March/April 2024 Issue

Page 54 March/April 2024 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN By Stacie Clark Rogers The Blood Horse The heartwarming story of Tomater Gator’s retirement is a touching story that the industry cannot afford to overlook. Toma- ter Gator concluded his racing career in August 2023 with a respectable fourth-place finish. It was at this moment that his owner and trainer, Leandro Barban, made the decision to sell him for a well-deserved retirement. The 8-year-old veteran gelding had raced an amazing 85 times in just seven years. During his remarkable career, he achieved 12 victories and amassed earnings exceeding $282,000. In the world of Thoroughbred racing, a horse with Tomater Gator’s extensive racing history is often referred to as a ‘war horse.’ Surprisingly, these ‘war horses’ often re- main relatively unknown to the broader horse racing commu- nity. No stranger to the world of racing and racetracks, Tomater Gator ran the majority of his starts at Penn National Racetrack or PARX Racing. However, this seasoned racehorse ventured beyond his usual tracks, making the journey from Pennsylvania to South Florida to compete at no fewer than six different racetracks. Remarkably, he was claimed 19 times over the course of his incredible career. As Tomater Gator prepared for another race at Penn, little did he know that a movement was underway to secure his well-de- served retirement. Just under a week after running in a claiming race with a purse of $7,000, To- mater Gator found himself turned out and basking in the joys of retirement. It’s not uncommon for these veteran ‘war horses’ to garner a dedicated following on social media, particularly among sup- porters for Off-the-Track Thor- oughbreds (OTTBs). In the case of Tomater Gator, one such fan was Fran Burns, the founder of Maryland’s Thoroughbred Show Series, who had been avidly fol- lowing Tomater Gator’s journey on social media for a couple of years. “I watched him closely on Twitter within a group dedicated to following older racehorses. Tomater Gator was primarily competing at PARX, and I found myself tracking his journey for not just a couple, but perhaps closer to three years,” Fran ex- claimed with excitement. “I kept sending donations to MidAtlantic Thoroughbred Rescue, directed specifically for Tomater Gator. I truly believed we could secure his retirement.” Fran chuckled, recalling her interactions with Bev Strauss, the Executive Director of MidAt- lantic Thoroughbred Rescue, a It Takes a Village: Tomater Gator’s Soft Landing to Off-the-Track Thoroughbreds (Continued on page 58)