The racetrack is home to athletes. The daily routine of a racehorse reflects the goal of peak racing performance: breakfast, training, lunch, rest, dinner, sleep, and repeat. My Miss Aurelia, Kauai Katie, and Dreaming of Julia all excelled as athletes and retired sound with combined earnings of over $4 million, 10 graded stakes wins, and a Champion 2yo Eclipse Award between them. So, after a racing career, what happens next?
These magnificent mares have been retired to Stonestreet Farm where their lives have changed from “riders up” to “turn out”. How did these Girls in Gold take to the retired life? Extremely well according to our Assistant Yearling Manager: “All three fillies assimilated to the quiet of farm life without any fuss. They have physically matured, a process known as being “let down”, which describes the physical transition from racehorse to broodmare.”
Their routine now consists of a morning feed first thing. Afterward, at 7:30 AM, My Miss Aurelia heads out to her own paddock while Kauai Katie and Dreaming of Julia are led to an adjacent paddock, which they share.
There, they will enjoy a relaxing day in the field, grazing, running, and checking each other out over the fence. At 1:50 PM, they know it is time to come in and saunter towards the gates where they can see their handlers making their way out to collect them. At 2:00 PM, Brad checks each individual horse for anything out of place before they are brought in for the afternoon feed. After feed time, the rest of the day is spent in the barn, where they will be lightly groomed and have their feet picked out. They will remain in the barn until morning comes around.
As fall progresses into winter, they will grow thicker coats to protect themselves from the cold, and the proportion of the day that they spend outdoors will gradually increase. They will also be introduced to additional paddock mates.
My Miss Aurelia, Kauai Katie, and Dreaming of Julia are known as “maidens” as they have not been bred yet. They will be bred in the Spring. Once they are pregnant and the warm weather arrives, they will spend approximately 20 hours a day in their fields and will only come into the barn to be fed and checked.
After the Races: Dreaming of Julia, Kauai Katie, and My Miss Aurelia from Stonestreet on Vimeo.