fundraising is greater than ever. The Keens have plans to begin retraining the retired racehorses to become mounted patrol horses and will place them free of charge to police and sheriff departments all over the United States. With your help and support of Remember Me Rescue we can not only provide these horses with the retraining they need to live productive lives after racing but become a helpful part of the safety provided by the brave men and women who need quality horses in our mounted patrol divisions.

Remember Me Rescue is building a barn, arena, and mounted patrol certified training course. Any donations towards the police project are tax deductible as RMR is a 501(c)3 non profit.

For more information contact Donna Keen at 817-689-1214 or go to www.teamkeen.com to see the horses currently available in the adoption program.

Please help us by forwarding this link with the information to everyone in your contacts.

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue

Pre Race Veterinary Exam, Changes Are Needed

2010-03-08T09:57:00.004-06:00

Early on race days at most tracks across the country veterinarians inspect horses for soundness prior to racing. The attending state veterinarian will check the horses tattoo, feel or look thoroughly at the legs, and then watch the horse jog away and back towards him. Horses that do not pass the pre-race soundness exam are scratched from the days race card and placed on the vets list. Once on the vets list the horse must have a published workout before the state vet and often a barn exam follows to ensure the horses soundness before he can be entered in another race.

This has been a good practice and many horses have been saved from injury from trainers who neglect their best interest. Although I applaud the pre-race vet exam I feel like it does not go far enough to protect our horses. In my opinion a horse should also be evaluated on his or her overall health as well. An underweight or unhealthy horse should not be allowed to race. This is overlooked in many pre-race exams as long as the horse appears to be sound.

On February 27th, 2010 an owner contacted me about a 3 year old filly that he was interested in claiming. She had been performing poorly in Maiden Allowance races and was dropping in for a claiming price of $10,000 at Sam Houston Race Park. I glanced at the filly before the race and called the owner to pass on the claim. I informed him she was very, very thin and has large sores on her hocks that usually come from a lack of bedding in their stalls. Her overall shape was very poor. I requested that the owner allow me to make the trainer an offer of $500 the next morning after the race, a much more realistic price for the skinny filly. The owner asked me, "What if he will not sell her, what will happen to her?" He insisted that we make the claim to 'save' the filly.

After the claim was made and the filly returned to our barn I examined her thoroughly to find she was in worse shape than I had originally thought. Although her legs were clean and tight and she passed her pre-race soundness exam I could count every rib on her side and several vertebrae in her back. Her shoulders and hips protruded from her thin body. Her teeth were some of the worst I have ever seen on any horse, especially a three year old filly in race training. I would dare to say they have never been touched before. Of course she couldn't eat much of the grain we feed so the next day we ordered a couple of bags of Equine Senior and made a mash for her. She loved it and carefully ate every bite.

Until she is in better condition and the sores in her mouth have healed we will not send her to back to the track. Her new owner is thrilled with his claim and her condition is dramatically improving daily.

My concern with the pre-race vet exam is why are horses in this shape allowed to race without so much as a mention to the trainer of their condition. This particular filly ran back in 7 days in this horrid shape. Since the veterinarians perform these exams to protect our horses why can they not, 1. at the least mention the horses poor condition to the trainer, 2. Offer suggestions to help the horse gain weight, or 3. Give the trainer a warning and place the horse on the vets list for 30 days.

I leave you with this question, just how many bones should we be able to count on a horse before they are deemed unfit for racing?

(ATTENTION COMMENTORS, Please keep in mind this article is not only about protecting horses but changing the way our horses are viewed by the public at the races. Do you really think the public doesn't notice unusually thin horses? In no way is this article meant to attack any certain trainer or stable regaurdless of how it has been perceived by some. Unless attention is drawn and an example is made out of the issue of extraordinarily thin horses the improvement in care of these animals will not be addressed. The article was suggesting the state vet could potentially help trainers with thin horses by offering suggestions towards their care or madating a few extra days before a horse could race again to possibily put on weight. Each and everytime we go to the paddock we are putting on a 'show' for the public. Without the public none of us could enjoy this sport we love so much.)

Asmussen happy with Rachel Alexandra's work

2010-03-08T09:39:00.003-06:00

Rachel Alexandra worked a half mile in 49 seconds flat early this morning at the Fair Grounds in preperation for her return to racing this Saturday March 13th. Steve Asmussen commented that he was very happy with the work.
Rachel Alexandra schooled in the paddock earlier this week. She was very quiet and was in terrific form. She did show off a little leaving the paddock breaking into a slow diva-like jog inbetween her groom and assistant trainer Scott Blasi as they walked back to the barn. We expect her to school in the paddock again on Friday.

RACHEL ALEXANDRA prepares for her return

2010-03-02T10:02:00.007-06:00

Horse Of The Year RACHEL ALEXANDRA worked 51 seconds for the half and 1:13.3 for 6 furlongs this morning under regular exercise rider Dominic Terry at The Fair Grounds Race Course. She worked in a set with an unknown stablemate ridden by jockey Brian Hernandez. RACHEL ALEXANDRA is preparing for her return to racing on March 13th in the New Orleans Ladies, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares with a $200,000 purse. It is being used as a prep race to prepare her for the unbeaten Zenyatta in the $5 million Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park in April. RACHEL ALEXANDRA reportedly outworked the chestnut stallion she was paired with by 6 or 7 lengths down the lane and walked off the track without blowing at all.

Own a peice of racing history

RACHEL ALEXANDRA'S stable halter was donated by Steve Asmussen and Jess Jackson to raise funds for REMEMBER ME RACEHORSE RESCUE. The halter is displayed in a wood shadow box with autographs from Steve Asmussen and Calvin Borel. Silent auction bids currently being taken at http://www.teamkeen.com/ where the 2 highest bidders will move on the to the live auction on March 25th to be held at the dinner party the night before The Fair Grounds Oaks which Rachel won last year. For more information on the auction to raise funds for the new therapy barn at Remember Me Rescue please visit the site at http://www.teamkeen.com/.

A Sweet Reunion, 27 Year Old Yeah Me Do gets a visit from his breeder

2010-01-10T15:00:00.010-06:00

Yeah Me Do, winning in California for owners Roy and Sue Andolfo

On February 19, 1983 a grey colt by Macarther Park was born to California racehorse breeders Roy and Sue Andolfo. These long time horse racing owners had high hopes for the colt out of Romantically, a mare trained by Joe Shell who had earned over $21,000 for the Andolfo's back in the late 70's. The colt named Yeah Me Do grew into a beautiful grey gelding that raced in California for the Andolfo's earning over $72,000 . He was claimed from his owners as a 6 year old. A year or so later the Andolfo's ran into the man who claimed their horse and asked how he was doing. They were very disappointed when the man told him that Yeah Me Do had died.

May 2009

Last summer I received a phone call from a man who had an old thoroughbred named Sonny that he had purchased from a killer sale in Cleburne, Texas 8 years earlier. He informed me that even though the horse had been wonderful riding partner for his children he could no longer afford to meet the needs of this older thinning gelding. He had attempted to seek a home for Sonny but with no luck. He tried other horse rescues but was turned down due to the geldings age, which he thought to be in his late teens. He then went on to tell me if we couldn't help him he would regrettably have to take him back to the sale where he had originally purchased him.

I offered to take Sonny but when he arrived I was shocked to see he was not just thin, but severely malnutrition. So much in fact that his hooves had actually started to turn loose and most of his teeth were either missing or deformed from being kicked in the mouth a few years earlier. To eat hay he would have to chew, spit it out, pick it up and chew again, and then repeat the process once more before swallowing each bite. I frantically called Dr Gene White from Diamond W Equine and he came to our farm within a few hours fighting rush hour traffic to help our new rescue.

After pulling one tooth that was protruding out from Sonny's mouth and having another one fall out while he was being floated, Dr White wormed and and vaccinated the poor thin guy. We started him on feed slowly and worked our way up with a bran, senior mash and all of the timothy hay he could eat. Within a week you could see a difference in not only his appearance but his attitude as well. I knew he was going to make it.

Horseshoer Pat Burton came and worked on Sonny's feet, the worst he had ever seen. The hooves were cracked from one side to the other not up and down like regular uncared for hooves. They would move each step the gelding took causing severe pain and discomfort. Pat used a product that formed a hardened sole, which made a stable surface for Sonny to stand on and he immediately began to move with more confidence and courage.

During this first week I contacted the Jockey Club with the few numbers I could read from the geldings mouth. After several tries and lots of guessing we narrowed it down to one old gelding, Yeah Me Do. I immediately posted the news on the Alex Brown's Horse Forum and to my surprise was contact by Joe Shell, the trainer of Yeah Me Do's dam. He generously donated to Yeah Me Do's care and offered to try to contact his breeders, in which he succeeded. Now retired, but still living in California, the Andolfo's couldn't believe Yeah Me Do was still alive but through photographs his identity was confirmed.

Yeah Me Do continued to gain weight. His hooves grew with the help of a few good supplements and he turned into a beautiful horse once more. We even started riding him a little, bridle-less of course like we do our racetrack ponies.

A Special Surprise

Yeah Me Do's breeders also contributed to his care and rehabilitation. But the greatest gift they have given us was a visit. In December while traveling to see family for the holidays the Andolfo's were reunited with their missing boy that they had thought was dead for so many years. The recognized their Yammi immediately even with his thick winter coat. What a wonderful day it was for them to see their horse after all these years.

There is a special fund to donate to Yeah Me Do's continuing needs. Please click the Paypal button on the Remember Me Racehorse Rescue website at www.teamkeen.com and be sure to send an email dedicating your funds to Yeah Me Do.

We also have other horses at Remember Me that needs sponsors to support them while they rehabilitate and are retrained for new careers. Catsky with an injured tendon, Santo who was just too slow, and Classic Cozzene, a broodmare who lost her usefullness when she couldn't carry anymore foals just to name a few. Please help us continue to help retired racehorses find their forever homes by donating to Remember Me Racehorse Rescue today.

CATSKY nearly euthanized, now coming to Remember Me Racehorse Rescue

2010-01-05T13:04:00.007-06:00

A trainer contacted me a couple of weeks ago about a horse that had been injured on December 21st during a race at the Fair Grounds. He asked me if I had any openings at our rescue for a horse needing rehabilitation. When I asked what had happened to the horse he told me the horse had torn his suspensory ligament and would need many months of rehab if he had any chance of having a normal life. I told him to fill out our horse donation application and also asked if he wouldn't mind keeping him at the track until we could get the horse a ride to Texas.

I immediately contacted John Christensen who owns and operates a Cold Salt Water Spa at the Fair Grounds and asked if he would consider donating a few treatments to our new injured horse. John not only offered to treat him a few times, but graciously offer to treat him daily until he can be moved to Remember Me Rescue.

I arranged with the trainer to pick up the horse for his first spa treatment. When I first saw Catsky he was standing in the back of his stall, ears pinned, and shaking his head as if to scare me away. His leg with the suspensory injury was swollen twice the size of the other and the back of his ankle was dropping nearly to the ground as he stepped away from me. He didn't want to be bothered but his aggressive behavior was ignored as I opened his webbing and slipped the halter over his beautiful refined head. Just as I thought, he was all bluff.

I was very concerned as I led him towards the Salt Water Spa that I would be causing more harm than good by asking him to limp on the concrete from barn 35 to barn 11 where the Spa is located. He was nervously looking towards the racetrack but as soon as he would attemp to trot he would begin to limp terribly. We arrived at the Spa Catsky was a little shaken up from the excitement of being out of his stall for the first time since December 21st. He walked into the Spa and as the nearly freezing water started to fill under him he began to dig, splashing cold water on me and the Spa attendant. He spent 15 minuets in the Spa for his first treatment. Our walk back to his barn was much more comfortable for him.

To my surprise when I arrived to pick Catsky up for his second day of treatment he greated me a the front of the stall. I noticed his swelling had reduced a little, not much, but any improvement was much welcomed. This time he actually drug me to the Spa, not like the same sore horse from the day before, but happy and much more comfortable. He stood much better for his second spa treatment almost like he knew it had helped him the day before. He stayed in for nearly 20 minuets this treatment.

As we walked back to his barn I ran into Dr Hays, the vet that had taken care of Catsky after his injury. I told him that Catsky's trainer had donated him to us and that I was taking him to the Spa for daily treatments until he left for Texas. Dr. Hays commented on how well his leg was looking after only his second treatment and said, "I am so glad they didn't euthanized this horse". Catsky has a chance to be a very special horse for someone. Dr. Hays has always been quick to help with our rescue program and donated a wormer for Catsky and also told me that he was recently vaccinated.

