thoroughbred aftercare

The Churchill Downs Foundation has partnered with 20 Thoroughbred aftercare organizations for the upcoming 150th Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve by pledging a $150,000 donation to support the organizations. On Monday, Apr. 29, an aftercare post position draw will be held on the Churchill Downs backstretch where each horse in the Kentucky Derby field will be paired with an aftercare organization. Each organization is guaranteed at least a $5,000 donation from the Churchill Downs Foundation with the organization paired with the winner of the Kentucky Derby receiving a $25,000...

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Georgetown, will host its 19th annual Homecoming event May 5 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. The day will include a barbecue buffet lunch provided by Proud Mary, farm tours, live Bluegrass music, book signings, and live and silent auctions of racing memorabilia, collectible stallion halters, artwork, jewelry, books, and much more. Homecoming tickets are $50 for the general public and $25 for Old Friends 2024 Clubhouse members (children 12 and under are free). Click here for more ticket information.

Second Stride, which rehabs, retrains and rehomes retired Thoroughbred racehorses, will open its 2024 fundraising efforts with twin raffles for third-floor boxes for six people, one box each for Kentucky Derby and Oaks Day donated by Churchill Downs. In the spirit of May 3-4 being the 150th runnings of America's favorite race and its filly counterpart, only 150 tickets will be sold at $150 apiece for the Derby and for $125 apiece for the Oaks. Buy raffle tickets for the all-inclusive boxes (including food and alcoholic beverage) here. The drawings...

Registration for February's Aftercare Industry Month (AIM) virtual conference is open and all with a professional interest in Thoroughbred aftercare are invited to partake, announced officials at the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) via press release Friday. Presented by the Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation (TERF), the teleconference will offer four webinars providing an interactive experience for participants to explore a variety of topics pertaining to non-profits and business entities. Options to register for the entire conference or individual sessions a la carte will be offered on the sign-up page. An...

Night of the Stars Pledge, an initiative created by DJ Stable to promote and raise funds for New Vocations' aftercare efforts, invites sellers and buyers to pledge a percentage of sale price(s) during Fasig-Tipton's Nov. 7 breeding stock sale. The initiative comes at a time when the program has taken in 20% more retired racehorses than it did last year leading to a dramatic increase in operational costs. "We are so pleased to have the opportunity to partner with New Vocations. We are confident that the Fasig-Tipton Night of the...

Mareworthy Charities, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and caring for retired Thoroughbred broodmares, is participating in the Community & Cause voting campaign, hosted by Field & Main Bank. The campaign offers the organization an opportunity to secure a $20,000 prize, directly benefitting the care and support of the Thoroughbred mares already in their care while expanding their capacity to assist more retired broodmares in 2024. In addition to the $20,000 prize, the winning organization will gain valuable exposure through airtime on WKYT, coverage by LEXtoday, and a full-page...

The final entry list for the 2023 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, is complete. You can view individual entries and explore the list using filtered search features at TheRRP.org/entries. The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) is uniquely positioned as the only organization in aftercare that works across all facets of the industry, including both accredited and unaccredited adoption organizations, listing agents, and for-profit trainers and resellers. The data we capture through the Thoroughbred Makeover offers a closer look at how horses are moving into second...

Six of North America's prominent Thoroughbred aftercare organizations will be featured on-site Sunday as part of Thoroughbred Aftercare Day at Ellis Park Racing & Gaming, the track said in a Thursday release. After post time at 11:45 a.m. (CDT), fans will be invited to learn more about Thoroughbred retirement at several booths set up on the concourse by Friends of Ferdinand, New Vocations, Second Stride, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Thoroughbred Charities of America and Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. The six participating Thoroughbred aftercare organizations will be featured in the Jeff Hall Winner's...

The Secretariat Center will hold its annual fundraising event, "Bluegrass Brunch and Bubbles" at Godolphin's Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET, the organization said in a release Wednesday. Bidding on everything from vacation packages and experience tickets to artwork, halters, saddles, sports memorabilia and more, will go live Oct. 1 and will close at Noon on the day of the event. All proceeds go toward supporting the Secretariat Center's mission of preparing off-track Thoroughbreds for post-track careers through rehabilitation and retraining. "Support...

The thoroughbred aftercare charities in Ireland, France and Britain-Treo Eile, Au-Delà Des Pistes and Retraining of Racehorses-met earlier this month in Newmarket with the aim of bolstering the care racehorses receive upon retirement.  RoR managing director David Catlow, Au-Delà des Pistes executives Carole Desmetz and Mégane Martins and Vice President Alix Choppin, and Treo Eile executive Anne Connor and co-founder and director Caoimhe Doherty met with Godolphin's charities manager Penny Taylor and IFAR steering group member and Treo Eile co-director Diana Cooper, for the brainstorming session. All three charities have...

Daryl Tropea, Ph.D., who served for more than a decade as the equine program director of the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS)--a well-regarded international accreditation organization that evaluates the extent to which animal sanctuaries and rescue organizations meet standards of humane and responsible equine care--has joined the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation as a member of its Board of Directors, the TRF announced Friday. In her role at GFAS, Dr. Tropea visited and assessed hundreds of equine facilities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, including 14 of...

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) announced the launch of the second annual Off to the Races, an online auction campaign which offers the public an opportunity to bid on 17 VIP experience packages on major race days in 2023 and 2024. Each experience package offers a unique itinerary of horse racing-related bucket list activities and tickets to the specified race day(s). "With the help of the racing industry, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance supports 81 accredited charities and thousands of off-track Thoroughbreds," TAA President Jeffrey Bloom said. "Outside of the TAA's...