I don’t see what’s absurd about this. The Nyrens aren’t pandering. They’re putting their money where their sentiments are. For that they happened to garnish the praise of Michael Blowen, a guy who knows a thing or two about retirement programs for thoroughbreds. Are the Nyrens unique? Perhaps among “big owners” they aren’t. I don’t know. Who can tell me? But among owners
in general they must be. Otherwise thoroughbred rescue and retirement programs funded by non-industry people and staffed by volunteers wouldn’t be necessary.
I take it back: I do see the absurdity in this, which is that the industry itself doesn’t mandate providing retirement for the very horses which it professes to love and without which it wouldn’t exist, like this one:
http://thesaturdaypost.org/blog/2011...ary-racehorse/
and that because of that fact stories like this seem extraordinary.