Belmont Stakes to benefit Nitro Active at Villa Chardonnay

TEMECULA - Join an open house at Villa Chardonnay on Saturday, June 9, and meet Secretariat’s great-great grandson, winning thoroughbred racehorse Nitro Active.

Watch I’ll Have Another, this years Triple Crown hopeful, run at the Belmont Stakes. The event will be held from 1:30 p.m. until after the Belmont Stakes which will run at 3:30 p.m. This event is great fun and for an important cause; to help save and rescue thoroughbred racehorses from local racetracks.

The event will be held at the Villa Chardonnay Sanctuary, 42200 Calle Barbona, Temecula, which is home to over 80 animals in total. A suggested donation of $30 per person, $20 for children includes champagne, light hors d’oeuvres, bottled water and hot dogs for the kids.

Nitro Active, the great-great grandson of Secretariat, was headed to a slaughterhouse just three months after his last race on December 16, 2011, at Hollywood Park Racetrack. After three wins and earning nearly $200,000 in his career, Nitro Active is no longer able to race.

Nitro Active endured years of overuse on the track where he suffered leg fractures, required surgery on his front legs, and he currently has severe degenerative arthritis according to a veterinary check-up. Like many thoroughbreds, when he was no longer able to perform at high standards, he was found at an auction ready to go to a slaughter. The veterinary recommendation is that he should never be ridden again, at seven years old this if very difficult both emotionally and physically.

This is not the Hollywood ending that his great-great grandfather, Triple Crown winner Secretariat, lived and enjoyed. Nitro Active may still have a storybook ending, living out his days in peace at his new permanent home.

Villa Chardonnay Equine Sanctuary is the last hope for Nitro, one of the largest horse rescue and sanctuaries in Southern California specializing in abandoned, neglected and starving equines that are often not adoptable.

Villa Chardonnay is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization devoted to the rescue of abandoned and neglected horses. Nearly 50 rescued horses are cared for by Villa Chardonnay Sanctuary in Temecula.

The fund-raising event is open to the public and an afternoon of visiting all the horses, goats, and even a turkey at the sanctuary will be fun for the whole family.

All donations go to care, treatment, and food. All contributions are welcome and may be mailed to Villa Chardonnay, 42200 Calle Barbona, Temecula, CA 92592 or visit http://www.villachardonnay.org. RSVP to (951) 234-9793.