Catsky is scheduled to arrive at Remember Me Racehorse Rescue by the weekend. He will be able to have visitors as soon as he gets settled in and gets used to his new surroundings.
We will need help while Catsky is here. His rehabilitation costs will be expensive and he will need long term stall care before he can be placed in a small outside paddock. We are accepting donations in Catsky's name through paypal or by sending a check to Remember Me Rescue, 4100 Conveyor Drive, Burleson, Texas 76028 and writing Catsky on the memo line. Please consider sponsoring Catsky with a tax deductible monthly donation to help with the cost of his rehabilitation and care. (For more information on donations visit our website at www.teamkeen.com.)

Catsky is a beautiful 6 year old bay gelding by Sky Classic and out of a granddaughter of Storm Cat. During his racing career he had 12 starts with 2 wins, a second and a third place finish earning $44,122 before being injured in his last race. Now he can just be a horse, thanks to his owner, trainer, his caring vet, a Salt Water Spa owner, and all the people that donate to our program. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of this racetrack rescue!

Leestown Legacy looking towards The Cocodrie Stakes

2009-12-30T20:36:00.005-06:00

Leestown Legacy finished 2nd in the Louisiana Champions Day Handicap Stakes at The Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans on Saturday December 12th.

While in the paddock about 10 minutes before post time, Leestown Legacy lost part of his horse shoe and the race had to be delayed while farrier reattached the shoe. It had been raining all day and the track was listed as sloppy. We were worried about how he would handle the track conditions since he had never run on anything this bad before. He remained calm the entire time while having his shoe repaired and seemed unaffected by the rain and the mud. Finally the shoe is fixed and it is post time.

The son of Leestown broke from the number one post position with jockey Richard Eramia aboard and raced along the rail in 4th position during the first quarter mile. Just before the half-mile mark, a hole opened up along the rail and Eramia sent Leestown Legacy straight to the front. He extended his lead through the next 3/8 of a mile and made the final turn for home leading the pack of 8 Louisiana-Breds. With one furlong remaining, the heavy favorite, came up and passed him. A second challenge tried to take second position but Leestown Legacy fought him all the way to the wire and held on to take second place by a nose in a photo.

Jockey Richard Eramia said the horse ran great and he expects an even better performance out of him next time. Everyone was very proud of his performance. Leestown Legacy earned $10,000 for the finish and has been nominated to the $75,000 Cocodrie Stakes at Delta Downs on January 1st.

Trainers Dallas and Donna Keen should be commended on a great job of turning this $20,000 claiming horse into a stakes placed contender. Thanks should also go out to all the owners for showing the patience to give this horse a three month break from the track so that he could come back in his best form.

Reposted from
Ian Yarnot, Yarnot Stables

Leestown Legacy is entered to run the Cocodrie Stakes on New Years Day at Delta Downs. He will be ridden by jockey Richard Eramia.

Gerry Di Laura, Good bye my friend

2009-12-18T20:50:00.004-06:00

My friend. long time jockey agent for Luis Quinonez, passed away on Thursday. Many people knew Gerry, everybody liked him. I will miss him dearly. Gerry was always there to help anyone who needed it, including me, when times were tough.
In 1996 at Remington Park my son Michael who is now 15, had his first, (and only), temper tantrum. Michael wanted to go to the game room with a few other little boys but I had to go saddle a horse. Michael began to cry and stood his ground and when I tried to grab his little hand to drag him to the paddock he threw himself down on the floor and started kicking a screaming. In a total loss I looked up and there was Gerry, a grandpa himself, and he motioned for me to go on, he would watch Michael. I stood behind a pillar watching in disbelief that this screaming kicking child was my son. About the time I needed to head to the paddock Michael noticed I wasn't standing there. He stopped crying, looked around and jumped to his feet. I looked at Gerry for what do to next and I got a big 'wink'. I stepped from around the pillar and told my son I would walk away every time he acted like that. My son never threw another fit, (until he turned into a teenager).
Gerry was always there to lend advice or help someone down on their luck. He was a loyal friend and agent for jockey Luis Quinonez for 18 years.
2 years ago at Lone Star Park Gerry slipped outside of the racing office and broke his shoulder, last year had some other health issues, I knew his time was not long but I didn't know I wouldn't get a chance to tell him goodbye. I will miss him dearly. God bless my friend Gerry.

Devastating loss at Remember Me Rescue

2009-12-14T17:56:00.004-06:00

We are very saddened to announce our first loss at Remember Me Racehorse Rescue. Little Doctor, a 12 year old ex thoroughbred racehorse, was euthanized this morning from colic complications after fighting a hard battle overnight. Little Doctor had been part of a 20 horse rescue that took place in April earlier this year. Angelo Trosclair, owner of Thoroughbred Transport Inc, contacted me after he received a phone call asking about transportation for the exracehorses to a local auction barn, where horses are frequently sold by the pound to be hauled to Canada or Mexico for meat processing. Knowing we were accepting horses into our newly formed program Angelo, who is a retired jockey now horse transporter, called to see if we could possibly place a few of the more adoptable horses.

A trailer load at a time the horses were brought to Remember Me to be rehabilitated and retrained in hopes of finding them new homes. Little Doctor came on the first trailer load. Upon his arrival he was very thin, timid and refused to be a part of the herd. I contacted his previous trainer to find out that Doc had been an orphan and was raised on a bottle. He wanted to be part of the 'people herd', not with the other horses. So we brought him into his own smaller paddock where he couldn't be bullied around by the rest of the herd.

A couple of weeks into his retraining Little Doctor became very sore in his feet. I was out of town so I called the horseshoer to see what he could do to possibly relive Doc's soreness. His answer was not what I was expecting to hear, 'euthanize him, he has rotated his coffin bone'. I called Diamond W Animal Hospital and Pine Hill Pet Cemetery to set up a time for his euthanasia.

When Dr. Roeber arrived he called me and gave me some good news. He said, 'Donna, I've looked at this horse and I think I can save him'. He went on to suggest lilly pads and several medications which I was more than ready to try. Little Doctor improved with each passing day.

The following week I called in an Equine Podiatrist, (fancy name for really good horseshoer), and his recommendation was for special pads and equine therapy shoes. Again, it sounded great to me. Within 2 months Little Doctor completely recovered with absolutely no evidence of founder.

For the past several months Little Doctor had been available for adoption but with his previous lameness issues was a 'hard to place' horse. Even though Little Doctor appeared to be completely sound and could have been a terrific riding horse a suitable home for him wasn't found.
Little Doctor had been at our rescue for 8 months and had become part of our family at Remember Me. He lost his battle with colic this morning and was euthanized by a local veterinarian after being cared for all night by our farm staff. Dallas and I, our staff, and our volunteers have been devastated by his loss.

We are asking for donations to cover Little Doctor's veterinarian cost which ran $370 and the cost of his burial by Pine Hill Pet Cemetery of $200. The 'Little Doctor Memorial Fund' can be donated to by going to our website and clicking the Paypal button or by check to
Remember Me Racehorse Rescue
4100 Conveyor Drive
Burleson, Texas 76028
Any help with these cost will be much appreciated and any funds received over the amount of his care will go towards caring for other horses at Remember Me Racehorse Rescue.

Boutit Boutit coming to Remember Me Racehorse Rescue

2009-12-07T08:48:00.003-06:00

I got a call December 6th about a horse located at a Texas sale barn called Boutit Boutit. We are currently trying to raise money for his purchase, ($225), board at the sale barn, and other immediate needs such as worming and vaccinations. Right now he is safe as the sale barn owner promised to keep him until the funds were raised but we need to do this as soon as possible.

We are also looking for place to quarantine Boutit Boutit for 14 days until he can come to Remember Me Racehorse Rescue not insure we don't get any other horses sick. If anyone has a place that they can quarantine a horse or knows a neighbor or friend with an empty barn or paddock we would really appreciate them letting Boutit Boutit stay there until he can be brought to Remember Me.

Boutit Boutin earned $26K running 10 times for trainer Sam David at LAD, FG, and LSP before running his last 8 races with Milton Gaede. His last career start was at Fonner Park.

Please help us help Boutit Boutit by donating towards his care now.

Red Moon Cat has an impressive win at the Fair Grounds

2009-12-01T19:24:00.004-06:00

WOW...

That was all I could say when Red Moon Cat came from more than 12 lengths off the pace to blow by what looked like a certain winner in Candy Delicious who had drawn off to a nearly 7 length lead from the rest of the field to win a $45,000 maiden allowance race.

Leaving from the 11 hole and jostled at the start, Red Moon Cat stayed far back. Behind a wall of horses at the eighth pole she looked to have no chance to catch the winner. Rider James Graham found a hole and Red Moon Cat proved she had what it takes to win.

Red Moon Cat, a 2 year old Louisiana Bred daughter of Malibu Moon, had been entered on the turf in her 2 previous starts but thanks to the weather was moved to the main track in both attempts. She found her calling on the turf track at The Fair Grounds Race Course November 29th in what I think was the most impressive Maiden win of the meet. For a little filly, about 14.3 hands, she showed tremendous heart and courage and we are proud to have her in our stable.

Red Moon Cat is owned by James and Ywachetta Driver of Irving, Texas and is trained by Dallas Keen.

First day training at the Fair Grounds 2009

2009-10-15T19:25:00.004-05:00

Today we sent horses to the track for the first day after moving our stable to the historic Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. After all of the rain we have had for the past few days since we shipped on Tuesday I was pleasantly surprised to see the track was in good condition and it looks like the horses are traveling well over the surface. Only noticed a few loose spots on the outside rail about the 7/8 pole that might use a little tightening. Track maintenance has been working on the barns and adding dirt to shed rows and stalls. Things are definitely shaping up for the meet. Other than the crabby electrician I had to deal with to change out our light bulbs everyone seems excited about the upcoming meet.
This year we are excited to have several very promising young horses in our stable. Two year olds Dr Paysuer, Perfect Peace, and Playbill Missile are showing a lot of talent. We also have a few of our older favorites like multiple stake winner Hotlantic, King Dan, and 3 in row winner Icy Kitten to name a few who will be ready to run at the beginning of the meet.
We have several new owners to welcome to the Dallas Keen Racing Stable. Mike and Brandi Cook from Schertz, Texas and Paul and Nancy Swannie from Humble, Texas sent horses to us this summer that have come a long way. Anne Johnson started her first race horse Hero's Crown, and we welcome back Dallas' old friend and owner C.A. Walker who purchased one of our homebreds, Diamante De Oro, who quickly found his way to the winners circle for his new owner.
A big thanks to our big supporters and long time owners as well. Special thanks to Roger, Jack, Todd and Guy. May we all have a fun, safe and prosperous 2009-10 meet at the Fair Grounds.

Early Hajji brought to Remember Me Racehorse Rescue

2009-09-17T19:15:00.004-05:00

On August 15th I blogged about a horse named Early Hajji whose owner had run into hard times and could no longer keep him. Hajji was a hard to place 23 year old retired racehorse who had been with his owner Amy for the last 13 years. Amy had been trying to locate a suitable home or horse rescue to take Hajji but with no luck due to his age and health issues. A decision had to be made soon as the end of the month was coming way too soon. Amy could take Hajji to an auction or have him euthanized to insure he would never fall into the wrong hands or be mistreated. The heartbreaking decision to euthanize was made and date to say goodbye was set for August 30th.

Remember Me Racehorse Rescue along with folks from the Alex Brown Forum and the Fans of Barbaro went to work trying to help locate a home for Hajji. We desperately searched for rescues in the Houston, Texas area that would be close to his owner and an easy trip for Hajji. A few days before his scheduled appointment to be euthanized a place for Hajji still had not be found.

Amy and Early Hajji had stayed on my mind since first hearing of their story. Dallas and I discussed what we could do for Amy and to save the life of this old racehorse. We decided that if Amy could find a way to get him here and that Hajji could safely make the trip we could keep him in our program until a suitable home could be found.

Within the week Hajji arrived. He was not the frail old horse I thought was coming to our rescue. Instead he is a strikingly beautiful grey gelding with a wonderful presence. Hajji has a lot of love to give someone and what a terrible shame it would have been to end the life of such a great horse.

