Banker's Jet..... rest in peace.
http://www.trfinc.org/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TRF Loses a Friend: Banker’s Jet Euthanized at Age 25
By Ray Roy
Editor's Note: Banker's Jet, the winner of the 1987 A Phenomenon Stakes at Saratoga and 27 other races, was rescued by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation after being discovered near death on the grounds of a riding stable in upstate New York. His will to live and his subsequent recovery touched thousands. He spent his final years being pampered on the Connecticut farm of TRF Treasurer Ray Roy.
Jet was an unusual horse. His story has been told over and over in newspapers and magazines–even with fictional twists, in the television movie "Big Spender." Jet's legs were destroyed by racing; but his spirit and natural nobility kept him going long after his racing career ended at the Meadowlands in 1981.
As poster boy for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, Banker's Jet more than paid his way–inspiring hundreds of people to send in donations.
Finally, Jet's legs, crippled with arthritis, could not support him. After years of doing double duty because the right front couldn't, the left front gave out. Banker's Jet was put to sleep on July 23, 2007.
Just a month earlier, a woman from Bristol, CT and her father had visited my farm; they took many photos of Jet. Subsequently, the woman mailed a few to me, and I sent two on to Monique Koehler. I believe that Monique will attest to the fine flesh and look Jet carried into his very last days. The visitor was a friend of photographer Barbara Livingston; she said she was encouraging Barbara to travel to Connecticut to photograph Banker's Jet. He would have been a worthy subject for her art.
Banker's Jet was my buddy for 14 years. He taught me much about horses and horse racing. Jet was always the suspicious one; humans were not to be trusted. It took several years and some bumps and bruises, but I finally became Jet's one trusted human friend. He, of course, was not able to comprehend how much that meant to me.
I will be forever grateful to Ron Gibson, Jim Tremper, Robert Roth, Chino and the others who were involved at Wallkill with the rescue and rehabilitation of Banker's Jet. Thanks also to Monique, who permitted me to move Jet and his first girlfriend, Fashion Note, to my farm at a time when the concept of adoption was brand new for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. In a way, Jet was a TRF pioneer.
The TRF is a registered 501 © 3 non-profit organization which relies entirely on charitable donations to fund its various rescue, rehabilitation, adoption and retirement programs. All contributions are tax deductible. For more information, contact the TRF at (732) 957-0182 or
info@trfinc.org