(Horse blanket worn by the great Into Mischief will be auctioned on Friday to benefit the Backside Learning Center / Model is “Woody” at LTS)

On Friday night, starting at 6 p.m. ET, we will be hosting a “silent auction” to assist the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs. Hopefully, you have heard about it; or read about it; or plan to bid on some of the amazing items in it.

We will be releasing phone numbers for all to call in on Friday night. We will be updating this site every 5 minutes with the current top bid. And, if you wish to leave your phone number, we will text you with the current live bid.

Members, guests and investors of The Louisville Thoroughbred Society will be able to visit, see, and bid on the items in person, as well.

We are hoping that you all will help us all make this a tremendously successful event in order that the Backside Learning Center can assist some of the hardest working people in these United States and the most caring humans for our wonderful horse population.

The Backside Learning Center does many things for the people that work on the backside of Churchill Downs. They provide needed assistance for clothing, meals, and many other products and services that are mandatory and required. The charitable group does amazing work, and we in this industry are forever in the debt for the assistance they provide. Daily.

When Churchill Downs recently announced that it was going to keep the backside open the entire winter to assist horsemen and horse women who wish to race at Turfway Park, we all knew that many workers who normally travel with their trainers and spend the winter in the South would need additional help.

We, at the LTS, embarked on this first-time fund-raising effort to assist with both funding, clothing donations and other essentials to help the Backside Learning Center and to help those that need the help the most.

We could not have done this without the tremendous out-pouring of assistance from people like:

Dermot Ryan — Manager of Ashford Stud

Charlie O’Connor — Director of Sales Ashford Stud 

Mark Toothaker — Stallion Sales Manager Spendthrift Farm

Jason Loutsch — Albaugh Family Stables 

Travis White — Taylor Made Farm

Eric Reed — Reed Racing Stables

Hall of Fame Rider Mike Smith

Top Rider Chantal Sutherland

Eric Hamelback — National HBPA CEO

Chauncey Morris — Executive VP KTA-KTOB

Stephen Lyster — Lyster Stables & Warren Horse Vans

Darren Fox — Godolphin Stables

Cathy Shircliff, Tonya Abeln — Churchill Downs

Sherry Stanley — Backside Learning Center

Jennie Rees — Trackside Jennie & KY Downs Media

Eiman Zuberi — LTS

Many, many, many “Thank Yous.” So many.