Hajji is a special needs horse requiring a special diet of Equine Senior and a few supplements. We are looking for a loving home for Hajji with a family that can financially support his needs of about $400 a month for feed, hay and additives. We are also looking for donors to help support him while he is here at Remember Me. If interested in adopting or helping us support Hajji and the other horses in our program please visit our website at http://www.teamkeen.com/ or contact Dallas or Donna Keen through the website for more information.

South Texas Horse Needs Help Immediately

2009-08-15T13:21:00.003-05:00

I received this email from a young lady today in desperate need of a home or foster for her aging thoroughbred. If there is anyone in the South Texas area that could help this woman please contact me for her personal information.
Come on horse lovers. I need your help.

Early Hajji 23 yr old grey TB, good shape, thinning pasterns/light riding only. Pending legal costs with ex spouse mean I can no longer afford to maintain him after 13 years of ownership. Scheduled for euthanization Aug 30.
Desperately looking for alternatives before that date. If you can help, please call/email.
Amy

You can contact Donna Keen at Remember Me Rescue by calling 817-689-1214 or email at remembermerescue@live.com

26 Year Old Horse, Rescue Update

2009-08-08T08:18:00.008-05:00

On May 18th a skinny old grey thoroughbred was donated to our rescue program. He was severely underweight, drastically needed teeth work, and his hooves were actually starting to turn loose from his hoof wall. When his tail was lifted his anus was over a foot inside of him and his eyes were sunken into his head.

His owner said he bought the horse he called Sunny from a horse trader 8 years ago and he though he was about 15 years old. He said he couldn't afford to buy special feed for him anymore and that he had lost several hundred pounds in the last few months. He had tried to donate him to other rescues but with no luck. Then he informed me we were his last stop before heading to the public horse auction. A terrible ending for any horse story.

This big skinny horse had a bright eye despite his skeleton like appearance. I knew he didn't want to die and if he had any chance at all of making it I was going to give him every opportunity.

I offered him a flake of timothy hay only to notice Sunny had to picking up, chew, spit it out, and repeat this process several times before he could swallow a single bite but. Nearly in tears I made a phone call to Dr Gene White of Diamond W Equine. He drove through 6 o'clock Ft Worth traffic to work on his teeth that evening. It appeared he had been kicked in the mouth at some point in his life rearranging his front teeth and causing one of them to grow straight out like a tusk, which we pulled. The bottom molars had grown into the top gum where teeth were missing and completely prevented normal chewing. The old grey gelding fought us through his tranquilizer from the pain.

The next day I started attempting to research his tattoo. With help from Andrew at the Jockey Club we found him. He was 26 year old Yeah Me Do. I posted about him on the Alex Brown Forum and was contacted by people who knew Yammi and soon after was contacted by his breeder who wants to visit his old friend soon. His breeder lost track of him after he was claimed in California back in the 80's. Years after the claim he was told Yammi was dead by the trainer who had claimed him. He was so thankful to hear of his rescue.

In less than three months Yammi has fully and miraculously recovered. He is fat and healthy, his feet have grown out enough that he is out of danger of loosing them and we have even started riding him a little, bridle-less of course.

For more updates on our other rescues or to donate to the care of horses like Yammi please visit Remember Me Racehorse Rescue at www.teamkeen.com.

Old Dog, New Tricks. Joe Favorite from the Oval to the Ring

2009-07-05T06:55:00.008-05:00

January 15th I received an email from a concerned FOB about a 12 year old gelding entered to race at Retama Park. The horse named Joe Favorite was racing for the 101st time in his career, and the 6th time in 40 days at the bottom claiming level where he had been for quiet some time. Needless to say he finished nowhere.
The morning after the race I sent someone over to the trainers barn to see if he would sell Joe. He agreed to sell him for $500 and I quickly summoned the FOB family who post on the Alex Brown Racing Forum for help in raising the money. In 4 hours we had raised enough to purchase Joe and have him shipped to Remember Me Rescue.
Joe arrived thin but unbelievably sound. He had no major issues other than some girth itch and a little rounding to his 'racetrack' ankles. We put him on a special diet to help him gain weight which he did very quickly. Joe was very happy at Remember Me Rescue and enjoyed freedom to run, graze and socialize for the first time in years.
When Joe was ready to adopt I posted his information on our rescue site. I received tons of interested emails but one lady, Deirdra Marr, got my attention. Deirdra came to the farm to meet Joe and the two bonded at first site. Within hours Deirdra had brought her husband to meet Joe and scheduled his vet check.
I called Dr Roeber at Diamond W Equine Hospital and told him I needed to do a pre-purchase exam on a rescue horse. He exploded with laughter when I told him the exam was for a 12 year old with 101 racetrack starts. Much to his surprise Joe passed with flying colors. He was a freak, totally sound after 101 starts.
Deirdra took Joe to his lavish new boarding stable where she gave him some time to acclimate and then start his dressage training. Joe is now loving his new life. This goes to show you can teach an old dog, (or old racehorse), new tricks. You have got to watch this video. Joe absolutely loves his new lifestyle and it truly shows in the ring. Thank you Deirdra for giving this horse the life that he so much deserved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhaNWtlCHwQ

To donate towards the rescue and rehabilitation of other ex-racehorses like Joe please visit our site at www.teamkeen.com

Missing for 20 years, Yeah Me Do is back on track

2009-07-02T14:09:00.013-05:00

In early May I received a call from a local man named Kevin who owned an old thoroughbred gelding that he was no longer able to take care. He said the horse needed special senior feed, vaccinations, and needed major teeth work that he was unable to afford. I asked Kevin how old the horse was and if he had his registration papers to establish his eligibility for our racehorse rescue program. He told me he didn't receive papers when he purchased "Sonny" from a horse trader 8 years ago and didn't have any luck reading the faded, scarred tattoo for the Jockey Club to research him. Kevin mentioned the horse was very thin and that he had tried to donate him to several other rescues who refused him. Kevin's last call before dooming Sonny to the local sale barn was Wings of Hope, a therapeutic riding facility in Burleson, Texas who recommended that he try contacting us.

We arranged a time for Kevin to bring Sonny to Remember Me Rescue. He arrived in a stock cattle trailer and never picked up his head up even though all the other horses on the farm were whinnying at his noisy arrival. Kevin's 9 year old son opened the trailer and climbed in with the 16.3 hand white hide stretched over the big framey skeleton. Dallas and I were appalled at the horrid condition of this once beautiful thoroughbred. Kevin went on to justify why he was so thin. His age, who he thought to be around 15 to 20 along with being kicked in the mouth sometime during his life were his excuses.

Sonny was led to his new deeply bedded stall and given a timothy alfalfa hay mix. To eat hay Sonny had to chew, spit it out, pick it up and chew again. Trying not to cry I called Dr Gene White of Diamond W Equine Hospital to come perform a much needed power float on what was left of Sonny's teeth. Realizing how upset I was Dr White fought traffic and arrived for duty at 6 pm that evening.

After heavy sedation Sonny allowed us to examine his mouth. None of us had ever seen such a dental train wreck. One of his bottom teeth was growing straight out like a tusk and was pulled. The remaining front teeth resembled a roller coaster. While floating the back teeth a molar fell to the ground. There were 2 other top molars missing and the bottom molars had grown up into the top gum causing major pain and preventing his jaw from proper chewing motion. The sides of his cheeks were raw from the hooks that had developed from neglect. Upon further examination we found that Sonny's hooves were actually starting to turn loose from the inside out and required immediate attention to save them.

Sonny was immediately started on a special senior diet and hoof maintenance program and within a few days began to enjoy eating grass and walking without limping for the first time in years. He has continued to gain weight daily and his personality has bloomed.

During the first week Sonny was here I started my own research on this big grand gelding I had become so fond of. I called the Jockey Club and spoke with Andrew Chesser who was extremely helpful. Although the letter at the beginning of the tattoo and one of the numbers were not legible we searched through all the grey geldings born between 1980-1990 with 2 back socks and a blaze. Andrew told me we could be reasonably sure the horse we had was a 26 year old thoroughbred named YEAH ME DO. Yeah Me Do won six races in his career at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate back in the 80's. I was so excited about the possibility of learning this guys history that I posted on the Alex Brown Racing forum about our new discovery and talk about being in the right place at the right time.

I was notified by a member of the forum that her partner trained a horse called Romantically, Yeah Me Do's dam, and that they wanted to donate towards his recovery. Days later I received a call from Joe Shell, the trainer of Romantically who passionately referred to Yeah Me Do as Yammi-Do. What Joy this call brought to everyone. I asked Joe about Yammi's breeders and he said he would try to contact them.

Another miracle, Roy, Yammi's breeder was so excited to find he was still alive. They were told he has died by the folks who claimed Yammi from them during his racing career in California. Roy and Joe confirmed without a doubt that the horse we had was definitely Yeah Me Do through some unusual hoof markings.

Who knows how this once beloved gelding found his way to Texas but as many thoroughbreds do I assume he was brought here after his racing career ended to be butchered in a Texas slaughter house many years ago when it was still a booming practice. I am sure if Yammi could talk he would have an incredible story to tell about his life long journey.

At Remember Me Rescue we work hard to help all exracehorses find permanent homes after the careers at the track are over but occasionally one comes along that touches our hearts in a very special way. Yammi not only blessed us but left a lasting impression on everyone his life touched. I hope his story has brought joy to you and that people everywhere will recognise the importance of supporting your local horse rescues to keep helping horses like Yammi. Please visit our website at http://www.teamkeen.com/ for continuing updates on Yammi and our other horse rescues.

Remember Me Rescue Adopts Horse Number 22

2009-06-17T18:50:00.004-05:00

Beautiful 6 year old bay gelding Wounded Knee is the latest horse to be adopted from Remember Me Rescue.
'Spots' as we like to call him here due to the white spots he has on his chest, neck and jaw, never found the winners circle in 11 tries at the track. His compassionate owner/breeders were committed to take care of the life they brought into the world by placing him with us in the middle of May to start retraining for his new life. They feel strongly about finding homes for all of their horses when their lives as racehorses are over just as many responsible horses owners do.

Spots was featured on the Remember Me Rescue website as 'Horse of the Month' for June. I immediately began receiving calls and receiving adoption applications from people who were interested in adopting him. After screening applicants and checking references I invited Misha to come meet Spots. When Misha came to visit Spots and it was love at first site. She didn't even want to see the other horses after their first encounter. Misha is a barrel racer and also shows western and english pleasure as well as has some experience training young horses. They are going to be a wonderful pair.

Wounded Knee is the 22nd horse we have placed in a new home this year through our rescue program. We are now over half way to our goal of placing 40 horses for 2009.

If you are interested in adopting an exracehorse or would like to sponsor or donate to help us keep doing what we do please visit our official Remember Me Rescue website at http://www.teamkeen.com/. Adoption applications and contact information can be found there.

What a difference 30 days can make

2009-05-20T07:26:00.006-05:00

30 days ago today a retired racehorse was donated to Remember Me Rescue named Bucky Blue. He was terribly thin, full of worms and still holding onto his winter coat. We immediately started him on a feeding program to add some much needed weight, got the worm and hoof issue under control and had him vaccinated. We quickly started seeing a difference in his appearance as well as his not so sociable personality. Now that he is getting the proper care this horse looks and feels incredible with an amazing 30 day turn around.

Bucky Blue has completely changed colors from a dull orange chestnut to a fiery deep copper red. You can no longer see his hip bones sticking out, just his big round powerful rear end. He is ready for adoption much faster than I had originally anticipated.

Bucky Blue is going to need a patient kind handed rider that can comfort him when he gets nervous. He tries so hard to do what you ask him to and he is a real people pleaser. I think trails will be his best game and I feel his nervousness will subside with time. Bucky Blue is sound and very kind natured. He loves people, baths, and apple wafers.

On May 18th we had another long term project horse come in. I am currently researching his name through the Jockey Club and we will know who he is soon. He is a big sweet grey gelding standing about 16.2 hands tall. He is severely underweight and malnourished. Most of his teeth have fallen out and the few bottom teeth he has have grown through the top gum. We currently have him on a bran and equine senior mash and eating soaked timothy/alfalfa hay. I estimate his rescue cost at $1000-1500 for a 2 month period. I am asking a few horse lovers to help in his recovery. Please donate to Remember Me Rescue for his care through our website and we will keep you updated on his progress.

As of January 1st we have placed 14 exracehorses in new homes and we currently have 9 horses up for adoption in our program. To find out more about our program and the horses in it or to fill out an application for adoption please go to our website at http://www.teamkeen.com/.

