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Grave Matters: California Equine Retirement Foundation (CERF)
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Photos by Kurt Lemke. © ©Kurt Lemke 2013; all rights reserved. |
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Left--Bedouin's grave; Right--Caterman's grave |
| THE CALIFORNIA EQUINE RETIREMENT FOUNDATION (C.E.R.F.) was
founded in 1986 by Grace Belcuore, and the ranch where the horses are
kept is located in Winchester, California. One of the first and most
well known of the ranch's residents was BEDOUIN, a gelding who
retired in 1988 after five years of racing, 67 starts and $311,393 in
earnings. He wasn't a great star, just stakes-placed, but he
was considered a "bread and butter" racehorse who had
become a fan favorite. When he died in 2006 as a 25-year-old,
his ashes were buried here. New Zealand-bred CATERMAN, on the
other hand, was a talented racehorse who won four stakes races
including the Golden Gate Handicap (G3) and earned $648,600 in the
U.S. He had been well cared for in his retirement from racing as an
eight-year-old in 1984, but when his owner died, he was sent to
C.E.R.F. as a 28-year-old in 2002. He lived another two years
here. C.E.R.F. horses are cremated and their ashes are buried
at the farm.--A.P. |
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CERF BURIALS
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Stallions | Geldings | Mares |
Menswear (c. 1978)
Perry Cabin (c. 1977)
Peltrax (c. 1978)
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Bedouin (g. 1981-2006)
Bigbadandmean (g. 1983)
Buen Chico (g. 1978)
Caterman (NZ) (g. 1976-2004)
Decisively (g. 1984)
Pair of Aces (g. 1980)
Quiet Boy (g. 1985)
Roll a Natural (g. 1980)
Sahara King (g. 1989) |
Lucky Silver (f. 1982)
Velveteen (f. 1983) |
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