HELPING THE HORSES
New nonprofit aims to raise money for thoroughbred aftercare
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » A new nonprofit for thoroughbred aftercare is hosting its Founder’s Celebration in the Spa City at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Launched last year, Classic Legacy Thoroughbred Aftercare is a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Virginia with a mission to protect the legacy of former Thoroughbred racehorses by providing a supportive quality of life with personalized rehabilitation, rehoming, and sanctuary.
“We’re there to protect offtrack thoroughbreds from abandonment and abuse,” explained CLTA president Vanessa Camperlengo.
This summer, CLTA will channel its mission further in hosting the Founder’s
Celebration & Cocktail Party from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 1 at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs.
This event will feature a night of live music by Tim Ortiz, hors d’oeuvres catered by
The Brook Tavern, and bottomless Virginia wine and beer— all included in the $50 entry ticket price.
There will also be a 75-piece si- lent auction, as well as featured artists, James Overby from “The Overby Gallery” in Louisiana and local artist Nick Martinez.
Special guests will include Hall of Fame jockeys Angel Cordero Jr. and John Velazquez, as well as jockeys Jose Ortiz and Manuel Franco. Famed NYRA race caller Tom Durkin will also be in attendance that evening as the designated Master of Ceremonies.
Proceeds from the event will go to both CLTA’s mission and that of Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare, a nonprofit that has been rescuing hundreds of Thoroughbreds in Puerto Rico this past year after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The 2018 Special Eclipse Award winner, Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare will also be specially honored at the event for its valiant endeavors.
All are also invited to visit CLTA in the Community Booth at the Saratoga racetrack Friday, Aug. 3. The nonprofit will be there all day with t-shirts, stickers, and additional information about how to get involved and show support for the horses.
“We have been involved in the thoroughbred industry for many decades and it is an exciting time right now with increased interest and accountability for the horses from birth to retirement,” Camperlengo said. “Racing is now open more than ever to the general public with the availability of racing syndicates which affords
ownership with minimal risk. This creates increased transparency for the industry which will only serve to strengthen and improve standards and regulations.”
Camperlengo founded CLTA in the fall of 2017 with her daughter Nadia in honor of their mother and grandmother Maria Camperlengo, who passed away earlier that year. “We started it in memory of my mother who was a responsible thoroughbred owner and breeder,” Vanessa said. For more than 50 years, Maria worked with horses at a farm just south of Albany.
Though Vanessa and Nadia now live on a farm in Virginia, while the rest of the family is scattered along the East Coast, the idea for the nonprofit started when they were together last summer in Saratoga Springs.
“Saratoga holds such fond memories for us,” Vanessa said. “It was Saratoga where it all began, where our mother brought us as little girls, where we found our first jobs walking hots, where we tried out flirting with the jockeys when we were teenagers while we watched them play ping pong outside their jockey quarters.”
After coming together last August for the Saratoga Race Course’s annual meet, the organization was legally formed in September 2017.
Now, the Camperlengo family and CLTA community will once again join in Saratoga Springs next month for its Founder’s Celebration, the organization’s second fundraising effort.
“Saratoga is a magical place for us and we love it,” Vanessa said. “That’s why we’re having our Founders Celebration there.”
At this inaugural gathering, CLTA aims to engage with the Spa City community while sharing the organization’s mission.
So far, the young nonprofit has started developing partnerships, connections, watchdog activities - particularly for older geldings being run on smaller tracks. “We reach out to trainers and farms have reached out to us seeking placements for horses,” Vanessa explained.
CLTA currently sponsors a horse named Blonde Bullet, while developing a strategic plan that involves purchasing a horse farm in Virginia to house many more off-track thoroughbreds.
Furthermore, CLTA leaders hope to start a program with its sister nonprofit to provide equine therapy for veterans with PTSD. In the future, organizers plan to partner with Saratoga WarHorse, a local nonprofit with a similar program.
For the Camperlengos, CLTA is all about giving genuine care for the horses, while also supporting the “unsung heroes,” the hardworking people who provide that care. “We’ve been in an industry, and we stayed in the industry, because we love the horses,” Vanessa said.
This love of horses, and attitude of giving generously, was instilled in the Camperlengos by their matriarch Maria. “We have a lot to live up to,” Nadia said.
Tickets to the upcoming Founder’s Celebration, $50 each, can be purchased at the door with cash or credit card or online through CLTA’s Facebook page.
There is no dress code requirement. The entire Saratoga community is welcome to join in on the fun, Nadia said. “It’s family-friendly, open to everybody.”
CLTA has also organized an upcoming online fine art auction on starquine.com with many nationally recognized artists, including Saratoga Springs artists Celeste Susany and Nick Martinez, as its next fundraising effort.
More information about CLTA is available online at www.classic-legacy.org.