LIGHTS ON BROADWAY's in the news

2009-04-30T08:26:00.005-05:00

LIGHTS ON BROADWAY's story is on the front sports page of the Ft Worth Star Telegram today. Gary West's article about Lights is great and has some good pictures of our horses. It also gives the Remember Me Rescue website address and talks about some of our other rescues.

For more information go to http://www.teamkeen.com/ and click on the link to the story.

Overcoming the odds, from hopeless to Graded Stakes Placed

2009-04-28T08:02:00.002-05:00

Owning stake horses is the dream of everyone in the horse racing business. Dreams come true when hard work and dedication are top priorities. When a trainer and owners team up to make the best decisions for a special horse anything can happen. In KING DAN's case he could have easily slipped through the cracks and never reached his full potential. He was diagnosed with OCD's in both stifles as a two year old but his dedicated owners decided on the surgery to help him have a quality of life he may not have had without it. KING DAN was sent to trainer Dallas Keen with the hopes of making a racehorse. When he arrived at the Keen stable he was a fat little horse with a smart eye and a playful personality. He enjoyed training but was the 'class clown' on the racetrack. It didn't take long to see that if the surgery was a success KING DAN could be something special, he is. KING DAN has now defeated multiple stakes winners like RECAPTURETHEGLORY and HALO NAJIB and was only beaten 1/2 of a length running second to the millionaire JONESBORO in the Texas Mile on April 25th.
Congratulations to owners Tom Clark and Jack Randall on their decision to give this horse a chance to be all he could be and to their special GRADED STAKES PLACED HORSE KING DAN.

Last of the 20 Horse Rescue

2009-04-23T05:47:00.008-05:00

Anyone who follows our blog or keeps up with the website knows we have been working on a 20 horse rescue for quite sometime. The first seven horses from Louisiana were brought here in February and the remaining horses were taken to the owners farm in Oklahoma until we could accommodate them. We posted about the horses being moved and asked if anyone in Oklahoma could help. Many horses were placed with people that lived in the area. There were still 6 horses needing new homes.

I had a gentleman named Andy Peele contact me a couple of weeks ago. He was interested in adopting a few mares for his small thoroughbred breeding operation. He offered to transport the last 6 horses here to our farm and adopt a few broodmare prospects from the group. Andy and his family decided to adopt 4 of the last 6 horses and brought 2 geldings to our farm the following morning.

The first 7 horses from the 20 horse rescue were in good shape and healthy. These were not so fortunate. I was very angry when I first laid eyes on these geldings. Very thin, lame from lack of hoof care, full of worms and still holding on to their winter coats, these horses were in terrible shape. Their teeth were so sharp they could hardly chew grain. No vaccinations records and several hundred pounds underweight I have my work cut out for me on these two guys.

Luckily both of these geldings are very sweet and enjoy all of the attention they are receiving here. They have been introduced to grain slowly and have 24 hour access to grass hay along with receiving timothy/alfalfa flakes during the day. We will not be able to ride either of the horses until they gain some weight, their top lines are too thin and we don't want their first experience to be an uncomfortable one. I will be taking pictures to update everyone on their progress.

This rescue will be an expensive one. Just to list a few costs, 2 power pack wormers $120, Vaccinations for 2 $230, shoeing $200, floating teeth another $140. We are already up to $690 and we haven't included what is it going to cost to feed them. Anyone who would like to can donate to their fund on the Remember Me Rescue website at http://www.teamkeen.com/. There is a link to paypal there and also a donation widget. We appreciate your support in helping these two geldings start a new life.

Lights On Broadway in the Spotlight

2009-04-17T10:56:00.004-05:00

The story of Lights On Broadway seems to be getting lots of attention these days. Between the news crews, reporters, and camera people our barn has be a busy place to be lately. I can only hope somehow through this horses mishaps others may be saved. Lights was lucky, he was in the right place at the right time and escaped a terrible end. So many more are not as fortunate.

Lights On Broadway was the inspiration for our project which started after he arrived at our farm in Burleson, Texas. Dallas and I were already involved with horse rescue placing over 35 horses in the previous two years. We had been doing so without any financial assistance or donations but after Lights arrived I was inspired to do more. We called our project Remember Me Racehorse Rescue and applied for a non profit status. By December of 2008 we were an official 501(c)3 and we began to bring more exracehorses to our farm to be retrained and placed in new homes.

Since the beginning of Remember Me we have retrained and placed 9 horses and have 6 horses currently for adoption at our farm. The sound horses are easy to find homes but the horses with problems are much more difficult. Some of these horses we will need to keep for several months while they rehabilitate before they can be placed in permanent homes. This gets very costly. 4 of the 6 horses currently in our program are in the rehabilitation process.

We have been very fortunate so far that I have kept a waiting list of potential adopters and been able to place sound horse very quickly. We have decided due to the large amount of horses that need homes not to charge an adoption fee. This is where all animal lovers and the horse community come in. We have hoped to fund our program totally through donations. We added a paypal widget to our websites and blog as well as invited others to copy the widget to their sites in hopes of raising money online but it hasn't been enough to totally fund the project.

On the Sunday before Derby Day our local Channel 8, WFAA, will be running a story on Lights On Broadway. This weekend sometime his story will be in Gary West's horse racing section in the Ft Worth Star Telegram, (thanks ST and Gary for the great picture by the way). Hopefully we can raise awareness to our mission and attract a few big sponsors to help fund our Remember Me Racehorse Rescue project. Anyone interested in becoming a Remember Me Sponsor please contact Donna at remembermerescue@live.com or call 817-689-1214. Donations can be through the official website at www.teamkeen.com and are tax deductible.

Horse Rescue News

2009-04-12T08:44:00.003-05:00

After several weeks of trying to arrange a ride for the remaining 13 horses from the original 20 horse rescue we see some light at the end of the tunnel. This particular rescue has been a tough one. The horses were originally in Louisiana with a trainer who had contacted Thoroughbred Transport to haul the horses to a local sale barn to be sold at auction. Instead the owner of TT contacted us about the situation and we offered to take the horses at Remember Me Rescue. We didn't have the room or the financing to take all of them at once so 7 of the 20 were brought to our farm and the remaining 13 were moved to the owners farm in Oklahoma. The 7 were quickly adopted out and we starting attempting to make arrangements for the other horses.
Due to the remote location of the owners farm no horse transporters could arrange shipment of the horses for us. It was not on a local route and the owner had no way of moving all of the horses to Oklahoma City where the big vans could load the horses.
About a week ago I was contacted by a man named Andy who is in the process of starting a small breeding operation and is looking for mares with nice pedigrees to add to his broodmare band. He was interested in coming to see the rescue horses in our program. I let him know that as hard as we had tried I couldn't find transportation for the horses. Andy offered to haul the horses for us in hopes that one or two of the mares would work for his breeding operation.
Now we are just trying to line up every one's schedules so we can pick up several of the remaining 13 horses.
If anyone is interested in adopting or sponsoring one of these retired racehorses please contact us through our website at www.teamkeen.com . If you wish to donate to these horses care and retraining there is a paypal widget on the site to making donating quick and easy.

Joe Favorite finds a home

2009-03-08T07:35:00.006-05:00

12 year old Joe Favorite was entered to race at Retama Park on January 15, 2009 when I started receiving calls to intervene. Joe was racing for the 6th time in a mere 40 days, 10th time in 3 1/2 months. That night he was entered in a $3500 claiming race and was going off at odds of more than 50-1. After running a terrible 5th in a 8 horse field and behind a very poor group of horses, a dirt covered Joe Favorite was returned to his stall without a bath and not properly cooled out. Early the next morning we sent someone over to Joe's owner/trainer and asked him if he would sell Joe. He set a price of $500 and we purchased Joe to retire him.

Joe was immediately brought to our stable at Retama to be cared for there until we could arrange transportation to our farm. His hair was long and shabby and he was on the thin side to say the least. Our assistant trainer and our staff gave him a much needed hot bath, mane pulling and clip job and kept him in a well bedded stall with a hay bag full of timothy alfalfa hay to await the transportation that would take him away from the racetrack forever.

When Joe arrived at our farm we turned him out in a large paddock where he could run free and get acclimated to just being a horse again. He loved the sun and would lay down in the grass for long afternoon naps. Joe also enjoyed socializing with the other horses and didn't seem to mind the switch to being an easy going trail riding horse. He quickly forgot all about being a racehorse.

In late February I posted on our rescue site, http://www.teamkeen.com/, that Joe was ready to be adopted. I received several calls and one lady in particular sparked my attention. Deirdra Marr of Dallas, Texas came to our farm to meet Joe. They immediately bonded. Later that evening Deirdra brought her husband out to meet Joe as well. As soon as we walked into the paddock Joe gladly met us half way for the introduction to Mr Marr. What a ham, he also followed us all the way to the gate as to say, "Am I going home with you now?"

Joe now lives at a fancy Dallas boarding stable receiving 3 meals a day, a large turn out, and all the love and attention an old guy like him deserves. What a happy ending to Joe Favorite's career and a big thank you to all the people who care about the welfare of racehorses and helped to make this rescue happen.

Please consider donating to Remember Me Rescue so we may continue to help horses like Joe Favorite.

20 Horse Rescue Underway

2009-02-18T09:45:00.003-06:00

The first seven horses of the 20 horse Louisiana rescue arrived at our farm on Monday morning. I was supposed to be there for the arrival but Sunday evening on my way in from New Orleans I had engine problems in Dallas' truck. I broke down in Opelousas, about 25 miles north of Lafayette, LA in his new Ford F350, (everyone knows what F-O-R-D stands for, Found On Road Dead). Luckily I didn't have horses on the trailer and Dallas came with my dependable 3/4 ton Chevy and picked me and the horse trailer up. We were back in New Orleans by 2am.

I got an 11 am flight the next morning from New Orleans to Dallas Love Field and got to the farm about 2 to find the horses had arrived in good shape and all looked to be healthy and sound. There were 5 geldings and 2 mares. Whew... what a fiasco.

I had prepared for their arrival by inviting a few folks to be there to meet and consider adopting horses when they arrived. Ann Best adopted two horses, Ruby Knolls and Little Doctor and my neighbor Archie Salinas, a polo horse trainer, adopted Queen of Belen. I have had several people contact me about the remaining 4 horses and I am very optimistic I can place all of them in good homes.

Another one of my neighbors has shown interest in Shawneboy. He is going to need throat surgery to be a riding horse but she is willing and able to have it done. She is also considering Imbizzyrunning as a pleasure/trail prospect even though he is a little on the nervous side. I have been talking to a few other folks about the 2 older geldings. I would really prefer to find companion homes for them, especially if they could go together. Both ride okay but cry like big babies for each other. I am sure the stress of the move has complicated things for them but none the less they have paid their dues and should enjoy their retirement, hopefully together.

I have waived any adoption fee for these horses and I am depending completely on donations to pay for this rescue. There were too many horses involved that needed to be placed quickly. I am only asking for proof of income and 3 good references, one from a vet or farrier, and hoping the horse community will chip in for the cost of the shipping and for the care of the horses while they are here at our farm. I couldn't do what I do without help from others and I thank everyone who has stepped up to help. If you would like to donate you can do so through our Remember Me Rescue Website. All gifts are tax deductible and very much appreciated.

