In order to raise awareness for and benefit horse rescue and retirement organizations, Mike Repole, owner of Repole Stable, and The New York Racing Association are donating a total of $30,000 to Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, and the Exceller Fund on Wood Memorial Day, April 3 at Aqueduct Racetrack in addition to an on-track retirement ceremony for Cool N Collective.
In addition, each of the organizations will have an on-track presence on Wood Memorial Day and will be collecting donations to support their Thoroughbred rescue and retirement operations.
Owned by Repole Stable, Cool N Collective has raced 81 times in his career, spanning eleven years, with an incredible record of 15 wins, 27 seconds, and 13 thirds. As a 3-year-old in 2000, he earned his lone stakes victory in the 2000 Elgin Stakes at Woodbine, a race he ran runner-up in three straight times from 2002 -2004. He also ran second in the Pegasus Handicap (gr. II) at Meadowlands in 2000, his sole graded placing. The bay gelding will be retired to Old Friends at Cabin Creek: the Bobby Frankel Division, scheduled to officially open on July 22 in Greenfield Center, N.Y.
“Cool N Collective is one of the reasons why I have such a passion for Thoroughbred racing and why I got into the game,” said Mike Repole, NYRA’s leading owner in 2009 with 51 wins, in a release. “For a 13-year-old horse to go out there and put the effort into every race that he does is an amazing accomplishment. I’ve owned over 300 horses in my life, running the spectrum from graded stakes runners to low level claimers, and at the end of their careers, they all need to be treated the same. Horses are the stars of our sport, and it is the owners’ responsibilities to take care of all of them once they are ready for retirement, whether they are 3 or 13. We owe all of the incredible rescue organizations a debt of gratitude and all the financial support that we can afford.”