Washington mare once worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is recovering from severe neglect and rediscovering the spirit that made her a winner
WASHINGTON — August 26, 2026 — Her name was Fancy Fusaichi, and once upon a time, she was worth a fortune.
Born in 2004, Fancy Fusaichi was bred from some of the most valuable bloodlines in Thoroughbred racing. Her sire, Fusaichi Pegasus, won the 2000 Kentucky Derby and later set a record when he was sold for a reported $70 million. By the time Fancy Fusaichi was born, hundreds of thousands of dollars had been invested in creating her.
She went on to race under the name Fancy Fusaichi, winning a stakes race—the highest level of Thoroughbred racing—in 2008 and earning nearly $250,000 during her racing career. After retiring from the track, she became a broodmare and produced 12 foals, several of whom also went on to win races.
But time has a way of changing the value placed on horses once their racing and breeding careers are behind them.
In 2023, Fancy Fusaichi was sold to a local Washington farm for just $500.
Three years later, Animal Control brought her to the attention of SAFE (Save a Forgotten Equine), a Seattle-area horse rescue organization. By the time she arrived at SAFE, she was dangerously thin and suffering from multiple signs of severe neglect. Her condition was so grave that her survival was uncertain.
At SAFE, she was given a new name: Porsche.
And from the moment she stepped off the trailer, there were signs that the horse underneath the suffering was still there.
Despite being little more than a walking skeleton, Porsche remained bright and engaged. She eagerly anticipated mealtimes, even during the early days when her food had to be carefully portioned and spaced out to protect her fragile system. After approximately two weeks of small, frequent meals, SAFE’s veterinarians determined she was ready for free-choice hay. Her first encounter with a bale net filled with alfalfa was enthusiastic, to say the least.
“She hadn’t given up,” says Executive Director Bonnie Hammond. “That’s one of the things that struck us right away. Even in the condition she was in, there was still so much determination there.”
As Porsche has stabilized, the changes have been remarkable. Her bloodwork is improving. Her weight is slowly returning. Her hooves have been trimmed and treated. The matted hair covering her legs has been removed, revealing the shine returning to her coat. She has discovered how much she enjoys a good scratch.
And then there are the little moments that mean everything: the first time SAFE staff spotted her lying down on camera, comfortably curled up in the deep bedding of her stall, resting on a cushioned mattress. After her quarantine ended, she began spending her days out in a pasture, where she could socialize with nearby horses—and show off the race-winning stride that was still there.
Porsche came to SAFE as a horse in desperate need of rescue. But with every passing week, she is becoming less defined by what happened to her and more recognizable as the horse she has always been.
A winner.
Fancy Fusaichi may have once been valued for her pedigree, her racing record and the foals she could produce. Today, Porsche’s value is much simpler: she is a horse who survived, who still has plenty of fight left in her, and who is finally being given the chance to discover what comes next.
About SAFE
SAFE (Save a Forgotten Equine) is a nonprofit horse rescue organization located in Snohomish WA, dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating horses who have suffered from abuse, neglect, abandonment, and other forms of cruelty. SAFE provides rescued horses with the veterinary care, rehabilitation, re-education, and lifelong support they need to thrive, while working to educate the community about responsible horse care and animal welfare.
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