September 30th, Lights On Broadway Update

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.

Rescue Update for Lights On Broadway

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.