One of a Kind Fund Raiser, Friesan Fire Item

2009-02-07T20:50:00.006-06:00

Dallas and I have been raising money for the rescue, retirement and retraining of exracehorses since December when we formed Remember Me Racehorse Rescue Foundation. Today, I had an inspiration. After the races we waited around to congratulate Larry Jones on Friesan Fire's big victory in the Risen Star and I told him about our non profit organization. I asked Larry for Friesan Fire's shoes so we could auction them on EBay and he offered me his halter as well. Not only is Larry a wonderful horsemen, more importantly he is a horse lover and a big supporter of horse rescue.
I also hit up Brett Calhoun who offered a framed print of Barbaro and asked Steve Asmussen for help and he said he would get us something really nice for our auction.
My mission now is to acquire a few one of a kind objects that not just anyone could get there hands on and sell them on EBay with all proceeds going to Remember Me Rescue.
Our most recent successful rescue was a 12 year old gelding named Joe Favorite. Joe ran his 101st start at Retama Park and my phone was ringing off the wall with people concerned for his safety. Joe had raced 6 times in the previous 40 days. The next morning we sent someone over to ask the trainer if he would consider selling Joe and he agreed to sell him for $500. Being a new rescue organization we didn't have the funds to purchase Joe and to continue to fund the horses we already have in our program. I immediately got online and asked for help from the Fans of Barbaro on the Alex Brown Racing site along with mentioning Joe on the Dallas Keen Racing Stable website and our blog. Within 4 hours we raised enough money to purchase Joe from his trainer, pay to ship him to our farm, and enough to pay for Joe's care for about 2 months.
The project I am current working on has been a little more difficult. I received a phone call from Angelo Trosclair of Thoroughbred Transport a couple of weeks ago concerning a few horses in Louisiana that needed homes when an owner decided to quit the business. Angelo was contacted by the owner because he wanted to take them to a local auction barn. Being that Angelo is a huge supporter of horse rescue he asked them to give us a chance to help with the horses before they were sold to the highest bidder.
As it turned out there were a more than a few horses, there were 20 horses that needed immediate placement. As of today we have placed 4 of the 20 horses and saved them from slaughter. Now our time is ticking. I only have about two weeks to get the others to safety or the owner will have another transporter who has made him an offer for the remaining horses pick them up.
My one of a kind fund raiser will help pay for this rescue project including the transport, care, and retrain these remaining horses for new careers. I am asking everyone to share this information with everyone they know and go to our Remember Me Rescue website at http://www.teamkeen.com/ to donate funds if you are able. If you wish to donate an item for our auction please contact me at remembermerescue@live.com . We will also donate a portion of all proceeds from the sales of horse supplies and training aids from Keen Equine Products.
All donations are tax deductible and will go directly to fund the rescue and placement of exracehorses.

Now is Your Chance To Help

2009-01-16T09:11:00.002-06:00

We are raising funds to retire JOE FAVORITE, a 12 year old horse currently racing at Retama Park. His owner/trainer has agreed to sell him for $500. I am going to use $100 of our recent donations to go towards his purchase price and asking all who read this blog to donate what you can to go directly towards the remaining $400 of his purchase price and the shipping to get him to Remember Me Rescue. You can use the widget on the top right of this page or donate through the paypal button on the website. Thanks to all and lets get this guy off the racetrack.

Texas on the Forefront of Helping Retired Racehorses

2009-01-07T14:12:00.003-06:00

Everything in Texas is supposed to be bigger, how about our hearts? With a little help and a lot of luck we have managed to bring attention of the dire need to provide care to retired racehorses to our state legislators. Yesterday a meeting was held in Austin to introduce horse retirement issue to the Sunset Committee. Representatives from the Texas Horsemans Partnership Lane Hutchins and Tommy Azopardi were at the meeting to present the committee a few simple ideas that will raise money for the rehabilitation, retraining, and placing exracehorses in permanent homes.
About the time Lights On Broadway retired to our farm Dallas and I started thinking of ways to generate constant cash flow to provide for the care of horses when they retire. One of the things we discussed was raising money through the Texas Racing Commission by adding a couple of bucks to the cost of a racing license. By doing that every person that profits directly from horse racing whether they be owners, trainers, jockeys or employees of racing facilities would help provide care for the horses in which they earn an income from. The small amount collected from the licenses could benefit horses in a big way.
On Tuesday the idea was well received by the Sunset Committee and could possibly make the Texas horsemen and women directly associated with horseracing the first in the nation to have set up a fund of this kind. In addition to the license fee increase there was also discussion to take a small piece of the breeders awards. I am sure that will have some opposition from the folks who breed but do not run their own horses. Sorry folks, this is much needed.
Texas finally has its best chance ever at getting the VLT's with the change in Texas Government. Our new Speaker of the House Joe Straus is a horsemen and supports the bill. VLT's at Texas racetracks will not only make purses competitive with other states but will set aside a portion of the revenue for equine research and racehorse retirement. In addition, there is also to be money set aside for other breed registries such as the AQHA, the Cutting Horse Assn, the Friesians, the Gypsy horses, and so on and so on. Every group associated with horses can apply to the Agriculture Department to receive benefits.

New Racehorse Rescue Program- Remember Me Rescue

2008-12-19T09:49:00.004-06:00

After years of deliberation and struggling to make ends meet with our home based rehabilitation and rescue program Dallas and I have decided to start our own 501c3 non profit horse rescue organization. In the past two years we have excepted 35 horses to our program. Most of them have been placed although some have required extensive care and have been at our farm for long periods of time. Through our non profit we hope to be able to help more horses than ever before.
We have never asked for help before so the decision to do so was difficult. Since we also breed, rehab, and train racehorses for clients and have many of our own personal horses as well, we were concerned that accepting donations could be misinterpreted. To help me in this task I have asked a few folks to serve as directors of our organization that will help me in keep good accountable records. One such person is Houston based business attorney Irwin Barg and my personal bookkeeper Christine Wright. Our CPA Brad Epstien of Rockwall, Texas will be overseeing things as well.
We will be excepting donations of cash, feed, hay, or anything else that could benefit the rehabilitation or recovery of off track thoroughbreds. We will also be able to give a tax deduction for such donations as well as donations of horses themselves once the required paperwork and forms have been filed.
Dallas and I would like to thank everyone for all of the support and the gracious comments supporting us and the rest of the folks involved in the Lights On Broadway rescue. He has been such a blessing to us and will be the ambassador for our project. We hope to use his story to raise awareness to owners, trainers, and even grooms, jockeys, and agents to this beneficial cause. With the help of some special folks we plan to campaign for a state based and then a national plea that all people holding a racing license that benefit from these athletes contribute in some small way to their retirement.
I will also start highlighting weekly a horse that we have helped to place in a new home. Through this we help to get these special stories of great horses and generous people out where they belong instead of all of the negative press we in this industry are used to. I hope we in some small way can make a big difference.

Lights On Broadway Update

2008-12-07T09:57:00.004-06:00

For all the fans of Lights On Broadway I apologize for not updating you sooner on his progress. Dallas and I have been very busy since the Fair Grounds has started racing traveling between New Orleans, Retama Park in San Antonio, and our farm in Burleson, Texas where we are starting yearlings on dark days as well as working with the other horses in our rescue program with Lights On Broadway.

Lights is steadily gaining his much needed weight and turning into an awesome riding partner. He really likes people and wants to please me so it makes my job as his trainer/encourager much easier. He has ponied a few horses at the farm and it seems to come second nature. I guess after all the years of being ponied he doesn't mind going on the left side instead of the right.

Our original plan was to start Lights new pony horse career in Texas at Lone Star Park where he had most of his racing success but the plan may have changed. Dallas' pony, ex racehorse Eye Man Who, needs a little break and will be heading to the farm for a little vacation so the Texas 2001 Horse of the Year may have to start working a little sooner than we expected .

Lights has been riding bridle-less at the farm but when he gets to the track will be back in a bridle for a week or so just to make sure he doesn't have any flashbacks of being a racing champion. His training has gone so well and he has learned so much that is wouldn't surprise me at all if he acts like a profession pony. I just wonder how he will do behind the gates when they pop a set of workers in the mornings.

Lights On Broadway's Amazing Comeback

2008-10-09T11:47:00.006-05:00

Lights On Broadway is quiet a horse. He has come so far in such a short time and done remarkably well considering his recent past. After being rescued off the slaughter truck and then being shipped around Oklahoma to farms and racetracks he has definitely settled in to his new life with us. Lights is a wonderful horse. He loves attention and seems very happy and secure. He has been through so much but thanks to so many generous people he has made his way home to Texas.

We have started Lights On Broadway's training program and hope to have him ready to use as a racetrack pony at Lone Star Park this spring. He is already riding bridle-less at our farm but we have yet to start teaching him to pony. If he doesn't like the easy life at the track escorting young horses to and from we will find him a job he does like. I have taken him on one trail ride and he was terrific, even rode out into the pond. A life as a trail horse would probably suit him just fine if the track doesn't.

I am not sure by looking at Lights On Broadways PP's if he ever had more than one a real break his entire career. So learning social skills in a pasture with others was a challenge that he has overcome in the last month. Now Lights enjoys his pasture mates although he still lets them know he is the boss. He is steadily putting on weight and looking better with every passing day.

Lights On Broadway is only one of our rescues here at the farm. We have 7 other horses we care for here, some ready to be placed in new homes as riding horses and others that are in need of special homes. If anyone is interested in adopting a horse through Dallas and I please contact us. We also accept thoroughbred horses from any owner or trainer. If you are in need of placing a horse who's racing career is ending we can help. We urge owners and trainers to take the time to locate a rescue facility for your thoroughbreds instead of sending them to a sale. Just a couple of weeks ago a woman contacted me that bought one of our former horses, Agrapha, at a sale for .15 a pound. She verified the tattoo number through the Jockey Club and then contacted Dallas and I for additional information on the horse. His previous owner, Jim Jackson, thought he had given Agrapha to folks that would care for him. Unfortunately he fell into the wrong hands.

This happens way to much and I plead with people to locate responsible homes for their exracers. We hope to be able to use Lights On Broadway as an ambassador and show people the retrainability of these fine athletes. They deserve better than the fate of too many.

If you know of a horse in need of placement, again, contact us at dallaskeen@hotmail.com and we will see what we can do to help or go to our website for more information on horse rescues and updates..

September 30th, Lights On Broadway Update

2008-09-30T08:00:00.006-05:00

Lights On Broadway is adapting well to his new leisurely pasture life. He is currently turned out with a few other rescues and retired OTTBs and Blue, Dallas' famous retired racetrack pony. Lights rules the roost. He's not mean but he does let everyone know who the important rich guy is.

Getting here wasn't easy. At first Lights protested being left out. He was upset by the loss of his fan in the heat of the day and would only stay out for an hour or so before he would come to the fence by the house and wait on someone to put him back in his stall.

We gradually increased his out time in a paddock next to the horses he would eventually be turned out with. After a period of a couple of weeks I led Lights out with the other horses to sniff noses, squeal , etc. It wasn't pretty. Lights acted like he had never been allowed to be social. He didn't make friends very fast except for Blue.

Blue liked Lights despite the squeals and rubbed his old grey nose all over Lights ignoring his aggressive behavior. They have been best buds since. I guess Blue recognised Lights as being another 'old guy' and knew they had something in common. Another thought crossed my mind. Horses are so smart. I wonder if Blue remembers Lights from the track. He almost acted like he found a long lost friend. Even though these guys weren't in the same barn there is something to it. I am convinced they recognise each other or at least know there is a common bond between these two incredibly intelligent horses.

On occasion when I have time we bring Lights in to play. He really enjoys getting to interact with people. I have taught him a few tricks that he likes. One is giving hugs and the other is what we call praying, where a horse will lower his head to the ground while you knell down beside them. He loves the attention and the praise when he does something right. He has been exceptionally easy to teach. We have ridden him a few times and even started his bridle-less training which will be very easy. He wants to do right all the time and never argues or disagrees.

I can't wait until he puts on a little more weight. We are looking forward to using him as a pony at the track this next spring. Hopefully he will be a great ambassador for the OTTB's showing their incredible retrainability.

Any Sarah Palin Fans Out There???

2008-09-18T19:51:00.003-05:00

We recently named one of our Louisiana Bred yearling fillies PALIN POWER. This filly is by Alyzig, a son a Danzig, and out of a mare named Eskimo's Gold, by Eskimo. She stands 15.2 hands, is a beautiful bay, very correct and as bold as can be, (just like her namesake).

We are looking for a few of our republican friends to share this filly with. I think it will be fun. Please give drop me an email at dallaskeen@hotmail.com if you are interested in participating in a partnership with PALIN POWER.

Lights On Broadway Update

2008-09-18T16:38:00.005-05:00

Once again I want to thank everyone involved in bringing Lights On Broadway home to Texas. There were so many kind people who joined in this nationwide effort of horsemen and non-horsemen alike to donate their time and money to getting him home.

Lights is doing great. He is continuing to gain weight and muscle tone at a fast pace and we expect him to recover 100%. He is learning everything we have time to teach him and is already giving hugs and other little tricks. I felt confident enough to start his bridle-less training on the third ride. He will be no trouble at all to train. I bet we will be ponying on him by the first of the year or at least by the opening of the thoroughbred meet at Lone Star next spring.

We took Lights to the Equine Expo last weekend where he represented Off Track Thoroughbreds, also known as OTTB's, as we tried to show people to retrainability of horses who have racetrack backgrounds. Contrary to popular belief racehorses are highly intelligent and are easily retrained for new careers after they are retired from the track. Next year we hope to show how Lights has completely recovered from his almost horrific ending to a big beautiful confident racetrack pony.

