COCHRANTON, Pa. (LEX 18) — This is the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's Triple Crown win, and there's a farm in Pennsylvania with a special connection to Secretariat.
The owner of Bright Futures Farm has been taking care of horses living out their later years. And one of those horses is "Trusted Company." She's Secretariat's last living daughter.
Bev Dee has been taking in retired horses for 23 years. In 2018, Bev opened her doors, and her heart, to a thoroughbred that's truly one of a kind.
When Trusted Company's New Jersey owner fell into some difficulties, Bev didn't hesitate to give the 34-year-old a comfortable place to live out her story.
"When she came, it was hard to connect because it was a new environment," said Bev. "New animals, new smells, and all of that."
The neighbor in the next stall, "Catch This T," improved her spirits and became her protector. Or, as Bev says, her boyfriend.
"They bonded pretty quickly," says Bev. "It took her about a year to really let her personality show to people, and now she's just a big sweetheart."
Except for arthritis that sometimes causes a limp, Bev says Trusted Company is happy, and she certainly is friendly.
And Trusted Company is healthy for the most part. Daily meds, Bev says, help with the aches and pains of old age.
"She's real personable. You know, she loves people," says Bev. "Probably because she knows they feed her treats, but I think she loves us anyway."
Bev was elated to care for horse racing royalty, but she didn't expect how the rest of the world would react.
"When people come, she's the first one they go to and she gets more attention than everybody else when they get visitors," she says. "Oh, they hugged her, they cried. Hugged her some more, fed her a lot of treats, but she just had an impact I never thought she'd have."
Maybe because horse lovers know she's one of the last to come from a legend... the likes of which we may never see again.
"[Secretariat's] just awesome," Bev says. "50 years ago, he set those records, and 50 years, now they're still standing."
Many people ask how a direct offspring of arguably the best thoroughbred ever ended up here. Though her sire still holds the record for all three Triple Crown races, Trusted Company did not fare well on the race track or in the breeding shed.
Her dollar value shrank to nothing, but her worth can't be measured by those who want to see older horses live with dignity.
And though Trusted Company has no trophies, she is still without question... special.
Bev has several things going on that help support the farm, like selling racing memorabilia, but you can also help out if you feel moved to do so. Go to https://brightfuturesfarm.org/ for more information.
