Retired From Racing, Pink Lloyd Still a Star at LongRun

During a racing career in which he won 29 races, Canadian Horse of the Year honors in 2017, and more than CA$2.4 million in earnings, Entourage Stable's Pink Lloyd  surrounded himself in high-class company.

Retired in December to LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society in Erin, Ontario, about an hour away from his longtime base at Woodbine, that hasn't changed. These days, the 10-year-old Old Forester  gelding and eight-time Sovereign Award winner enjoys grazing and relishing life in his paddock, paired with Riker , a 9-year-old Include  gelding and a fellow Sovereign Award winner, Canada's champion 2-year-old male in 2015.

The two are just some of the star power among the approximate 50 horses stabled at LongRun's 100-acre retirement farm. In addition to Canadian champions, also stabled at LongRun are horses that performed well in the U.S., such as 8-year-old State of Honor , runner-up in the 2017 Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1) for Conrad Farms and trainer Mark Casse.

State of Honor would later go on to race in that year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), running 19th, and finish eighth in the Queen's Plate Stakes and third in the Prince of Wales Stakes, the first two legs of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown.

Still, there is no mistaking the star of LongRun—it's Pink Lloyd, a fan favorite during his racing days and still popular in retirement. LongRun even offers Pink Lloyd black t-shirts picturing the sprinter with his name appearing in prominent pink cursive.

With a 29-3-2 record in 38 starts, he earned it.

"Yeah, he is a big draw. People always want to see the big horse," said LongRun handler Tania Veenstra.

WATCH: LongRun's Veenstra Discusses Pink Lloyd, His Life in Retirement

Besides fans and animal lovers, Pink Lloyd periodically sees some familiar faces.

"His trainer, Bob (Tiller), comes out every once and a while and checks up on him," Veenstra said. "His groom, Michelle (Gibson), was actually up this week. She always comes with her bag of McIntosh apples—not just any kind of apples, but the McIntosh apples."

Pink Lloyd's reaction?

"He slobbers all over her," Veenstra said.

LongRun is not merely a retirement home for stars of the sport. Roughly 60% are permanent residents of the farm, with owners sponsoring stalls and providing other support. The remaining 40% are short-term residents that the farm will rehabilitate and ultimately pair with owners seeking to adopt an off-track Thoroughbred, according to Vicki Pappas, chair of the board of directors for LongRun and a founding member of the organization.

The aftercare organization regularly receives horses from Woodbine and Fort Erie, but also from the mainland U.S. and Puerto Rico. 

Pappas, providing a tour Aug. 19 for media in Canada for the Aug. 21 Queen's Plate, lovingly made her way around the farm, shaking a bag of carrots to capture the attention of the farm's equine residents.

Her love of horses and the operation at LongRun, which began as a charity in 2000 while utilizing different farms around the region, is unmistakable. And LongRun staffers, volunteers, those that adopt, and the public that visits the Hillsburgh Farm that began in 2016 share that enthusiasm.

Last summer, LongRun conducted a "virtual graduate race" among 39 entrants as a fundraising tool. Horses picked up a length in the virtual race for every $5 as people donated, with contributions capped at $25 apiece, so a victory couldn't be bought by a deep-pocketed donor. LongRun raised $15,000.

Indicative of the appreciation of their placement of all types of horses, even lower-level ones, the blowout winner was a former claimer, the Lori Slack-adopted Who Dat Ambush , who ambushed the competition to win by a virtual margin of 213 lengths.

"One of the prizes was getting on the front of our calendar, which everybody wants, right?" Pappas said. "It's a really big deal."