GEORGETOWN, Ky. — A thoroughbred retirement farm in Georgetown is back in business after the pandemic forced it to close.
Since 2001, Michael Blowen, president and founder of Old Friends Farm has created a forever home for retired thoroughbred racehorses.
Old Friends Farm is home to 246 retired horses, and Blowen says during this past year it has been difficult for his organization. Having to shut down tours and turning away visitors. Luckily, Blowen says the organization received generous donations from community members to help them during this tough time.
“The pandemic has really hit us hard because we basically depend on visitors to supply us, it's the fuel that runs this place,” Blowen said.
After a year of no visitors, Old Friends Farms has finally started up their tours again, bringing in people from all over to see the famous horses.
“You know you're always afraid that maybe they'll forget us but they haven't. I think people are really excited about seeing these horses again. And in the meantime, we've got a lot of new horses so people come back and they can see some of the new retirees, which would be good, which should be really nice,” Blowen said.
With a few precautions in place, Blowen says they are asking for guests to follow certain COVID-19 safety precautions to make sure staff and guests stay safe.
“We're keeping the numbers down early so that we can practice social distancing making sure everybody has a mask, everybody gets their temperature taken, there's a very rigorous procedure that people go through before they're allowed on the floor, but once they get through all of that, they can come here and have some fun,” Blowen said.
If anyone is interested in participating in a tour, Blowen is asking for them to call the office at 502-863-1775 or go online to book a tour and make reservations. For more information about their tours and horses, you can go to their Old Friends Farm website.