ShowBiz Feature From the beginning of the hunter-jumper sport, thoroughbreds were the mainstay of competition
and off the track horses were the norm. It was only in the past couple of decades that imported and American bred warmbloods have taken over the competitive ring, leaving the thoroughbred in the dust. Recently, thoroughbreds are making a comeback, one by one. Looking back over the years, many thoroughbred names come to mind of National and Interna- tional winners, both hunter and
jumper..Touch of Class, Idle Dice, Riot Free, Gozzi
O
ver the span of three years, HBO, the makers of the television series LUCK, filmed
the ultra-realistic, horse rac- ing-themed series at Santa Anita Park in the Los Ange- les area. Amid fans, actors, film and production crews, dozens of Thoroughbreds were amassed for scenes set in the barn, paddock and track at the 78-year-old fa- cility. As many as 75 horses were
used in the various episodes, hobnobbing with the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Jill Hennessy, John Ortiz, Dennis Farina and other cast members. Even if they weren’t initially familiar with being around horses, cast members all seemed to find a moment or two in their day to give a pat, feed a carrot or just have a con- versation with their equine counterparts. Hoffman, re- luctant at first, warmed up to the big chestnut gelding who played Pint o’ Plain and became comfortably friendly with the horse. Once the series was canceled, HBO
faced the harsh realization that the horses housed in barns 1C, 7 and 47
at Santa Anita were immediately out of a job. Many of the horses were Thoroughbred pony horses or riding
and ready to DO something. These horses segued from their rac-
ing careers to a stint as part of the television series, and now that the series has been can- celed, HBO and many in the racing industry have stepped forward to find loving homes for them. The TV show has become a very lucky opportu- nity for a significant number of Thoroughbred racehorses that may not have found such good fortune otherwise. For the horses, this is a
chance for a career change. Thoroughbreds that were
not competitive at lower claiming levels from Los Alamitos, Portland Meadows, Turf Paradise and Emer- ald Downs got a chance for a role on the small screen. Matthew Chew, retained by HBO to supervise the horse component, selected horses for the series based on three criteria: soundness, saneness and speed—or rather, lack of speed. Not all of the filming days
were good ones. Over the years of filming, the acci- dental deaths of three of the
horses that already had homes. That still left 50 race horses, used for the racing scenes, that were fit, healthy
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horses devastated everyone involved and proved to be a catalyst in the cancellation of LUCK. Occurring in
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