CARMA GRADS RED KING, TWOKIDSFROMDABRONX DELIVER THE MAIL
By Jay Privman
Some racehorses are described as “throwbacks” for their productivity. Red King and Twokidsfromdabronx took that to another level in June, when the two CARMA graduates paid tribute to the legendary Pony Express by participating in an event honoring the iconic 19th Century mail service.
They were among the horses who, around the clock over 10 days, participated in a relay to bring mail 1,966 miles, from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, Calif., retracing the route of the Pony Express.
The Pony Express Re-Ride, organized by the National Pony Express Association and overseen by the National Park Service, features approximately 650 riders and their horses, who hand off a mochila – a leather cover, that lay atop the saddle, whose pockets contain approximately 1,000 letters — over a pre-determined route, with assigned spots for each horse and rider. This year, the ride went east to west, covering Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California. Next year, it will begin in Sacramento and end in St. Joseph.
Each horse and rider cover anywhere from two to five miles for their leg. Red King, perhaps the most-famous of the CARMA graduates owing to his race record and his successful transition to a post-racing career, was selected for two legs.
He and his rider, Kiersti Wylie of Sandia Creek Ranch in Fallbrook, Calif., first traveled from the post office in tiny Rescue, Calif., to the historic Pleasant Grove pony express house four miles away. Later, they did a shorter stint that ended at Discovery Park, where the American and Sacramento rivers meet, just north of downtown Sacramento.
“King was a star,” Wylie said. “He met lots of people and made a great representation for Thoroughbreds.”
Wylie said local radio following the Re-Ride were impressed, too.
Among the comments she heard: “The Red King horse is making up the time,” “the next rider coming in is a Thoroughbred, and boy is he a looker,” and “what an impressive horse coming in.”
“He’s truly a legend,” said Wylie, who was outfitted for the Re-Ride in blue jeans, boots, a red shirt, a brown Re-Ride vest, yellow bandana, and a brown hat, mirroring the look of the era.
Red King, now age 10, was an accomplished racehorse. He won eight times in 43 starts, his career highlight coming when taking the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap in 2020. A little more than two years later, after his final start, he moved along to Sandia Creek via CARMA.
Twokidsfromdabronx, now 5, won twice – both at Los Alamitos – in six starts before his racing career also ended in the fall of 2022. He too went to Sandia Creek to transition to his post-racing career, and has been adopted out.
In a bemusing coincidence, both Red King and Twokidsfromdabronx were born on the same day – Feb. 26 – but five years apart. Red King had raced 17 times before Twokidsfromdabronx was even born.
Yet here they were, years later, showing what off-the-track Thoroughbreds can do after their racing careers are over.
CARMA’s funds are used to facilitate this transition. CARMA — the California Retirement Management Account — partners with organizations like Sandia Creek, and follows up annually to make sure each organization is adhering to CARMA’s policies.
CARMA’s annual fund-raiser, CARMAthon, is coming up on Saturday, Aug. 24. The event is based out of Del Mar, and hosted by FanDuel TV, formerly TVG.
Donations – all tax-deductible — can be made then, but CARMA accepts donations year-round through its website, carma4horses.org. In addition, CARMA recently published a children’s book, “What Horses Do After Racing: The Story of Good Carma,” which explains the many post-race careers available to racehorses; all proceeds from book sales go directly to CARMA.
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