On Jan. 24, fire destroyed a "hospital" barn at the Old Friends farm in Georgetown, Kentucky. Old Friends is a retirement sanctuary for more than 150 Thoroughbreds, including such racetrack heroes as Silver Charm, Sarava, Alphabet Soup, War Emblem, and Game On Dude.

Today (Jan. 28), Old Friends founder and President Michael Blowen announced that Fasig-Tipton, through its subsidiary Blue Horse Charities, has donated $50,000 towards the rebuilding of this structure, which in the future will be known as "The John Hettinger Memorial Barn."

"Blue Horse Charities was conceived and created by John Hettinger during the time of his family’s ownership of the company," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "We are delighted that Old Friends will name the new barn in John’s honor."

Blowen added, "John Hettinger’s commitment to caring for Thoroughbreds in retirement was unparalleled. I remember many years ago sitting on John’s porch in Saratoga discussing what we needed to do to protect these retired racehorses. I think he would have loved Old Friends as much as we love him