Chicago high school to breed racehorses
A program starting this fall at a Chicago high school looks to teach students a little horse sense.
The Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences will have students raise horses that will be sold and used in harness racing.
Dennis Pietranduono, who works in the horse industry, lives near the school’s sprawling farm on the city’s South Side and approached administrators three years ago about starting the breeding program.
He donated the two pregnant mares that will arrive at the farm after Labor Day. He and several students picked out the animals at the Illinois State Fair this week.
Cameras will be installed in the farm once the foals are due so that students can track the birthing process online.
Special education students will work with the horses, who Pietranduono says are “wonderful” with young people. He attended Chicago Public Schools when he was younger, and he said he’s excited to have an opportunity to work with current students, who will oversee every part of the breeding program, from conception to sale.
“I wish I was young enough, I would’ve been there (as a student),” he said.
The program will support itself financially once the students sell their horses to the harness racing industry.