New Vocations

As many readers know, the TDN lost a family member Nov. 1 with the passing of our News and Features editor, Ben Massam, at the age of 31. Ben loved racing, and he loved horses, and we wanted to honor him by helping to provide not only a place where we could remember him, but a place where his memory could continue to generate good. Because if there's one thing we all agreed upon, it was that Ben was one of the best people we ever met. (Read his story here  .)

Ben's life and his story in the TDN have touched people who knew him as well as people who didn't, and since his passing, so many of you have asked what you can do and where you can donate to help keep his memory alive.

We have decided to raise money to sponsor at stall at New Vocations in Lexington, Kentucky, where at-risk horses can find a soft landing when their racing careers are over--learning a second career, and getting a second chance at life. It is our hope that the project will help to provide an ongoing source of funding for the charity. We thought Ben would have liked that.

In the TDN, we'll tell the stories of the horses who end up in Ben's stall, which will help them to find new homes.

In this way, we hope to help Ben's memory to live on.