Seven Puerto Rico Horses Retired Stateside
Seven of the eight Puerto Rican racehorses who were recently retired after Hurricane Maria hit the island Sept. 20 have made the journey back to the contiguous United States safely, according to Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare's Shelley Blodgett.
The eighth horse, Salientito, tested positive for equine piroplasmosis and will stay in the care of CTA at Hacienda Siesta Alegre Farm in Puerto Rico with other CTA off-track Thoroughbreds. The CTA said that farm does not have electricity and lost some pieces of its roof and fencing during Hurricane Maria, but otherwise is OK. The farm also has working generators and stall fans.
The seven horses who are now stateside are: Poker Dave at Randy and Karen Hickman's Stone Ridge Farm in Ocala, Fla.; Winning Dubai, who developed an abscess and is on layover at Stone Ridge before traveling to Old Friends Equine in Georgetown, Ky.; Victor Spider, who has been transported to Fallbrook Farm in Versailles, Ky.; Sweetlandofliberty and Rodriguito, who are at Machmer Hall Farm in Paris, Ky. for layup before traveling to Oklahoma as part of the Exceller Fund's Racing Warrior Campaign; Ugottabcatty at KESMARC in Versailles before heading to Alaina O'Brien in Washington state; and Lallie, who went to Oxford, Penn. to be retrained by former owners PTK LLC.
Blodgett said the Hickmans helped her care for the seven horses upon their initial arrival and layover at Lorraine Horse Transport in Ocala, Fla.
In addition to those horses, the CTA has also retired Arch Traveler and Toy Cannon. My Honey Laurie, who was expected to be retired to CTA in the near future, was euthanized Oct. 25 after foundering.
Since Hurricane Maria hit the island, the nearly 800 horses at Hipódromo Camarero near San Juan have been surviving off minimal supplies in damaged barns. Various industry members—including Thoroughbred Charities of America, American Association of Equine Practitioners, The Jockey Club, Brook Ledge, Ocala Breeders' Sales, and Bonnie Heath Farm's Kim Heath—worked to get shipments of feed and vet supplies to the island.
The CTA reported Oct. 24 that portable stalls were set up at Camarero to help get horses under a roof and off the concrete.
https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/224308/seven-puerto-rico-horses-retired-stateside
