1751 Gentilly Blvd.,
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jim Mulvihill, Communications and Pari-Mutuel Marketing Manager, 504.948.1233, james.mulvihill@fgno.com
Contact: Graham Ross, Staff Writer, 504.948.1255, graham.ross@fgno.com
ROSIE STAYS WELL AHEAD IN FAIR GROUNDS STANDINGS
- Husband-Wife Team Serving as Keen Observers of Local Equine Welfare
By Graham Ross, Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS (Friday, January 27, 2012) – Jockey Rosie Napravnik maintained her 12-win lead in Fair Grounds’ current jockey standings entering Friday’s 45th day of racing despite missing three race days earlier this week.
The 23-year-old native of
Napravnik, who became the first female jockey to win a riding title at Fair Grounds last season, added to those laurels by capturing the 2011
Irish-born jockey James Graham, who won the riding title at
HUSBAND-WIFE TEAM SERVING AS KEEN OBSERVERS OF LOCAL EQUINE WELFARE – Guests of Fair Grounds Thursday who stayed for the entire program may have noticed a dapper individual in a black cowboy hat who ran across the track to try and catch an errant horse that lost its rider following the last race of the day.
That individual was Fair Grounds-based trainer Dallas Keen, and although the loose horse was not one of his, the incident served as a small sampling of the care and concern that the vast majority of horse people give to all members of the equine breed.
Donna Keen, wife of Dallas and co-founder along with her husband of Remember Me Rescue in
However, due to the deplorable conditions of the animals rescued from that farm in Sabine Parish, whose owner has been charged with animal cruelty, organizations like the Louisiana Horse Rescue Association and Remember Me have stepped up to the plate.
It’s no easy commute between
“We’ve all had a lot of problems to face these last few days,” said Donna Keen this week, “but at times like this, we all have to suck it up and do what we got to do. What is really encouraging to see is some of the donations we’ve gotten from our fellow trainers here and around the country. Guys like Graham Motion (trainer of 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom) sent us a donation, but so did local trainers like Danny Pish, Michelle Lovell and Hilary Pridham.”
Fair Grounds also kicked in a $2,500 gift to Remember Me and Louisiana Horse Rescue to help relocate the neglected horses.
“We’ve called in some local 4-H Clubs to our farm so they can bring in their members and teach them how to care for injured Thoroughbreds,” said Keen. “We’re trying to make something good out of a very bad situation.”
The latest arrivals earlier this week at Remember Me include Be Bop Baby, an extremely thin 15-year-old mare who was too weak to travel when originally rescued.
“Now, she is here with us, safe, dry and no longer hungry,” advised Keen. “High On Punch also arrived Monday. He is severely underweight but seems sound. He has a very sweet disposition and for now is quiet and content with all the attention he is getting from everyone here.”
The poster child for Remember Me Rescue is former Texas Horse of the Year Lights On Broadway, a former stakes winner of a half-million dollars who fell down through the cracks of the claiming ranks before arriving at Remember Me a couple of years ago.
“Now, he’s become a bridle-less riding horse for me,” said Keen. “I ride him around the farm and sit on his back while I change the light bulbs in the barn.”
To make an online donation to Remember Me Rescue and the Louisiana Horse Rescue Association, visit www.FairGroundsRaceClourse.com/Shop.
About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, the nation’s third-oldest racetrack, has been in operation since 1872. Located in
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James J. Mulvihill
Communications & Pari-Mutuel Marketing Manager
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
A Churchill Downs Incorporated Company
1751 Gentilly Boulevard,
504.948.1233 [office]
504.481.8770 [cell]
504.944.7853 [fax]
140th Thoroughbred Racing Season, Nov. 24-April 1
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