Crown Prince by Linda Snow McLoon Page B

bounds.
    â€œI had a call from Hank earlier this week,” Mr. DeWitt continued. “He wants to cut back. He’s decided to cull four horses currently in training at Raceland Park. All are geldings, so they wouldn’t have any value as breeding stock, and for various reasons they aren’t cut out to be racehorses. Hank and his wife Jean visited us here at Brookmeade last year, and they seem to think we know what we’re doing. Hank feels this would be an ideal place to send horses to be retrained for something besides racing, and he’d rather these four become sport horses than be carelessly tossed aside.”
    Sarah sat mesmerized. What Mr. DeWitt was saying was almost more than she could comprehend. She looked up at her parents once more, and saw they were intently focused on the man before them.
    Jack spoke up. “Unfortunately too many Thoroughbreds who fail to pay their way at the track don’t get another chance. Many are unsound, and are bought on the cheap by the killers. They go to a rendering plant. I know it doesn’t sound pretty, but the sad fact is that some perfectly good horses that can’t run fast end up at a slaughter house.” Sarah shuddered and hugged Taco a little closer.
    â€œYour friend is doing a decent thing,” her father said to Mr. DeWitt.
    â€œI couldn’t agree with you more,” Mr. DeWitt said. “These four horses are all well-bred and supposedly sound. Hank thinks they are fine sport horse prospects, and has offered me the whole bunch for free. But we have two off-the-track Thoroughbreds here for training right now, plus a large number of boarders, so we really don’t have stall space for four more.”
    Dorothy DeWitt didn’t look up from her knitting when she spoke. “Of course we also have to consider there are only so many hours in the day Jack can devote to schooling green sales prospects.”
    â€œI’m not in a position to take them,” her husband continued, “but this is where Sarah comes in. I’d like to offer her the opportunity to pick out one of the four horses and buy him for a dollar, just to make it a legitimate sale.”
    Sarah could hardly believe what she was hearing. A horse for a dollar! But then her mother entered the conversation. “Chandler, what you’re proposing is kind and generous. But while I don’t claim to know much about the world of horses, I’m aware there’s a lot more than the purchase price to consider here. It must be incredibly expensive to support a horse, what with board bills on top of the cost of lessons. I regret that we must turn down your offer before you go any further. Our family can’t possibly take this on right now.”
    Sarah hung her head and took a deep breath. She should have known this incredible idea of her getting a horse was totally off the charts. No way could it possibly happen. She’d reconciled herself to that reality a long time ago—all this talk now was just a cruel tease.
    Mr. DeWitt responded quickly. “Let’s talk this through, Alison. You see, if Sarah takes one of these horses, there will be a few conditions. First, the horse must be boarded here, at least for the first year. Now I’m aware a monthly board bill might be a stretch for your family’s budget, especially after your car accident. So I’d like to offer Sarah the opportunity to work at the farm to help pay for her horse’s board.”
    Mr. DeWitt sat back and crossed his legs before continuing. “Lucas is leaving for the summer, and Gus will need some help with chores here. Sarah would be what is called a ‘working student.’ She might clean stalls, sweep the aisles, fill water buckets, bring horses in and out from the paddocks, or help with feeding. At some point she could even be an assistant to Kathleen or Lindsay, helping with their beginner students. That would free them up to work with others. In