Lights On Broadway

From AlexBrownRacing

1 Press Release
2 General Information
3 Working On His Retirement
4 Race Record
5 Life in Retirement
6 Media Stories on Lights On Broadway's Retirement

Press Release

2001 Texas Horse of the Year Lights on Broadway saved from slaughter, retired

Thanks to the efforts of his many fans, Lights on Broadway - winner of well over half a million dollars, the 2001 Texas Horse of the Year, and an annual favorite at Lone Star Park - has retired from racing at age 11 after being purchased off a truck headed for a Canadian slaughterhouse.

Lights on Broadway retired Aug. 30 to a farm owned by trainer Dallas Keen and his wife Donna, who will give the gelding plenty of time to rest, then learn a new job. He also will be an ambassador teaching people about the virtually unlimited potential of the off-the-track Thoroughbred (known in most horse circles as the OTTB), the realities of horse slaughter, and the need for the racing industry to develop good alternatives for re-homing former racehorses.

After achieving star status in his native Texas, Lights on Broadway gradually slipped down the claiming ranks as he aged. He was last entered to run for a $3,500 claiming tag at Blue Ribbon Downs in Oklahoma at the beginning of August.

Oklahoma-based Quarter Horse trainer Gregg Sanders purchased Lights on Broadway off the slaughter truck this spring after the driver showed him the gelding's Jockey Club papers and impressive race record. Sanders, stunned to see the familiar name and Lights' long history of success, asked the driver to pull Lights off the trailer. Lights was thin and lame. Sanders immediately purchased him and brought him to a deeply bedded stall at his own 30-horse racing stable. Lights on Broadway, who Sanders calls "one of the kindest and gentlest horses I have ever seen," spent most of the next three days stretching out in the comfort of that stall.

The trainer began a feeding regimen to bring Lights' weight back up and immediately had his veterinarian and farrier deal with the injury causing Lights' lameness, now completely healed.

Sanders has been a great help in getting Lights on Broadway back home to Texas. He is one of many who reached out to ensure this gallant runner a safe retirement.

Alex Brown, an anti-slaughter advocate, continually tracks high-earning horses running for low claiming prices. When his Daily Racing Form Horse Watch account notified him that Lights had been entered to run on July 13 for a claiming price of $2,500 at the Anthony Downs Fair in Kansas, he and a large group of the gelding's fans began working to find Lights a new home for his retirement. These included Texas fans who spread word throughout the state's racing industry; the Fans of Barbaro, a horse welfare group that provided both financial and logistical support, and an anonymous Texas OTTB owner who made a generous donation.

Both Lights on Broadway's breeder and the retirement group LOPE Texas offered Lights a home, but when the Keens made a generous donation of funds and a commitment to work with Lights in his new life, he shipped to them. The fans of Lights on Broadway offer heartfelt thanks to the Texas Thoroughbred Association, Lynn Reardon of LOPE Texas, the Fans of Barbaro, and the countless other supporters who helped give his story a happy ending. And we wish Lights on Broadway great success in all of his new careers, not the least of which is ambassador for Thoroughbred welfare!

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