Dallas and Donna Keen are remarkable for their training achievements on the racetrack and for their concern for animal welfare. Over the past six years, Dallas (www.dallaskeen.com) has a 23 percent winning percentage and he is the fourth leading trainer in Lone Star Park history.
At considerable out-of-pocket expenses to themselves, this husband and wife team launched (and continue to operate) a 501 (c) 3 non-profit foundation called Remember Me Rescue. The organization’s mission statement is straightforward: “Remember Me Rescue is a non-profit horse rescue organization…to assist retired and injured racehorses after their careers at the track are over. We accept, rehabilitate, and retrain ex-racehorses with the hopes of finding them new homes with responsible owners.”
The Remember Me Rescue website (www.teamkeen.com) explains why it was founded: “In the last few years, the need to place retired horses has weighed heavy on (the Keens’) hearts. In 2004, Dallas and Donna started small, rescuing and placing a few horses a year. Since then, they have successfully placed over 50 horses in new homes around the country. Remember Me Rescue got its start in 2008… With the ability to accept donations for the care, rehabilitation, and retraining of ex-racers, Dallas and Donna with the help of many others will make a difference in the lives of hundreds of horses.”
In 2009, Remember Me Rescue placed 36 former racehorses into new homes.
Currently, to raise funds, Remember Me Rescue is auctioning off a Shadow Box that contains a stable halter worn by Rachel Alexandra and is signed by her trainer Steve Asmussen and her jockey Calvin Borel. On March 20, the silent auction phase will terminate and the two top bidders will be requested to engage in a live auction, in-person or by phone, during a dinner party at the Fair Grounds Race Course on March 26. At this writing, the high bid is $2,200.
If you can’t or don’t want to bid on this item, any contribution will help Remember Me Rescue to carry on in perpetual search of its mission. The organization’s website has the capability to receive donations via PayPal.
At a time when the outrageous misdeeds of two high-profile owners have given racing a black eye in the press, it is refreshing to read and hear of an effort like Remember Me Rescue. The Keens personify the kind of racing-industry participants who I was referring to favorably last week in “Doing Well By Doing Good.” They are winners on the racetrack and off.
Remember Me Rescue
4100 Conveyor Drive
Burleson, TX 76028
817-689-1214
remembermerescue@live.com
Copyright © 2010 Horse Racing Business
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