GREENFIELD CENTER — Everybody gets a party at Old Friends at Cabin Creek on Saturday; Commentator gets a day all to himself during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
For purposes of age-related race conditions, Jan. 1 in any given year is considered the “birthday” for all Thoroughbreds in the Northern Hemisphere.
The 16 horses at Old Friends at Cabin Creek don’t race anymore, so the retirement farm has been hosting a birthday party for its horses in the spring instead of Jan. 1.
Old Friends’ 14th annual birthday party will be held from noon-3 p.m. on Saturday. It is open to the public, and a suggested $10 donation will go toward the care of the horses.
They received their spring vaccines on April 9, have been visited by the farrier and will be receiving coat grooming before the party, “which some of the older ones don’t like any more,” Old Friends co-director Joann Pepper said in a release. “But they’ll all be ready when the guests show up for the Birthday Party.”
This year’s party will again feature soups from local restaurants — Olde Bryan Inn, Triangle Diner, Village Pizzeria and Simply Food by Maura — as well as the Principessa Elena Society.
There will also be birthday cake, raffles, music from Don Hoffman and other activities. The Old Friends’ gift shop will be open.
Old Friends at Cabin Creek is located at 483 Sand Hill Road in Greenfield Center.
During the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which is being held at Saratoga Race Course from June 6-9 this year because of the ongoing reconstruction of Belmont Park, Old Friends will host “Brunch with Commentator,'' in honor of the two-time Whitney winner, on Sunday, June 9.
The two-time New York-bred Horse of the Year has been one of the stars at Old Friends since May of 2016.
Details on the brunch, which will be held from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., are being finalized.
Later in the day, Saratoga Race Course will conduct New York Showcase Day, with six stakes races restricted to New York-breds, including the $200,000 Commentator Stakes for horses 3 and up going nine furlongs.
Commentator is one of three horses at Old Friends who are 23 years old, along with Red Down South and Watchem Smokey.
“Horses love it here,’’ Pepper said. “They know they are safe and secure.”