With so many Standardbreds flowing from Amish farms and racetracks into auction house kill pens each week, life can seem like an endless series of crises for those dedicated to rescuing the popular trotting horses.
But when the much-anticipated movie “Little Women” was released last year there was reason to celebrate at the New Jersey-based Standardbred Retirement Foundation (SRF): five horses that narrowly escaped death made their big screen debut in the Academy-Award winning motion picture.
The five movie stars were adopted in 2018 by John Allegra, who runs Allegra Farm, a Connecticut carriage horse business that supplies horses and historic carriages to the entertainment industry. Two of the adopted standardbreds won more than $700,000 between them during their racing careers.
Judy Bokman, director of the Standardbred Retirement Foundation, said the foundation does not ordinarily adopt out horses for commercial use. “It’s on a case-by-case basis,” she said. “But we do have so many horses who need homes.”
Allegra, who regularly dons a top hat to play the role of coachman in film productions, has 29 horses, ten of them Standardbreds, who are used in weddings and sleigh rides, along with movie and TV productions. Other movies featuring Allegra and his horses include “Amistad” and “The Greatest Showman.” His horses were also used in TV’s “Sex and the City.”
The equine cast of “Little Women” were:
The Last Hurrah "Hooie"- A 15-year-old unraced pacer out of Browning Blue Chip. He was rescued from a Pennsylvania kill pen in March 2018.
Expensive Dude "Dude"- A 24-year-old pacer out of Expensive Scooter. He was a rescue from a Pennsylvania kill pen in April 2018 who had a total of 69 racetrack starts and earnings of $48,245. His last race was in 2001.
RC Kettle Chip "Chips"- A 13-year-old trotter out of Dream Vacation. He was a rescue from a kill pen in April 2018. He had 10 starts in his racing career and earned $12,099. He last raced in 2010.
Instigator "Gator"- A 20-year-old pacer out of Presidential Ball. He came into the program in May of 2018 as a rescue horse. With a total of 147 starts Gator earned $211, 499. His last race was in 2008.
Bay Sign "Apollo"- A 20-year-old pacer out of Life Sign. He came into the program in May 2018. Apollo earned $510,346 in 152 starts. He last raced in 2009.
Bred to Drive
Allegra said as his business grew he needed more horses to pull his restored carriages. So he turned to the Standardbred Retirement Foundation, knowing they specialized in horses bred to pull carts.
“I tried out five and said, ‘What if I take them all?’” recalls Allegra. “They were all awesome.”
Bokman said learning of the role the rescued horses played in the movie came as a much-needed boost earlier this year when the foundation, which has close to 400 horses in its care, was scrambling to raise funds to pull another 31 horses from a Pennsylvania kill pen.
“That was such a wonderful lift for all of us,” said Bokman. “We’re often on an emotional rollercoaster. That was a high for a while.”
Allegra is no stranger to horse auction kill pens. “I’ve never called [my business] a rescue,” he said. “I put them to work.” But Allegra is quick to add movie and TV “work” usually involves a lot of standing around on set. “It’s easy work compared to racing,” he said.
Allegra, caught by phone ahead of a winter night’s feeding, says he likes to have “a good fleet” of horses to choose from that are able to pull his 170 period carriages.
He looks for horses that are 16 hands, have a good temperament and look good in pairs or four-in-hand for stage coaches.
Allegra said some horses can’t make the transition from racing to carriage work, but overall he’s found Standardbreds are solid citizens ready to take on any new challenge. “They are very willing, healthy and strong,” he said. “They will do anything for you.”
“Anything” includes riding in an elevator to the ballroom of the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City and parading across the stage at Lincoln Center for the opera “La Boheme,” Allegra said.
Allegra’s got another big movie gig in the works that he says he can’t yet talk about.
What does that mean for homeless standardbreds? Allegra went back to New Jersey last month and adopted five more rescue horses from the SRF to join his herd of Hollywood stars.