Retired Thoroughbred Ceremony

Festival of the Sun - Celebration of the Horse
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Retired Thoroughbred Ceremony

Calder Race Course is proud to present the Retired Thoroughbred Ceremony during the Festival of the Sun. Each year, we recognize a former racehorse that now enjoys a life away from the racetrack.

We are pleased to welcome back millionaire racehorse Shake You Down, the winner of three straight graded stakes races in 2003, including Calder’s Smile Sprint Handicap (G3) on Summit of Speed day. His Beyer speed rating for the race was the second highest of the year on dirt for races less than a mile with a 121.

Shake You Down last raced on January 18, 2007, retiring at nine. A Florida-bred gelding by Montbrook out of Mauvin Gway by Rajab, Shake You Down was bred by Ocala Stud Farm and owned by Robert Cole, Jr.

One of the top sprinters in the country, Shake You Down won 22 of his 65 lifetime starts, won six stakes races and earned over $1.4 million in his career.

After breaking his maiden in 2001, Shake You Down raced in mid to high level allowance races in the Northeast, catching the attention of trainer Scott Lake. In 2003, Lake claimed the horse for $65,000. He turned out to be a profitable claim.

Under Lake’s command, Shake You Down posted a five-win streak including three stakes wins with the Bold Ruler Handicap (G3), the True North Breeders’ Cup Handicap (G2) and the Smile.

After Shake You Down won the True North in sloppy conditions, Lake said, “I’m so proud of him. The fractions were fast and he kept going. He just wouldn’t quit.” His rider Mike Luzzi added, “He’s a really fast horse.”

The streak ended when Shake You Down ran fourth in the Alfred G Vanderbilt Handicap (G2). Poised for a win in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Shake You Down finished a brave third to eventual  champion sprinter Cajun Beat. His next race, he came back with a second in the Frank F. DeFrancis Memorial Dash and then a win in the Gravesend Handicap at Aqueduct.

In the money 11 of 13 starts with seven wins, two seconds and two thirds, Shake You Down earned consideration for a 2003 Eclipse award for sprinting. He was third place in voting, even receiving more votes than future Horse of the Year Ghostzapper.

In 2004, the gelding won the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn Park for his final stakes victory. With age and the typical aches and pains associated with it, Shake You Down’s Cole did not want to take any risks to a horse that had been so good to him. He retired him sound and healthy to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation in 2007.

Shake You Down’s new home is the TRF’s Florida division at the Marion County Correctional Institution in Ocala where prison inmates derive emotional and educational benefits as the horse’s caretakers. Farm manager John Evans refers to the gelding as “a grand-looking chestnut.” He added, “Shake exudes class.”

After their careers, many Thoroughbreds go on to a second career in the breeding shed, other horse sports, or even as therapy horses. Some, like Shake You Down, are fortunate to touch lives helping inmates develop responsibility, pride and self-esteem. These life skills that are reflected in the glowing condition and spirited affection he has received in their care.

"Shake" will be presented with a bouquet of carrots, a blanket and a piece of art featuring him sprinting during the Retired Thoroughbred Ceremony. To accept on his behalf with be a representative from the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA), sponsors of the retirement farm in Ocala.