For now he is still resting at the farm most days and ridden a couple of days a week or whenever I can get home to see him. He is beginning to be social with the other horses and spending a little more time out before asking to come back into the barn. ( He still thinks he needs a fan in the heat of the day ). I will keep you guys updated and posting pictures as Lights progresses.

Good Things Happen To Good People

2008-09-18T16:38:00.002-05:00

Everyone who knows Angelo Trosclair likes him. Angelo owns the national horse transportation company Thoroughbred Transport and is always willing to help us with transportation for our rescue horses. He is known for having fair prices and making special trips for anyone in need.

On Wednesday, September 17 we held our Backside Benevolence Benefit, also known as the Chaplains Banquet, at Louisiana Downs. This event is held the Wednesday before the Super Derby and is looked forward to by trainers, owners, and many others every year. The event is the primary fund raiser for the Backside Benevolence Fund and Chaplian Jimmy Sistrunk each year. A silent auction, a live bidding auction and sale of the tickets all go to the fund. They also recognise a trainer, assistant trainer, and a person of the year.

As a fun twist to the banquet they have a reverse drawing for a cash prize of $3000 where anyone interested in participating may purchases tickets for the reverse drawing for $100 each. As the night goes on names are called and removed from the list until only one name remains. This year the winner of the cash drawing was Angelo Trosclair.

Angelo also was the high bidder for the golf cart which brought a donation bid of $2900. So in fact Angelo made out smelling like a rose. He left with a golf cart and $100. Good things happen to good people.

A huge Thank You to Angelo and Thoroughbred Transport for all of the help with the rescue horses. Now I don't feel so bad asking for the help.

New Pictures of Lights On Broadway

2008-08-31T10:28:00.006-05:00

Lights On Broadway and his new friends meet over the fence for the first time.

Here is Lights On Broadways first day out in a paddock. Hopefully it won't take long to put some weight on him.

Lights getting some exercise.

Here is the pose I was telling you about. What a magnificent horse. How could anyone doom this horse to slaughter. If it was a racehorse trainer who took Lights to this sale or was directly responsible for him going there I would like to let every horseman and woman in the country know what a scum ball he is. Many thanks to Gregg Sanders and his family for intervening and saving the life of Lights On Broadway, Texas Horse of the Year 2001.

Lights On Broadway Is HOME!!!

2008-08-30T19:36:00.003-05:00

Lights On Broadway is home in Texas. He arrived here about 6:30 pm on Thoroughbred Transport. My first impression of this horse was he is a champion. He knows it too. We had a small group of people waiting for him to unload from the van. He walked off slowly and then struck a pose as if he was waiting for the cameras to start flashing.

After a few quick pictures I led him to out to the pasture to hand graze and let him get a good look around the farm. Every time a horse would winnie he would strike the pose again. So Funny!! After grazing I took him to his stall, ( huge foaling stall ), and turned him loose. He seems very content and nickered for some grain. Although he is still thin he looks to be in very good health and seems sound. I think we are going to be alright but I am going to give him a power pack and start him on some ulcer medication just be sure. He still needs about 200 pounds.

Lights seems as gentle and kind as everyone has said. A total class act. I am very thankful to everyone that worked so hard to get this horse back to Texas. Thanks so much to The Sanders who purchased him from the killer buyer, Mary Overton and all the folks who sponsor the TOP BUNK LIST, The Alex Brown Racing Site, and every person who gave from their hearts by making a donation to make this happen for Lights On Broadway.

I will keep you guys updated on his progress and attach more pictures soon.

Peter Rabbit, 32 year old horse evicted from the only home he knows

2008-08-28T06:33:00.006-05:00

Shame on Hickman, Nebraska who has evicted this horse from his home. 32 year old Peter Pan was born in a 4 acre pasture and has lived his entire life there. Now the city of Hickman has annexed the property and has sent his 76 year old owner notice to move the horse. This will be catastrophic for Peter Rabbit at his age.
Please call the city of Hickman and tell them what you think. The more phone calls and letters the better. The clerk of Hickman is keeping a log of calls. Let's do what we can to keep this horse at home.

Anyone with more info or other links with information about this story please post a comment here on the blog.

City of Hickman115 Locust Street P.O. Box 127Hickman, NE 68372
Telephone: (402) 792-2212E-mail: bbaker@hickman.ne.govwebsite: CITY OF HICKMAN
NEBRASKA - CITY OF HICKMAN

CLICK HERE TO SIGN A PETITION TO KEEP PETER RABBIT AT HOME

Rescue Update for Lights On Broadway

2008-08-27T07:22:00.007-05:00

We are impatiently awaiting the arrival of Lights of Broadway. He is supposed to start his journey back to Texas this afternoon when his current owner Gregg Sanders will transport him from his 30 horse stable in Henryetta, Oklahoma to Remington Park in Oklahoma City. Lights will then rest there until Saturday when he will be brought to our farm in Burleson, Texas by Angelo Trosclair, owner of Thoroughbred Transport.

The story of Lights On Broadway is an incredible one. This horse has been through so much and we have so many people to thank for helping in this nationwide effort to get him home to Texas.

Lights On Broadway is a 11 year old Texas bred gelding who until last month was still racing. He has 83 lifetime starts with 15 wins, 13 seconds and 14 thirds and earning of over half a million dollars, most which came in allowance and stakes company until recently when he dropped to the bottom claiming level.

About 3 months ago owner/trainer Gregg Sanders was approached by a killer horse buyer with a gooseneck trailer with approximately 40 horses crammed in it. The man told Gregg he needed to show something to him. He pulled a old worn set of papers off his dash and Gregg was blown away when he saw the horses name on the papers. Lights On Broadway was remembered as being horse of the year. How in the world did he end up here?

Gregg asked to see him and the horse trader showed him a big chestnut gelding 3 from the back of the overfilled trailer. Thin and lame, Lights On Broadway was led off the trailer and purchased by Gregg. The trader told him he would be glad to come back and get him if he didn't work out. Gregg and his family wouldn't let that happen.

At the same time this was going on Lights On Broadway had been placed on a watch list by a group that calls themselves the Fans of Barbaro on the Alex Brown Racing Site. These compassionate folks keep a watch list for thoroughbred racehorses in need of retirement and try to relocate them to new homes off the racetrack through donations from horse lovers.

They contacted Gregg when they saw him show up on the list. Gregg was happy to help in the efforts to get Lights back to Texas.

We can not wait to have him home and give him some well deserved time off. He will be turned out with a couple of other geldings in a big paddock with a nice size pond. When he is ready we will start retraining him for a new life. Whether it be a racetrack pony, a dressage horse or just a plain ol' trail buddy for someone he will be loved and cherished by all the wonderful people that worked so hard to make this happen.

I will be posting lots of pictures as soon as he arrives. Thanks so much to everyone, Lights On Broadway will be a living testimony to show that exracers are worth giving a second chance to. Shame on the folks who almost doomed the future of this outstanding athlete and all the thanks and appreciation in the world to Gregg Sanders and his family for saving his life.

Stranger things have happened, Foal Born at LaD

2008-08-20T14:00:00.004-05:00

This morning when we arrived at the track for training a rumor was floating around about a foal born on the backside in the middle of the night. By 6 am it was confirmed, a 2 year old filly gave birth to a filly during the night in the Pat Mouton Stable at Louisiana Downs. Now I know for sure the filly was born but the rest of the details may or may not be totally factual so take them with a grain of salt, (although they came from a pretty good source). Rumor has it this filly had been in training with Mouton for a while and was being kept at a nearby training facility. She was brought to Louisiana Downs sometime before Sunday morning where she worked 3 furlongs in 36 and change. She has been in the Mouton's regular barn on the backside since then. Boy, I wish I would have seen the look on the grooms face this morning when he arrived at her stall.
I heard one trainer mention that he noticed the mare waxing and dripping milk while coming of the track yesterday morning. I have heard others say she didn't have a bag formed but was an 'easy keeper' so to speak and was a little over weight. Who knows...
What I do know is that someone should have noticed something wasn't right with this filly. Whether it was her weight problem, her enlarged bag, her absence of a cycle, something, someone needs to be responsible. This filly could have caused serious danger to herself, her foal, and her exercise rider on Sunday or any day prior to that while she was in race training. Ultimately I guess the trainer responsibility rule is in effect here but then again, he surely wasn't the one who left her out with the colts too long.
Breeders and owners alike and not to mention trainers should learn 2 valuable lessons here.
1. Don't leave fillies and colts together, even when you think they are too young to breed.
2. If you have a filly in training that is gaining weight and looking and little thick through the flank spend the twenty bucks and palpate them.

Looking for Partners for Four 2 year old fillies and geldings

2008-06-23T18:47:00.006-05:00

We have 4 two year old thoroughbreds for sale at out farm that are currently in training and almost ready for the racetrack. We had originally decided to keep them and try to prove our new stallions but with Dallas breaking his hand this summer and a few other set backs we decided to sell them either in a package or individually in partnerships. We would still like to keep an interest in all of them if possible. Please email us at dallaskeen@hotmail.com if you have any questions on how we do partnerships.
The first is La Oro Diva, a gray Texas Bred filly by Oro Negra and out of Open Fairway, by Open Forum. She is a January foal and is very mature. She should be ready to start by the end of the summer. La Oro Diva is 15.2 hands, correct and very feisty.
Second is Clearly Persuaded, a bay Texas Bred filly by Oro Negra and out of Auntie Adele, by Carborundum. Auntie Adele had earnings in excess of $97,000 and Clearly Persuaded is her third foal, with one winner from two starters. Clearly Persuaded stands 16.2 hands tall and has correct conformation. She is currently in training at our farm.
Next is Diamante De Oro. He is a 2 year old Texas Bred brown gelding by Oro Negra out of Diazo Sport, by Diazo. He is a second foal, the first foal out of this mare broke his maiden at Lone Star Park this meet by 8 lengths. Diamante De Oro is currently in training at our farm.
Last is Texas Treat. Texas Treat is a 2 year old bay Texas Bred gelding by Oro Negra and out of Storm In Texas, by Storm Boot. We are very fond of this colt for several reasons. He is a first foal and his mother died having her second. The foal suffered from a one in a million birth defect that causes the unborn foals joints to form as solid bones. Somehow she carried to full term but we but her down when attempts to remove the foal failed. She was our favorite mare. Storm In Texas' second dam earned over a million dollars. We had high hopes for her as a broodmare even though she didn't make it on the track due to an ankle injury. To make a long story short we would like to keep at least 50% of this colt. He is an outstanding individual.
If you are interested in any one or making a package deal on these 2 year olds please contact me or Dallas directly by phone, or email at dallaskeen@hotmail.com and go to our website at http://www.teamkeen.com/ . We would like to have all of these guys ready and running by the end of the summer.

Too Funny Not To Share

2008-06-12T13:15:00.000-05:00

Big Brown Seen Leaving Belmont Carrying Large Sacks Of Cash
June 12, 2008 Onion Sports
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/big_brown_seen_leaving?utm_source=slate_rss_1
NEW YORK—Shortly after finishing in last place in the Belmont Stakes Saturday, Big Brown was reportedly seen leaving through the back exit of the Belmont stable locker rooms carrying several shopping bags stuffed with cash, which the 3-year-old colt placed into the back seat of his Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe. "I could hardly tell it was him because he was wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap pulled down low over his eyes, and a long trench coat, but I remember thinking he was so tall he had to be one of the athletes," said horseracing fan Jason Larson. "Still, I didn't figure it out until I saw the 'Big B' vanity plates on his car." According to numerous witnesses, Brown spent five minutes urinating on the windshield of trainer Rick Dutrow's car before driving off erratically at high speed.

Foaling time is over, now the real work begins

2008-05-12T18:42:00.003-05:00

Everyone looks forward to the new foals each year and thanks to technology it is easier to ever to watch mares as they get close to foaling time. After years of getting up every hour or sleeping on cots in barns just to miss the wonderful event as you try to catch a nap or run a quick errand, we now have foaling down to a science.

Three years ago we invested in foal cams and a foaling alert system. Now we sleep through the night and don't feel as if we are chained to the barn. We can carry on as usual until the phone rings to alert us of mare laying down and then we log on to the computer to watch the mare in case assistance is required. Isn't technology great?

