The owner and breeder of a top contender in this Friday's Kentucky Oaks horse race is using the event to draw attention to breast cancer screenings. Anita Cauley is a member of Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear's Horses and Hope program, an effort that helps trackside workers obtain cancer screenings. One eye-catching way Cauley is raising awareness is by having the barn used by her filly "On Fire Baby" painted pink.
"It is beautiful! You can just stand there and close your eyes, and it's like you're in a beautiful, pink rose garden. The colors are just an amazing array of pinks. And they have beautiful giant jockey silks painted in pink and white. I feel very priviledged to have our barn 'pinked out,'" Cauley told WKU Public Radio.
Horses and Hope provides information about prevention and treatment of breast cancer, as well as offering free screenings with an on-site mobile mammography unit located at horse racing events.
Cauley is a native of Indianapolis who has lived in Kentucky for five years. She says being in Louisville during Derby Week is an indescribable experience.
The 2012 Kentucky Oaks runs this Friday evening at Churchill Downs at approximately 5pm central time.
