There may not be a barn in all of southwestern Ontario that is big enough to accommodate all of the horses in the Stable That God Loves, but presently there are stalls available.
The keen interest and support for this major fundraising program designed to raise much needed dollars for the tireless work of the Standardbred Chaplaincy, and to provide a good news story for all harness racing, is growing and growing. It has captured the imagination and the support of the harness racing community.
As one horseman commented, “This is an excellent grass roots, image-building program for the sport. It reflects the caring, generosity and kindness of the human spirit of horsemen for those less fortunate, with emotional, physical and human needs in our industry.”
To date, 27 trotters and pacers – including standout performers like John Fielding’s Shake It Cerry, John Craig’s Luck Be Withyou, and the entire stable members of Marc Hyatt, John Patterson and Ted Nadhazi, among many others – will race with heart and determination to the aid of a homeless chaplaincy.
The initiative calls for participants to donate a small percentage (one per cent) of the purse earnings of one (or two, or three) of their horses to the diligent work of the chaplaincy via the Stable of Horses That God Loves.
With the valued addition of Mac Nichol’s Kentucky Derby hopeful, Madefromlucky, the lone Thoroughbred in the Stable That God Loves, the program has attracted international mainstream media attention in the world of Standardbred and Thoroughbred racing.
Following Madefromlucky’s second-place finish in Oaklawn Park’s $750,000 Rebel Stakes on March 14, one industry leader commented, “I like the crossover between the two breeds. Anything that can be done to look at us as a whole industry instead of one breed versus another, is incredibly important, especially now.”
For those interested in acquiring stall space in the Stable That God Loves for the 2015 racing season, please contact Bill Galvin at [email protected] or Ken Middleton at [email protected].
(The Stable That God Loves)