Zippy Chippy, the racehorse known for his career defeats, arrived yesterday at Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division, where he will be permanently pensioned.
Cabin Creek is the New York satellite of the well-known Georgetown, Ky.-based Thoroughbred retirement farm Old Friends that was founded by Michael Blowen in 2003.
The 19-year-old gelding will join Cabin Creek’s seven other retirees, including grade I winner Thunder Rumble, who caused a sensation at Saratoga in 1992 with his back-to-back wins in the Jim Dandy (gr. II) and Travers Stakes (gr. I).
Owned and trained by Felix Monserrate, Zippy made headlines in the ’90s for never winning a race in 100 starts. In 2000, People magazine included him on its list of the year’s “Most Interesting Personalities.”
Monserrate refused to enter his horse in a claiming race just to get a win.
“I don’t want any crazy people claiming him. He’s like a member of my family,” he has said.
Zippy’s continued losing streak and his ornery nature resulted in his being banned from most racetracks by the late ’90s, but he continued to run at the Three County Fair in Northhampton, Mass. It was there on April 10, 2004, that Zippy made his 100th and final start, finishing last.
While he never won a race, Zippy Chippy, a son of Compliance – Listen Lady, by Buckfinder, was on the board many times, and retired with earnings of $30,834.
Zippy briefly had a second career as an outrider’s pony at Finger Lakes.
The first Old Friends auxiliary farm, Cabin Creek is located just outside of Saratoga in Greenfield Center, NY, and is owned and operated by Joann and Mark Pepper.
In recent years, Blowen and Monserrate have had several negotiations about having Zippy Chippy spend the rest of his days at Cabin Creek, and a deal was finally reached this week.
Cabin Creek is open to visitors on Saturdays. For more information, call 518-698-2377.
