Caring for Thoroughbreds After the Race: An Evening in Support of Aftercare

On Sunday, August 8, Old Friends at Cabin Creek, a sanctuary for retired thoroughbred racehorses in Greenfield, NY, where I volunteer, held its annual After the Race cocktail party and silent auction to benefit the farm. The event was held at Prime at Saratoga National Golf Course. I don’t often photograph events, but this event gave me a chance to take some different types of photographs than those of my typical style.

Lawn jockeys are incredibly popular in Saratoga, as we have the historic Saratoga Race Course. A blank lawn jockey was auctioned off to be decorated in a custom style by a local artist.
I donated a photo I took of late Cabin Creek resident Will’s Way (1993-2020) and an illustration poem about best friends Red Down South and Zippy Chippy.
There were a number of Tiz the Law (2020 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner) and Sackatoga Stable (his owner) related items for auction.
Some of the items available for auction.
Each of the farm’s 17 horses’ halters were auctioned off at the event. I went home with Red Down South’s halter!
Zippy Chippy’s halter is seen here. Zippy is somewhat of a legend because he won 0 of 100 races!
Commentator is special to Saratoga because he is a two time winner of the Whitney Handicap (the second most important race run at Saratoga after the Travers Stakes). His earnings amount to over $2 million!
There was no shortage of delectable food. Food photography is a genre I don’t often dabble in.
Chris, a fellow volunteer, wore a hat in the style of those often seen at the track.
The cocktail of the evening was the Bobby Frankel, named for the later trainer of the same name. Incidentally, Old Friends at Cabin Creek is the Bobby Frankel Division of Old Friends Equine in Georgetown, KY.
I took this photo by the infinity pool looking out onto the golf course.
A group of volunteers and friends of the farm pose for a photo.
A peek at the beautiful building Prime is housed in.
Jack Knowlton, manager of Sackatoga Stable, was the guest of honor. Here, he addresses the attendees with Cabin Creek owners Mark and JoAnn Pepper looking on.
Sackatoga Stable made a very generous donation to the farm.
Equine caregiver extraordinaire (if I do say so myself!) JoAnn Pepper addresses the attendees.
terJack Knowlton was kind enough to post for a photo for me after addressing the attendees.

I share photos of “the boys” of Old Friends at Cabin Creek often on this blog, but today I shared a different angle of my volunteer experience. Because I believe so strongly in the work that JoAnn and Mark and all the volunteers at the farm do, if you purchase a print of any of the horses at Cabin Creek off my website, I donate 100% of my profit back to the farm. If you ever have a chance to stop by the farm and meet the boys, I know you’ll fall in love with them just as I have.

To see more of my Saratoga photography be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook. All photos in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.

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