Bluegrass Community and Technical College

The Bluegrass Community and Technical College has partnered with New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program to allow students of BCTC's Equine Program to learn at New Vocations' Lexington facility. The BCTC Equine program provides instruction on essential skills required for a variety of careers in the horse industry and all students receive hands-on instruction in basic horse care management learning industry-accepted standards and techniques in the program's foundational lab course. Students taking this lab at New Vocations will learn with recently retired racehorses as they transition to be adopted for second...

In 2011, Remi Bellocq left his position as the CEO of the National HBPA to step in as the executive director of Bluegrass Community and Technical College's (BCTC) Equine Program. Bellocq was initially drawn to the program when he realized he could help play a role in fixing racing's growing labor shortage. By heading up BCTC's program, Bellocq is now helping recruit young people to join the sport's much-needed workforce. "We don't have anything in our industry that can predict what is going to happen with immigration reform at a...

A new horse care apprenticeship program is available and has been registered with the Kentucky and the United States Departments of Labor. As an 'Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Program' coming on the heels of the recent suspension of H-2B visas in the United States, the aim is to help train a domestic workforce and produce well-rounded horsemen ready to excel in any facet of the horse industry. The apprenticeship is a collaboration between the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce/Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP)'s Equine Talent Pipeline Workforce Initiative, the Bluegrass Community and...