This year we had a small crop, only 4 foals. All but one were incredibly healthy. The other needed a little help. His mother had dripped milk for over two weeks and didn't provide her foal with adequate colostrum. The foal responded fine and would get up and visit with us each time we went into the stall but as we monitored his behavior from the computer we noticed he was not as active as a normal foal and spent a lot of time laying down. We called the vet early the next morning and as expected he was in need of plasma. Almost immediately the colt recovered and is now doing wonderful. Without the monitoring system we may not have noticed the lethargic behavior as quickly and been able to take the action needed in as timely of manner.

I recommend anyone with mares and foals get a foal cam and a foaling alert system. If you save one foal you will repay yourself hundreds of times over. Anyone interested in the system can contact us or go to our website and see our cameras at the farm. We also have a camera system at the racetrack where owners can log in to see their horses anytime during the day.

Incidentally one of my little boogers kicked the snot out of me a couple of days after he was born. Got to love them though... Now all four are halter broke, picking up there feet and on their way to a good start as being racehorses.

Elliecat wins the Chou Croute Handicap, Lemony Cricket wins too!

2008-02-17T20:07:00.004-06:00

What a great day it was when mean old Elliecat won the Chou Croute Handicap Saturday at the Fair Grounds. We have had Elliecat in our barn since April of 2007. Since then she has done very well with 3 wins and 3 seconds from 8 starts. At least she looks good in the form. Her bedside manner is not so good. During our 10 months with this filly she has earned the barn nickname, "EllieGATOR", attempting to savage grooms, hotwalkers, pony people, and yes, even me. She keeps us on our toes for sure. This mare is so wild she jumped on top of a hotwalker and actually scissor locked her front legs around the womans neck while biting her on the head all the way to the ground. Fortunately the hotwalker scrambled away from her into our office. We caught the whole attack on tape. Just recently she jumped on her groom in the shed row, again caught on tape and again without injury to the groom. In November she got me while I was on my pony and now 5 months later I still have top and bottom teeth mark scars on my shin.

Well putting up with all of her meanness paid off Saturday when her mean streak carried her wire to wire in the Chou Croute Handicap. Setting all the fractions and drawing off down the lane to hold on at the wire by a neck, Elliecat paid $159 bucks on a two dollar bet. The second biggest payout of the meet. Lonnie Meche happened to bring in both of them with his front running strategy.

Congratulations to James and Ywachetta Driver ! We love you guys and hope we have many great years together! (and if you can't find a place for that big trophy let me know).

On another good note our filly Lemony Cricket won the 7th race of the day, a $50,000 claiming race for fillies and mares, by 5 lengths, drawing off down the lane. That brought her up to 2 wins, 2 seconds and 3 thirds in 9 starts since Dallas Keen took over her training in May of 2007.

Lemony Cricket was purchased from a sale by the thoroughbred partnership of Ace Thoroughbreds, LLC and now has become the teams leading money earner with close to $80,000 in earnings.

Thoroughbred Partnerships, Join Team Keen

2008-01-15T12:24:00.002-06:00

Thoroughbred partnerships can minimize the risk of loss and maximize the potential for earnings. With the financial help of a group we can provide you with a better horse for a smaller investment. This gives people who normally couldn't afford a stakes quality horse the chance to own a piece of one while being a big part of the fun and excitement in the winners circle.

The difference between the way we do things and other thoroughbred partnerships starts with your initial investment and ends with the return of your portion of the purse. There are no hidden costs, no gimmicks, and no wondering where you money is truly being spent. All costs are itemized from vet bills to training fees and are billed directly to you monthly for your exact percentage owned. With Team Keen there are no extra partnership fees and all earnings are paid back to owners as soon as money clears the horseman's account at the track. You pay only what you owe when you owe it, not in advance but as charges occur.

There are several ways to start a partnership all depending on your preference. We attend many yearling and two year old sales during the year as well as locate racing prospects privately. We also claim horses starting at $5000 up to $50,000.

You may already have a group of friends interested in a partnership or you may want to be a part of a group already forming. Either way we will answer all of you questions about thoroughbred ownership and partnerships and be glad to start you in the right direction when you contact us.

Join the fun, come to the track, and be a part of a winning team.

Team Keen

Starting Two Year Old Thoroughbreds

2008-01-04T11:51:00.000-06:00

Well, its that time of year again. Two year olds will be racing as early as April and we have started breaking babies at the farm. This year we have a new addition to our staff at Keen Farms. Chris and Carrie Loelhein have joined our team and will be working with the young horses as they prepare for their future at the race track.
Chris and Carrie have relocated here from Florida and have been in the horse boarding, breeding and training business for many years. They will a valuable addition to Team Keen and we are looking forward to a very successful year with them.
In addition to overseeing the farm, Carrie will be in charge of our Thoroughbred Relocation Program where we rehabilitate and retrain thoroughbred horses after their racing careers are over. We sell the sound, retrained riding horses and broodmares and the profit from their sales help to pay the expenses on horses with major problems that take an extended period of time to heal before they may be relocated or adopted. We except horses from all over the country and will provide rehabilitation and placement for free, we just ask that you get them here to our farm in Burleson, Texas as we do not have the resources to go pick them up.
Dallas and Donna Keen are currently excepting two year olds for breaking and training at their farm and will be moving the entire racing stable from The Fair Grounds Race Course and Sam Houston Race Park to Lone Star Park in late March.
This April we will be racing at Lone Star Park where the 2 year olds of 2008 will be making their first appearances. We hope to have a few early runners this year and make ourselves known in some of the early 2 year old stake races.
Any questions about starting 2 year olds or placing retired racehorses please contact Dallas or Donna Keen and visit our website at www.dallaskeen.com .

Go Mercantile! Paid for himself 3X in a month!

2007-12-30T18:54:00.000-06:00

By now almost everyone has congratulated Dallas Keen for his $10,000 claim for BK Racing. Mercantile has paid for himself three times this month.

Brad Kyles of BK Racing actually picked this gelding that was purchased just last year for $2,000,000 as a two year old in training. We claimed him at The Fair Grounds for the discounted price of $10,000. I am not sure if his previous trainer was playing liars poker to get him eligible for $10K starters or if he was sacrificing him for the win but either way we are glad to have him in the barn.

I wrote about Mercantile in a blog entry just a couple of weeks ago but now he has an allowance win to add to his 2nd place finish in the allowance race two weeks ago. Mercantile has now earned over $32,000 for his new connections in just 5 weeks after being claimed.

I am not sure where we will go next with Mercantile. Maybe a 10K starter, maybe go for the big purse on the NW2OT, but rest assured he is not through making waves for BK Racing. He seems to be getting better and better.
Good Luck Brad and Bradley Kyles!

Looking for Thoroughbred Owners wanting to Claim...

2007-12-17T11:09:00.000-06:00

Purse Structure at the Fair Grounds makes it easy to recoup claiming investments.

The first week of the meet we claimed a horse named Mercantile from Tom Amoss for BK Racing, LLC for $10,000. Now this would have been just like any other claim except for the fact that Mercantile was purchased just last year from the Florida Fasig Tipton 2 year old in training sale for $2,000,000. OUCH!!!

Even though Mercantile looked good in the paddock the day of the race we were pleasantly surprised that evening when we went over him. He had no major issues and had a good throat. BK Racing was thrilled with the good news since claiming horses always carries some risk. Mercantile trained well over the next two weeks and had a nice half mile work.

Mercantile was entered back but not for $10,000 like we claimed him for. Dallas and Brad Kyles of BK Racing discussed trying him at an allowance level. It turned out to be a good choice. Mercantile ran second that day in the allowance race and nearly paid for himself on his first start for his new connections.

Other horses we have claimed for other owners have moved up as well. See the stories of Kinoko Man and Perfecty Seatle, both owned by Bob and Pat Sheetz at http://www.dallaskeen.com/claiminghorses.html as well as a few other claiming success stories.

Anyone that has known Dallas for any length of time remembers when he trained for Bob McCaslin. Bob and Dallas became good friends and successfully claimed hundreds of horses. Unfortunately, Bob passed away in 1997 but not before he became Lone Star Park's first leading owner and Dallas the first leading trainer of the inaugural Lone Star meet. Dallas went on the be leading trainer again the next year.

Dallas won the Bob McCaslin Memorial Stakes the year following Bob's death. The horse that won it was at one time owned by Bob but was claimed. One of Bob's friends, Charlie Lewis, claimed the horse back and he went off at huge odds. He won the stake despite not being the favorite. (not really related to the subject but a neat bit of info anyway)

With all that said we are looking for a few folks interested claiming horses at the Fair Grounds. The purse structure makes it easy to return your investment when you carefully select and claim horses that are competitive and can be ready to run back quickly after being claimed. You can watch the barn live on the web cams anytime by clicking here and using the word 'guest' as your login and your password and then choosing a network type. Please feel free to call Dallas and discuss claiming options. We have horses on a watch list but like input from owners too. If you see something that looks like a good claim we will be glad to help you in the process. Good luck and have wonderful Christmas everyone!

A neat story about our adopted daughter, Ne Ne

2007-12-08T20:22:00.000-06:00

Two years ago Dallas and I took 2 horses to a little auction by our farm in Burleson, Texas. Since the horses had to be at the sale for several hours we took hay nets and water buckets for them. During the sale we stayed with our horses but I couldn't take my eyes off this poor skinny paint mare with a new black and white colt at her side. It was a very sad site. She was several hundred pounds under weight, covered in black mud, and had several abrasions all over her weak bony body. Fortunately her colt looked healthy and bright eyed.

As the sale went on and our horses were auctioned off to new owners I snuck out the back door and moved our horses hay nets and water buckets over to the pen with the mare and foal. A few minuets passed by before Dallas noticed they were missing. At first he thought someone had stolen them and then, (like a light bulb lit up above his head), he turned to me and said, "You are gonna buy those horses aren't you?"

Needless to say we bought the skinny paint mare and colt on her side. To our surprise both horses were registered and there was a breeders certificate with the mare who was bred back to the black and white colts sire. Pretty good buy for $500 I thought.

The colt turned out great and the mare, Sky Jets Babe, had a big healthy filly the next spring. We bred Sky back to our thoroughbred stallion, Oro Negra, for a 2007 foal. While the mare was nursing the filly we noticed on several occasions she would nurse other foals in the pasture too, sometimes two at a time. We started calling her our milk cow.

We were devastated this spring when she lost her foal. The beautiful colt was born but died shortly afterwards. While crying my eyes out I remembered an email I had received a few days before from a lady in Denton, Texas who had lost her mare moments after delivering a healthy filly. She was inquiring about a nurse mare. I picked up the phone at nearly midnight and called her. Her filly was doing well and was drinking powdered milk from a bucket but that is no substitute for a mother. We thought is was worth a try so she brought the filly to our farm early the next morning.

Sky knew it wasn't her baby. She squealed but never offered to kick the filly named Ne Ne but she would give her a little shove with her nose to move her away from her. That wasn't our biggest obstacle. Ne Ne was very independent. She would pin her ears at Sky and had no urge to nurse, she was a big girl and wanted to drink from a bucket.

We lifted the water bucket to high for Ne Ne to reach and didn't offer her the milk supplement for a couple of hours. Then we patiently showed her where the goods were while holding the mare to build the fillies confidence around her. We had to hold Sky for Ne Ne to nurse for the first day.

The next morning I took my 13 year old son Michael down to the barn to hold Sky but when Sky and Ne Ne heard us coming they went to work without any assistance from us. From that moment on that filly was Sky's filly and no one could tell her otherwise. Ne Ne was still independent but under a very watchful eye of our wonderful milk cow.

Well, the time has come and we weaned Ne Ne last month. Now it is time for Ne Ne to go back to her owners in Denton to live her life as a Western Pleasure horse. We are very sad we're loosing her but so happy that in our loss something was gained. Ne Ne is a big beautiful filly and could never have developed socially or physically without the gift of Sky Jet's Babe.

Sky Jets Babe is bred back to Oro Negra for an April foal. I can't wait to watch her at work again the pasture doing her favorite thing, being a milk cow.

You never know who you might run into at the races...

2007-12-08T17:42:00.000-06:00

I was at Sam Houston Race Park on December 1st with Moody Jones when Dallas called me from The Fair Grounds and said, "You won't believe who is at the races, Donald Rumsfeld!" Our friend Dawn Theriot, wife of jockey Jamie Theriot, approached Mr. Rumsfeld and asked if they might have their picture taken with him. He gladly excepted and posed with each of them. Goes to show you never know who you will meet at the races.

