Hollywood Jet raced 26 times from Dec. 9, 2020 until May 27, 2024. He won 11, with five seconds, three thirds and earnings of $355,230. All but six of his races were at Parx. From Sept. 20, 2021 until May 17, 2022, Hollywood Jet won seven consecutive races, including the $100,000 Fishtown Stakes.
The horse was trained for much of his career by Carlos Milian and, at the end of his career, by Jose Gonzalez-Milian. Luis Ocasio was the jockey for nine of those wins.
After his career ended, Hollywood Jet was given to Turning for Home. Last December,TFH program director Danielle Montgomery and the TFH team found the right spot for Hollywood Jet who now lives along with seven other horses at Debra and Tom Smith’s Heaven on Earth Sanctuary, their 8-acre farm in Medford, N.J.
“When he came, Hollywood was the little boy that just was so polite,” Debra Smith said. “I thought who is he going to bond with because you always want them to try to get them to buddy up with someone…He buddied up to this little guy I have who just turned 2. He was from a cruelty case. His name is Whiskey Jack. He’s an Oregon Steen Mustang Paint. That is his main guy and he kind of protects him.
“So Hollywood is living his wonderful life eating whatever he wants out front on the pastures. He loves his bath, hates flies. You can tell he was never harmed in any way. Some horses, they shy away. Nothing like that. He’s just an angel.”
Kids from various organizations come to the farm to spend time with the horses, sometimes, according to Smith, 10 to 20 at a time.
“Sometimes with Hollywood, he’s a good boy, he stands there at attention and lets the kids hug him and pet him, clean his feet,” Smith said.
Back on Thursday, July 9, Smith and several of her volunteers came to Parx on a race day to meet Ocasio and Gonzalez-Milian. Montgomery and the TFH team thought it would be a cool deal for those who knew Hollywood Jet at the track and those who know him on the farm to meet up and tell each other about this 8-year-old then and now.
“We wanted to bring these people who have never been to the races before,” Montgomery said. “Let’s do a tribute race for Hollywood Jet. She’s bringing new people to the races. We’re helping her support her horses on her beautiful little farm. It’s just this simpatico relationship and it just works for everybody, especially Hollywood Jet.”
Smith was thrilled to meet the jockey and trainer.
“It was so exciting,” she said. “I was just over the moon…I so wanted to meet his trainer because I wanted to know more about him. I still have a lot more questions. His jockey said what a wonderful heart he had. It was amazing. I so appreciated Danielle for giving me that opportunity and putting Hollywood out there again.”
Montgomery and Turning For Home send many horses off to have second careers. Hollywood Jet, with a hock issue, was not going to be sound enough for that so it was just a question of finding the right home.
“He is not going to be a future performance horse,” Montgomery said.
But he can wander around the pastures at Heaven on Earth and live out a good life at a great facility with caring people.
“I knew Deb and I know her farm,” Montgomery said. “I just wanted to keep him close to home.”
Smith has what Montgomery terms this “whole community, special needs kids, one of the schools nearby, they’ll bring a whole busload of kids, clean water buckets, pet the horses.”
In other words, a perfect place for a perfect horse like Hollywood Jet who now has his forever home.
