Hope of Glory won the 1974 Alcibiades, the Falls City handicap and the Kentucky Cardinal. She was bred in Kentucky and raced for Don McKellar. Of her ten foals, nine raced, and all were winners. Among her offspring are Another Notch, Extra Grouse, Good Sort, Grab the Glory, Pocketfull of Hope, Race into History and Rinaldi.

After McKellar’s death, Hope of Glory was under the care of Wendy DeVere for a number of years. Ms. DeVere contacted ReRun, a Kentucky based Thoroughbred adoption charity.

Hope of Glory entered the ReRun program on September 23, 2002 and was immediately adopted by Jeanne Mirabito. ReRun continued to sponsor Hope of Glory at the Our Mims Retirement Haven owned by Mirabito.

Hope of Glory was laid to rest at OMRH. She will be deeply missed.

Sugar and Spice was a half-sister of both Our Mims and Alydar through the dam, Sweet Tooth. Sugar and Spice proudly carried on the family fame with several prestigious wins including the Mother Goose-G1 and Ashland Stakes-G2, and ended her racing career with 18 starts, 5 wins, 3 seconds and 3 thirds. Sugar then produced several winning foals.

OMRH purchased Sugar and Spice on May 7, 2004. Sugar and Spice moved into Our Mims’ vacated stall and was pampered like royalty. “Imagine how lucky I feel,” said Mirabito, “I have had the privilege of caring for two great Calumet mares, both out of the incredible Sweet Tooth.”

In keeping with its reverence for tradition and history, Calumet Farm welcomes the return of one of its own. Sugar and Spice will be laid to rest in the famed Calumet equine cemetery near her siblings, her dam, her second, third and fourth dams and generations of champions.

“Calumet was her home at birth, through her racing days and much of her career as a broodmare,” said Mirabito. “Calumet is where she belongs.”

OMRH is named after the 1977 champion three-year-old filly, Our Mims, who resided on the farm from February 9, 2000 until the time of her death on December 9, 2003. Jeanne Mirabito adopted Our Mims through ReRun, a Kentucky-based Thoroughbred adoption group. Our Mims was Calumet Farm’s first Eclipse winner.

Our Mims produced several foals for Calumet, including Mimbet and Slewvescent, before being sold in Calumet’s dispersal sale in 1991.

During the fall of 1999, this great mare made her way to the ReRun program, a Kentucky-based Thoroughbred adoption group. Our Mims was adopted by Jeanne Mirabito of Paris, Kentucky, in February of 2000. “Never was a horse more loved than Our Mims. She stole my heart,” said Mirabito. “Our Mims was QUEEN here. She knew it and as long as the rest of us didn’t forget who was in charge, all was well.”

Our Mims settled into a life of leisure at the Mirabito’s farm, Ahwenasa. She enjoyed routine, peppermints, carrots and visits from fans. During the last year of her life, Our Mims had over 70 visitors. “She loved being adored by her fans, ” said Mirabito.

Our Mims remained at Ahwenasa until she passed away on December 9, 2003. Cheryl Bellucci of Xenia, Ohio, organized a fund raising campaign to purchase a proper stone marker to honor Our Mims. Photographers Barbara Livingston, Sue Rosenbach and John Bellucci donated prints and fans from all over the United States contributed to purchasing the grave marker for Our Mims. As many letters and donations poured in during the campaign, Cheryl Bellucci commented, “It’s like magic. Just like Our Mims was.”
Prior to his death, the late Count deKwiatkowski, owner of Calumet, had given permission for Our Mims to be buried at Calumet near her dam, Sweet Tooth, her second and third dams, Blue Delight and Real Delight. The Count’s family graciously honored the promise, and Our Mims was laid to rest within sight of her half brother Alydar.

Mirabito praises Calumet Farm for all they have done. Our Mims was the first horse in the history of the farm who did not reside at Calumet to be buried in Calumet cemetery. “The deKwiatkowskis did not know Our Mims. They did not benefit from her earnings. They may never have even heard her ‘royal’ nicker, and yet, they allowed her to ‘come home,’” explained Mirabito, “What a wonderful gesture. All this proves to me that the great Calumet Farm is clearly in the right hands. The level of class at Calumet doesn’t stop with the owners. It is apparent in the employees as well.” Mirabito can’t say enough about Calumet’s grounds crew for the incredible concern and loving way they took care of Our Mims remains.

The dedication ceremony is expected to be over by 12 noon.

Sugar and Spice is a half-sister of Our Mims through the dam, Sweet Tooth. Sugar and Spice proudly carried on the family fame with several prestigious wins including the Mother Goose-G1 and Ashland Stakes-G2 and ended her racing career with 18 starts, 5 wins, 3 seconds and 3 thirds. Sugar then produced several winning foals. “How appropriate, ” said Jeanne Mirabito, “that the first horse to move into Our Mims’ empty stall is her half-sister.”

The Mirabitos purchased the 42-acre tobacco farm with one goal in mind: to create a facility for pensioned broodmares at which they would be pampered through their final years.

In addition to Our Mims and Sugar and Spice, another noteworthy elder equine has found her way to Ahwenasa: Hope of Glory (by Mr. Leader out of Daizel by Manteau). She won the Alcibiades, Falls City Handicap, Kentucky Cardinal and placed third in Matron Stakes and Santa Marguerita Handicap. Hope of Glory earned $168,421 with 35 starts, 9 wins, three places and 5 shows. Hope of Glory is the dam of ten foals. Nine of them raced and all were winners. ReRun sponsors this lovely old mare at OMRH.

The couple considers the retirement facility idea to be a natural progression in the already well-established routine of the Kentucky horse industry. “When a filly leaves the racetrack she moves from her trainer’s barn to a breeding farm because the breeding facilities specialize in breeding,” explained Jeanne Mirabito. “When a mare is no longer producing foals it only makes sense that she move to a different facility where the specialty revolves around aging mares.”

Mirabito has had great success at restoring the health of aged pensioners and/or keeping an already healthy elder equine healthy. It’s a matter of routine and observation. “The trick is noticing a potential health problem before it becomes a threat,” said Mirabito. Older horses tend to deteriorate quickly, and small problems can become big overnight. Once things get out of hand, treatment is expensive and doesn’t always help. But if a health issue is caught early it is often treated easily and without much expense.

The ultimate goal for OMRH is to create a tourist attraction modeled after the idea of the Hall of Champions at the Kentucky Horse Park. Through admission charges and various other fundraising methods the mares can support themselves while promoting the horse industry and tourism. The result will be more room at breeding farms, owners who are content knowing their mares are being pampered and a place for fans to reunite with their old heroes. Most importantly, the mares will be returned to the limelight. They will spend their last years being adored by racing enthusiasts. “Our Mims loved visitors. She seemed to know they wanted to see her and pranced around with the pride of a champion,” remarked Mirabito.

For more information about OMRH check out www.OurMims.org or Our Mims tribute website at www.OurMims.com.