Roger Sofer's Moody Jones in the Groovy Stakes

2007-11-29T07:14:00.000-06:00

Martha Claussen wrote a nice article in the Houston Chronicle, interviewing Dallas Keen and Roger Sofer about his horse Moody Jones. To view click on link below...

Sofer hoping everything's Groovy!

Houstonian's Moody Jones a strong entry for Saturday stakes race.

Our day with the President of our United States

2007-11-09T07:13:00.000-06:00

I never thought the day would come where I would be in the same room with the President of our United States of America. I had anxiously awaited this day for several weeks after Roger Sofer, one of our owners, invited us to meet the President at a fund raiser for Texas Senator John Cornyn. I washed out for an entire week in anticipation of this day. Being the big conservative republican Bush fans that Dallas and I are, getting this chance was definitely a high light of our lives.
We arrived at the home of a prominent Houston couple who hosted the fund raiser about 9:30 am. The security was unbelievable. Every policeman in Houston must have been there as well as what seemed to be hundreds of secret service. As we walked in we were directed to a large room where we visited with Texas Governor Rick Perry and Senator John Cornyn, along with some of the most influential people in the state of Texas. I felt incredibly insignificant in retrospect to the company I was in.
A woman walked through the room and asked everyone to form a line for the photo opportunity with the President. We waited nervously as the line seemed to move rather quickly. All I could think about was 'please don't say anything stupid to the President of the United States'.
All of sudden we were in the room with George W. Bush. The first thing I noticed was he was just a real person. He was laughing and kidding around with everyone in the room and has an incredibly real smile. Not a phony one that you see on most politicians. Dallas leaned towards me and said, "I thought he was ten foot tall, he's not." I was too nervous to say anything but of course I tried to act cool.
I kept looking at him thinking, wow, he is just a normal guy like everyone else but then suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks... "OH MY GOSH, this is the PRESIDENT OF THE UNINTED STATES OF AMERICA, THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MAN IN THE WHOLE WORLD". As we approached the President I thought I might faint. My heart was racing, my head was spinning, and I got a little light headed.
When Dallas and I were the next in line for our photo op the President looked at Dallas and said, "Finally, about time someone came wearing a cowboy hat!" And Dallas replied, "I thank God every night that you are our President." All of a sudden I felt better. He warmly embraced the both of us in his arms. He looked us right in the eye and in our short conversation with him we felt like President Bush really cared about us and our future as Americans. He asked us about our life and we truly felt appreciated by the man who runs our country. What an overwhelming experience. When we left the room with our President we were ushered outside for a speech from Governor Perry followed by Senator John Cornyn.
Senator Cornyn gave a short speech about what he wanted for Texans and thanked everyone for their support. During Senator Cornyn speech he stated that George W. Bush is a man of his word, and that is a rare commodity in Washington. Senator Cornyn truly admires President Bush and supports his decisions and beliefs. The Senator introduced the President and the crowd applauded as he took the podium.
I stood in aw as he looked directly into our eyes as he spoke. President Bush loves this country. He has a strong belief in God and mentioned how much he appreciates the prayers of the American people and asked people to continue to pray for him.
During his speech he made a lot of important statements but was incredible funny as well. He mentioned he spoke with his mother, who lives in Houston, earlier during the morning. She complained about the traffic and he told her he didn't see what the problem was. He didn't see any traffic during his trip from the airport. Of course he is in a motorcade and traffic was held for him. He spoke a lot about the Oval Office and the history of it along with the first picture you see when you walk in of the "first G.W.", George Washington. Then the speech became serious as we discussed terrorism and about keeping our country safe. He told us a sugar factory was the latest place to be bombed and 25 children were murdered by the cowards that hate us. With that comment his friendly voice turned to extreme seriousness with a touch of anger that gave me goosebumps. President Bush means what he says when he says he will do whatever it takes to protect our country and keep those murders off our soil. I have never felt more blessed to be an American than I did right then.
I went to bed that night thanking God for our President and asking for his protection and wisdom in making the decisions that are so important for all of us. I know we are good hands with President George Bush watching over our country. I pray that whoever succeeds him in the Presidency will have the same passion for the safety of the American people that he has for all of us.
GOD BLESS PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH!

Claiming horses and Winning Races

2007-10-12T13:49:00.000-05:00

We had a big day yesterday when our newest clients, Bob and Patricia Sheetz, watched the second horse they have ever owned win the 8th race yesterday at Louisiana Downs. The Runaway Groom gelding named Kinoko Man was claimed 2 months ago for $10,000. The day he was claimed he ran a very game second.

After claiming Kinoko Man we realized he had some issues. He had a few white hairs around the back of his knees that usually indicate some type of bandages have been applied, like the ones they use after surgeries. Not only that but he didn't have the kind of ankles that you would like to see on a lightly raced horse. Unfortunately you don't know these things until after you make a claim. We went right to work on him with a Low Frequency Ultrasound machine for the ankles and an Infrared Blanket for the body soreness. Within a week he was going better, and better the following week.

About three weeks after he was claimed Dallas tried to enter Kinoko Man back in a non winner of three for $15,000 but it didn't have enough horses to go. He had been training so well Dallas and Bob discussed trying him in an Allowance Race. He ran second, closing with a rush. Kinoko Man came back from that race better than he went into it and seemed to be gaining weight and confidence.

Three weeks later we had a choice to make. There was another allowance race like the one he finished second in or a non winner of 3 for claiming price $30,000 that he should be able to win. We take the chance and run in the allowance race even though it is an optional claiming and we know there will be some tough to beat horses in that spot. We were right, it came up a little salty.

Kinoko Man pulls off the win coming from dead last in the turn and closes with unbelievable speed. Bob and Pat go nuts. Screaming, hugging, and jumping up and down. I have to admit being the quiet celebrator that I am I was a little embarrassed. Dallas took off to congratulate John Jacinto for the brilliant ride and left me there to walk to the winners circle with people that you would have thought just won the 300 million dollar power ball. Bob and Pat are two of the funnest people I have ever met, and two of the luckiest too.

We claimed their first horse this summer at Lone Star Park. A filly named Perfecty Seattle was entered in a non winner of two races for $10,000. She looked great on paper and was lightly raced. She easily won that night, circling the field and drew off down the stretch. We were thrilled when we went over her after the race to find out she was 100% sound and was a sweetheart to work with. We ran Perfecty Seattle back in about 3 weeks in a non winner of 3 races for $25,000. She made winning for fun look easy.

So far we have started 5 times for the Sheetz's and have won 2 of those races. Bob and Pat would like to own more horses and have a dream of going to the Claiming Crown with one of their claims some day. Who knows? Maybe Kinoko Man is up for it.

I just want to wish Bob and Pat all the luck at the Fair Grounds. Not to mention Kinoko Man will love the long stretch there. So if you see a hysterical couple screaming at the top of their lungs check you program and then congratulate them. Although if you have a problem with hugs be sure to quickly stick out your hand for a shake!

Congratulations to Bob and Patricia Sheetz!

An Owners First Win

2007-09-27T16:59:00.001-05:00

As I was going through some paperwork in my office I found this writing from our owner Roger Sofer. He sent it to us shortly after his filly Enchanted Landing won her first race. Roger was brand new to horse racing. He purchased Enchanted Landing from the Fasig Tipton 2 Year Old In Training Sale at Lone Star Park in April of 2005. Roger has not only purchased several more horses since his beginning but has become a close friend as well as a business partner. This story should be read by anyone thinking of buying their first racehorse. Enjoy.

The First Win, by Roger Sofer

Having been an avid fan for almost 40 years and being a limited partner in several horse partnerships with friends; I can assure you the first win with your own horse is beyond comprehension. I purchased Enchanted Landing, my first 2 year old filly at the Fasig Tipton sale at Lone Star Park under the watchful eye of super trainer, Dallas Keen. He liked the way she strided and her confirmation was excellent.
After a few days of getting her acclimated, she was ready for her first work. Dallas has an excellent reputation with young horses and is very cautious with their development. So after giving the jockey strict instructions to take it easy, he proceeds to take her 3 furlongs in 35.3. Naturally, two things happened; Landing shin bucked and the jockey was fired.
Rather than pin fire her, Dallas decided to put her on a very light schedule and to let her heal under his constant attention; which she did. We knew that we had a fast horse with competitive attitude, but what we did not know was that she hated the mud, would displace, and would stop if you touched her with the whip.
We started in Remington Park on a night when the jockey fell asleep missing the break, then to Louisiana Downs for the substitute Fairgrounds meet. Top purses for top horses. We ran against an offspring of Silver Charm and maidens of that breeding class. We did reasonably well but no winner’s circle. Oaklawn brought us bad weather, bad luck, bumps in the stretch, and a nose lose to a 4 year old daughter of Menifee.
Now to Lone Star Park to run against Texas Bred Maidens. First race we run against fractions of 21.4, 44.3, 57.0 and 1:10. The fastest time of the entire night. We ran 5th, 8 lengths back. The next race we got a muddy, sloppy track and got slammed on the turn for home while racing on the lead. Dallas is concerned, the breeder is nervous, my friends are muttering but my wife and I think she will break through. I make my only training decision since the original purchase. Landing will not run in the mud again!
Last Thursday, June 22, 2006 the magic moment happened. On a dry track, in a 14 horse field, we break on top, fight off challengers and win on a very game effort. Our jockey, Larry Taylor rode a great race. As I write this, the jubilation inside of me has still not subsided. Owning race horses for me is not about winning money; it’s about your team getting highly intelligent, competitive, and magnificent athletes prepared for top performance. I wanted this win for Ellie (Enchanted Landing) and for Dallas who worked so hard to try and get us in the winner’s circle. It had been a very long and frustrating year up to that point but I am good to go and ready to build a successful stable and to take many, many, more pictures.

Riders up!

*As a side note, my other horse Posey Joe won the 9th race on the same card. So in a 3 hour period I take my first 2 pictures as an owner.

Fair Grounds Racing and Huge Purses

2007-09-25T12:21:00.001-05:00

For the average race horse owner the overall cost of purchasing a yearling or a two year old at the sale is a risky investment. Even with the best of care and training the risk of loss is overwhelming. Claiming a horse directly from a race is sometimes a more cost effective way with an faster route of return.
The purses at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana were unreal last year. The purses will start back up right where they left off when $5000 claimers were running for $30,000 purses. And that's at the bottom. They only go up from there. Horses that are accredited Louisiana breeds run for even more money than horses bred in other states with the huge incentives offered to horseman supporting the La Bred Program. You don't have to live in Louisiana to qualify for the incentives, just own a Louisiana Bred horse and reap the benefits.
This year at the Fair Grounds a minimal investment starting $5000 for a horse from a claiming race along with a couple of weeks worth of training and you could be enjoying watching your own horse race at the track.
We are currently stabled at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, Louisiana and looking for horses to claim that will be competitive at the Fair Grounds meet. We are also looking for a few new partners and individual owners to claim horses for the Fair Grounds meet which starts on Thanksgiving Day. Go to our informative website at www.dallaskeen.com and visit the Claiming Horses page. There is a link there to email if you have any questions. We offer competitive training rate as well as live Internet accessible web cams so you can keep an eye on your investment. Please use the email link on the website if you have any trouble logging onto the web cams.
Donna KeenFair Grounds Race Course
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Keen

Post Parade: July 2007

2007-09-24T21:37:00.000-05:00

Post Parade: July 2007

Post Parade: An Expedition to the Backstretch

2007-09-22T12:41:00.000-05:00

Post Parade: An Expedition to the Backstretch

Here is a link to another racing blog.

Dallas Keen Racing Stables

2007-09-16T17:01:00.000-05:00

Dallas Keen Racing Stables Live Web Cameras
To see what's happening at Dallas Keen's stable right now click on http://166.161.3.204/ and login on by using 'guest' as the user name and as the password. This will take you to the live webcams at Louisiana Downs. You may also watch the live farm webcams by visiting the Breeding Program page and clicking on the link.
(A download will be required to watch the cameras. Just install the Active X control when prompted and be patient. It takes a couple of minuets to come up. Enter the password then choose a network type and the cameras will activate.)

My Thorougbred Blog Beginning

2007-09-11T22:08:00.000-05:00

I am starting this blog to invite people to ask questions about thoroughbred racing, how to go about buying a horse, (racehorse or riding horse), and any question about horse training. I will do my best to answer questions quickly and I invite anyone with other experiences or ideas to join in and let us know what you think. No question is too dumb to ask. Please visit our website at www.dallaskeen.com and check out the live web cams at the track and at the farm .