Chelsea Durand Photo

2014 Travers hero V.E. Day thriving in third career as ambassador at Old Friends

by Mary Eddy

A decade after surprising a crowd of more than 46,000 race fans with a thrilling victory in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga Race Course, pensioned stallion V.E. Day has found a new calling in his third career as an ambassador for thoroughbred racehorse retirement at Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, K.Y.

The now 13-year-old son of English Channel is one of over 200 horses in the organization’s herd, serving as a representative for lifelong care and appreciation for racehorses to the more than 20,000 visitors to their Dream Chase Farm each year.

“He’s just fabulous,” said Old Friends founder Michael Blowen. “He’s friendly, and yet he keeps his dignity. It’s an amazing combo, and he’s very smart. He helps remind people how valuable these horses are, even when they’re finished racing and breeding.”

V.E. Day found his way home after a three-year racing career and five years at stud, finishing his well-traveled careers last June when arriving at Old Friends as a pensioned stallion after stints at Waldorf Farm in New York, Lovacres Ranch in California, and Buck Pond Farm in Kentucky.

“I had gotten a call from Buck Pond when he retired from stallion duty and they sent representatives to visit with us several times before deciding to retire him here,” said Blowen. “He’s beautiful, and he’s one of three Travers winners [Birdstone and Alpha] retired here now.”

V.E. Day’s journey from the racetrack to retirement spanned four states and two countries, and began on the Gulfstream Park turf with trainer Jimmy Jerkens in early 2014 for owner Magalen “Maggie” O. Bryant.

The strapping chestnut graduated at third asking in an off-the-turf maiden at Belmont Park, but made three of his first four outings over the grass that year, including a nine-furlong allowance win at Belmont. From there, he made a rapid ascent to the top of the sophomore division when returning to dirt to close from well off the pace and annex the restricted nine-furlong Curlin by a head at the Spa en route to the Travers.

With little stakes experience and a pedigree that suggested turf was his best surface, V.E. Day was sent to post at 19-1 odds in the Travers and received the services of eventual Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano for the first time. While the race was expected to be a showdown between the favored Bayern, Grade 1 Belmont Stakes-winner Tonalist, and V.E. Day’s Grade 1-winning stablemate Wicked Strong, it turned into an unexpected battle of stablemates in the final sixteenth.

V.E. Day had stalked 14 lengths off the pace set by Bayern, who marked splits of 23.74 seconds, 47.31 and 1:11.27 over the fast main track with Wicked Strong tracking in third. Around the final turn, Grade 1 Haskell-winner Bayern and the pair of Tonalist and Wicked Strong made it three across the racetrack and well clear of the rest of the field before the latter inched away to a 1 1/2-length advantage at the stretch call. It would appear Wicked Strong was home free after putting away a game Tonalist with Bayern fading from view, but V.E. Day was rolling down the center of the course and gaining with every stride.

In a thrilling final sixteenth, Wicked Strong fought back with all he had under Rajiv Maragh, but V.E. Day had enough momentum to get his head down right at the wire and edge his stablemate by a nose, completing the course in 2:02.93 with another 2 1/2 lengths back to Tonalist in third.

While V.E. Day never visited the winner’s circle again, he finished a close second in the Grade 2 Brooklyn the following year, and ended his career with four turf starts in France, finishing third in three of them. He returned stateside in 2017 and sired five small crops, led by the stakes-placed Anotherdaygoneby, who won a July 25 claiming tilt here for conditioner Gregg Sacco.

These days, fans of V.E. Day can get up close and personal with the proud stallion during public tours, where he enjoys gentle pats and as many carrots and Mrs. Pastures Cookies as he could ever wish for.

Blowen said a horse like V.E. Day, who put on such a memorable performance to a nearly sold-out Saratoga crowd, is vital to the attraction of visitors to the 501(c)(3) non-profit farm.

“He’s really important, because what I’ve learned through all of this is how surprising not only the number of fans these horses have, but that horses you wouldn’t think have a lot of fans, do,” Blowen said, with a laugh. “He’s one of them. People who were there that day just never forgot that tremendous finish.”

And while Old Friends is home to larger-than-life racing stars such as Kentucky Derby-winners Silver Charm and I’ll Have Another, it is the upset Travers champion who greets visitors first on each tour.

“He’s in the first paddock now, because he’s so handsome and likes the visitors,” said Blowen. “He’s right across from Bellamy Road, Little Mike and Game On Dude.”

For Blowen, providing a life of rest and relaxation is the ultimate goal he set out to achieve when opening Old Friends in 2003, a goal that has been reached once again with V.E. Day.

“The fact of the matter is, only one thing is important – no one is coming to see us. They’re coming to see the horses,” said Blowen. “We feed them carrots, and they settle down when you’re not asking them to do anything. Our job is to figure out what they want, and what V.E. Day wants are carrots, Mrs. Pastures Cookies, and the adoration of his fans."

Old Friends offers guided tour experiences that bring visitors up-close-and-personal with thoroughbred athletes. Open year-round, tours are available by advance reservation only. For more information and to make a donation, visit www.oldfriendsequine.org.

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The Travers [Race 13, 6:10 p.m. Eastern] is one of five Grade 1s scheduled for Saturday’s lucrative 14-race program, which also features two Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifiers with the Grade 1, $750,000 Sword Dancer presented by Resorts World Casino [Turf] in Race 9 and the Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina [Filly and Mare Sprint] in Race 10; as well as the Grade 1, $500,000 Forego in Race 11 and the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial in Race 12. First post is 11:20 a.m., with gates opening to the public at 9 a.m.

An expanded edition of Saratoga Live will begin at 11:30 a.m. on FS2 with continuing coverage on FS1 at 1:30 p.m. FOX Saratoga Saturday will present live coverage of the DraftKings Travers Day stakes action plus analysis in a special broadcast on FOX beginning at 3 p.m. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.