GEORGETOWN, Ky. (WAVE) - Aptly named for his gray and white coat, Silver Charm, the oldest living Derby winner, is happy, healthy and enjoying the good life at Old Friends Farm in Georgetown.
Farm founder Michael Blowen launched Old Friends in 2003. It has since grown into more than 200 acres, caring for more than 200 retired thoroughbreds, with Silver Charm as the resident star.
”He’s a great, great ambassador for the sport,” Blowen said. “And he’s a great example of how much fun you can have if you have a horse in your backyard.”
Silver Charm was born in 1994, a time in racing when aftercare was an afterthought. When he retired here in 2012, he became a beloved attraction and elevated public awareness of the need to take care of equine athletes when their racing days are over.
”The great message that Silver Charm is delivering on behalf of old friends and thoroughbred aftercare is that it’s an important issue,” Old Friends President John Nicholson said. “And he is a representative of a movement that’s happened in the last generation within thoroughbred racing.”
Silver Charm is also aptly named for his gentle personality and the effect he has on people. At age 30, he has likely outlived almost all the 35,000 North American thoroughbreds born that year. Since then, organizations like the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance have formed, collecting and directing millions to help horses that are bred to run like Silver Charm, but can no longer race.
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