A feelgood story from south of the border tells the tale of a former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher turned trainer and standardbred owner, a horse he used to own, and how he saved the horse from slaughter some 12 years after first owning him
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Captain Zoom, a horse formerly owned by reliever and harness racing enthusiast Dan Plesac, was found in June to be earmarked for slaughter. As told by the USTA's Nicole Kraft, Plesac purchased the pacer for $175 and nurtured him back to health at his Three Up Three Down Farm in Indiana.
"We can come up with a million excuses not to do things," Plesac said in the Philadelphia Inquirer story. "I couldn't have gone to bed at night knowing that I came up with a lame excuse not to take him."
To read the full story, click here.
Fantastic story! I am the
Fantastic story! I am the executive director for a horse rescue in Prince Edward Island and the majority of horses surrendered to us are young standardbreds that are simply not fast enough or have a career-ending injury... it is a heart-wrenching thing to know that so many of these animals run their hearts (and legs) out and then aren't rewarded at the end of their careers with a decent retirement.
We at Sadie's Place, rehab and then retrain these horses for saddle - some make wonderful trail horses, while others find their way into many different disciplines in the show ring.... our hope is to educate saddle horse owners, race horse owners and the public at large about the versatility of these wonderful animals.
In reply to Fantastic story! I am the by Jana
Larry Resnitzky
Larry Resnitzky
Congratulations Jana on the first steps you and your board at Sadie's Place have already taken in providing end of career alternatives for some great equine athletes. For readers here, you don't have to be from PEI to show support for Sadie's Place.
To Dan Plesac: you can chalk up another win for both you and your horse(s).
what a heart warming
what a heart warming story.
It was very good to read that a former owner cared enough about a former horse save him from slaughter and to provide a home & care for life.
Marie Stoyles-Moura
Larry Resnitzky This is a
Larry Resnitzky
This is a wonderful story of two pro athletes - one from the diamond world, the other from the oval one.
Dan Plesac is clearly a winning pitcher on and off the mound.
Recently, on Prince Edward Island, a gala fundraising dinner was held at the Charlottetown Driving Park Entertainment Centre (Red Shores) to help fund a new organization called Sadie's Place. Sadie's Place was established by Jana Hemphill-King to provide permanent homes and alternative careers to unwanted or retired Island horses and ponies.
It would be nice if Standardbred Canada could showcase a separate section for Sadie's Place and similar organizations across Canada. It goes without saying that all of these great initiatives require financial support from the general public and private businesses. If each provincial racing commission could undertake to sanction and validate each one of these organizations in their own provinces then there would be more likelihood of a secure future for our retired standardbreds.
Please note: I don't know why author Nichole Kraft of the Philadelphia Inquirer had to refer to the Amish with a negative implication, when these same people are well known for treating our retired standardbreds with dignity.
Great Stuff!!! And what
Great Stuff!!!
And what we, this Sport, REALLY needs is for stories like this and the story of Nora Lee in PINK to be featured in the mainstream publications like The Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Globe & Mail, Hamilton Spectator, National Post and all other major papers. Should be FRONT PAGE articles!!!
This one would be a natural in the Toronto papers!!!
Should even make the Network TV news!!
He looks like a beautiful
He looks like a beautiful horse. Great story and a good person you are for it
HE LOOKS FAT SHINY AND
HE LOOKS FAT SHINY AND HEALTHY - WAY TO GO DAN PLESAC
We need many more of these
We need many more of these feel good stories. Well done Dan.
In reply to We need many more of these by HRC
My hat is off to Dan Plesac
My hat is off to Dan Plesac for stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing. Far to many owners and trainers send horses off to be slaughtered if they are lame or just not fast enough. The sport needs more owners and trainers like Plesac with a conscious.