Old Friends

War Emblem (Our Emblem-Sweetest Lady, by Lord at War), winner of the 2002 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. died early Wednesday morning at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, Kentucky. Pensioned at Old Friends since 2015, he was 21. While the cause of death is thought to be the result of a paddock accident, exact details are unknown. However, results from a necropsy report are expected to be forthcoming. In 2015 Old Friends re-repatriated War Emblem from the Yoshida family's Shadai Stallion Farm in Japan. He was...

Cajun Beat (Grand Slam--Beckys Shirt, by Cure the Blues), the 2003 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner, has died. The 20-year-old gelding had been pensioned at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement facility based in Georgetown, Kentucky, since 2016. Details of Cajun Beat's death are pending following a full necropsy. "He was a lovely horse, a real champion," said co-owner Satish Sanan of Padua Stables. "With all of the horses we've had, he was one of our favorites--he was my wife's favorite. He didn't show much talent until we gelded him, and...

Peggy Gdovka was elected to the Board of Directors of Old Friends, the non-profit Thoroughbred Retirement Facility Dec. 4. She will begin her term immediately. Currently the Sr. Director of Corporate Partnerships & Licensing/Merchandising for Breeders' Cup Ltd., she previously served a stint in Keeneland's sales department. "I could not be more pleased for the invitation to sit on the Board of Old Friends," said Gdovka, who grew up in Woodford County. "When I look at the amount of past Breeders' Cup participants and champions that have benefited from Old...