GEORGETOWN, Ky. – The paved road on which visitors make their entrance bisects paddocks that this time of year – having been fed by rain in preceding months – are a shade of green that make your eyes hurt. Inside those prominent paddocks are horses who won major stakes and millions of dollars. There are many horses like that here at Old Friends Farm, many too who weren’t famous at all. But all that’s missing from this particular entrance is a red carpet, for at the end of the paved road, atop a hill, past a picnic area where a pleasant wind rustles the branches of the trees, is a paddock in which resides a celebrity, the horse who now reigns as the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner. Now age 28, Silver Charm is celebrating the silver anniversary of his Derby victory, which occurred 25 years ago, and 64 miles away, at Churchill Downs. Silver Charm always has been a popular attraction here since being repatriated from Japan 7 1/2 years ago when he was retired from stud duty, but now, more than ever, he’s the horse visitors and farm personnel alike gravitate toward. “He’s a star,” said Michael Blowen, the former Boston Globe film critic who moved to this area a little more than 20 years ago and, as founder, president, and enthusiastic chief cheerleader, has helped guide this facility into one of the most-popular and visited attractions in the state. Blowen’s foresight took Thoroughbred aftercare to a new level by actively seeking to engage fans who wanted to see their favorite runners, their old friends. “To me, this is like going to Graceland and meeting Elvis,” Blowen said. “Every morning, I wake up and think, ‘How is this horse in my yard?’ ” That “yard” is nearly 300 acres, and currently houses 136 horses. There are 14 more nearby at a senior-care facility for humans, and 42 at another local farm, 18 at Old Friends Cabin Creek in upstate New York, and three at the recently founded Old Friends facility in Japan, the first international foray for the brand and concept. Blowen, 75, was sitting at a picnic table just yards from the outdoor paddock where Silver Charm spends most of the day. Silver Charm is led out of his stall about 7 a.m., and goes back in about 4 p.m. “If it gets to 4:15, he starts banging on the gate,” Blowen said. “He’s got it all down.” It was Saturday afternoon, one week before this year’s Kentucky Derby. Blowen was pausing between tours and other obligations, but when another tour group came along and immediately headed for Silver Charm’s paddock, Blowen alighted, regaling the visitors with tales of Silver Charm while encouraging them to follow his lead and feed Silver Charm carrots. Silver Charm is an old horse, yes, and, like an aging human, he’s got old-horse problems. For instance, he only has four teeth, so those carrots are either shredded or very thinly sliced. The mash he’s fed in his stall by groom Antonio Marin looks like equine oatmeal. Silver Charm was gunmetal gray when he was racing, but now his coat and mane are almost all white, except for some pinpoint dark flecks that look like pepper sprinkled on mashed potatoes. But while he is indeed old, Silver Charm carries himself with a regal presence, and his coat is evidence of an animal cared for and loved. “He calls all the shots,” Blowen said. “All their racing lives, they have to be trained. But when they’re here, they train us. He’s the king. He likes everything, except two things – he doesn’t like to be petted, and he’s irritated by the headlights from the road.” That’s why Silver Charm heads in about 4 p.m., year round. “But his health is great,” Blowen said. “And he’s kind. You could lead him around with dental floss. He was so competitive on the racetrack, and now he’s so laid back.” Silver Charm, a son of Silver Buck, had a racing career that landed him in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2007. In addition to winning the Derby, Silver Charm went on to capture the Preakness, then was beaten three-quarters of a length by Touch Gold in the Belmont when seeking a Triple Crown sweep. He won the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male of 1997. The next March, Silver Charm won the third Dubai World Cup, beating Swain by a nose. In the fall of 1998, Silver Charm was second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic to Awesome Again, with Swain third. Silver Charm raced six more times after that before being retired in 1999 with a record of 12 wins in 24 starts and earnings of just shy of $7 million. Emblematic of the scope of Old Friends, both Touch Gold, who also is 28, and Swain, who is 30, are in paddocks not far from that of Silver Charm. Awesome Again, as well as Bonnie’s Poker, the dam of Silver Charm, are buried at the farm, in a cemetery that’s also near Silver Charm’s paddock. Silver Charm was owned by Bob and Beverly Lewis, who have since died. But their son, Jeff, is a frequent visitor to Old Friends. “He was just here three days ago,” Blowen said. Silver Charm in that 1997 Derby was ridden by Gary Stevens, who was winning the race for the third time. Only days prior to that Derby, Stevens was voted into the Hall of Fame. That Derby marked the first victory for a trainer who was a new, fresh face at the time, Bob Baffert, who over the years has donated extensive time and money on behalf of Old Friends. “Bob comes here more than any other trainer,” Blowen said. :: Get Kentucky Derby Betting Strategies for exclusive wager recommendations, contender profiles, pedigree analysis, and more In 1996, in his first attempt to win the Derby, Baffert had finished second with Cavonnier, who lost by a nose to Grindstone. Grindstone just recently had briefly held the title of oldest living Derby winner, but he died in Oregon on March 22, at age 29, just 14 days after Go for Gin, the 1994 Derby winner, died at age 31 in Kentucky. Silver Charm thus ascended to the throne. It’s only appropriate, really, that his paddock is situated where it is, befitting the new king.