Jon Ebbert and Jena Antonucci after Arcangelo’s historic Belmont Stakes (G1) victory (Joe Labozzetta)
New Vocations Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky.— New Vocations has launched its 14th annual Breeders’ Cup Pledge, in which connections of Breeders’ Cup contenders are encouraged to pledge a percentage of their Championship earnings to support the charity’s mission to rehabilitate, retrain and rehome retired racehorses. First to join this year’s Pledge are Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Arcangelo’s trainer, Jena Antonucci and owner Jon Ebbert of Blue Rose Farm. To date, the pledge has raised over $1,090,000 to support the nation’s oldest and largest racehorse adoption program.
“It’s no secret how important it is to our team that we continue to properly transition Thoroughbreds to their next careers,” shared trainer Jena Antonucci. The tireless work New Vocations does is and always has been leading this sector of the industry. We are proud to pledge our support for their continued work and commitment to ensuring the best placement through their program.”
“We are thrilled to have Jena and Jon’s support in helping us launch this year’s Pledge,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations’ Thoroughbred Program Director. “The last two years have been very challenging as the costs associated with caring for the horses and running the program continue to increase. The Pledge offers an easy way for owners and trainers to give back to the horses and support their transition into new careers.”
Last year’s pledge raised over $140,000, in which over 60 Championship contenders had owners and/or trainers who pledged a percentage of their Breeders’ Cup earnings. Last year’s total was driven by a record nine horses with pledging connections— Caravel, Flightline, Forte, Goodnight Olive, Malathaat, Meditate, Tuesday, Victoria Road and Wonder Wheel —winning their races on Future Stars Friday and Championship Saturday.
New Vocations will continue to seek pledges from owners and trainers until Nov. 2nd in advance of the Nov. 3-4th Championship races at Santa Anita. All Pledge information is available at www.newvocations.org/events or by contacting anna@horseadoption.com or carey@horseadoption.com.
