Ken Freirich has worn enough hats in his life to fill the pages of this magazine: entrepreneur and executive, drummer and music producer, racehorse owner and international philanthropist. In that last category, his efforts to better the world, including locally with his alma mater, Skidmore College, could also overflow these pages. But with racing season at Saratoga Race Course off and running, it only makes sense to home in on Freirich’s extensive work to better life for Thoroughbreds and the racing community.

Giving to charity was actually what led Freirich, who’s spent decades founding and leading organizations at the intersection of health, media, and technology, to Thoroughbred racing in the first place. At a Skidmore fundraiser nearly 20 years ago, he bid on a percentage of a racehorse donated by West Point Thoroughbreds and won. Since then, he’s made the Kentucky Derby walkover with both Mo Donegal (who went on to win the 2022 Belmont Stakes) and Sandman, and was a partner in undefeated 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline. He’s also applied his philanthropic principles to the racing industry.

“I really wanted people to think about the need to take care of these equine athletes, the backstretch workers who are taking care of the horses…all the facets of the industry,” says Freirich, who last fall was appointed to the board of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.

Last year alone, Freirich committed more than $600,000 to Breeders’ Cup Charities, donated $100,000 to four Thoroughbred aftercare charities at the Kentucky Derby, and sponsored Make-A-Wish Day at Keeneland Race Course. Merging many of his passions, he also wrote and produced a song with his music collective, Random Acts of Kindness, called “I Wish” that was performed by the San Diego Children’s Choir on the Friday of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. In addition to its local tie-in that gave area children the opportunity to perform before a huge crowd, it was also about the message. 

“I had this theory,” Freirich says, “that delivering these meaningful lyrics, harnessing the authenticity and the innocence of children’s voices, and making them the messengers of hope would help break through a lot of the clutter of stubbornness in the world and positively impact social change.”

For his recent philanthropic efforts, Freirich was honored by Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) with the Allaire du Pont Leadership Award, presented annually to an organization or individual whose philanthropic endeavors are consistent with TCA’s mission. 

“I’ve decided that spreading kindness and making the world a better place in a variety of different ways really has become my life’s mission,” Freirich says. “That philosophy transcends everything that I do now in this chapter, from the music to the horse racing, philanthropy, and everything else.”