For Release: 2009-04-20 13:36:00
Prison inmates often are forgotten members of society, and, on a parallel track, over-the-hill Thoroughbreds are frequently subjected to a worse fate once they're no longer productive. What happens when the two are brought together on prison farms, where inmates care for one of these end-of-career racehorses, is documented in Homestretch: Racehorse Rescue, airing Sunday, May 3 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET2 and Tuesday, May 5 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET1.Slaughter or the punishing two-bit racing circuits are often the "reward" even formerly top-earning racehorses face at the end of their careers. In recent years, however, rescue organizations have sprung up to give these horses well-deserved retirements or even new lives as pets or pleasure horses.
And now, a few progressive prison farms are pairing rescued Thoroughbreds with jail-hardened men. The transformations in both the horses and prisoners challenge stereotypes and, for some, offer the hope of redemption.
Featuring the inmates at the Blackburn Correctional Complex near Lexington, the program follows the stories of troubled men who, when they form bonds with horses, begin to change.
"I've been told my whole life that there's something on the outside of a horse that does something good to the inside of a man," says one inmate during the program. "I don't think any words could be truer."
Homestretch: Racehorse Rescue is produced by Homestretch Productions. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at www.ket.org.
Contact: Ellen Soileau
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