Retired Racehorse Project

   Ashleyluvssugar (Game Plan), a five-time Grade II-winning 10-year-old gelding, made a splash- quite literally- on social media this week in a post from After the Finish Line, where he was seen taking an enthusiastic wade through a stream in the North Carolina mountains. The fan-favorite California-bred is now owned by Allie Conrad, who has worked with hundreds of ex-racehorses over the years, but said this one is truly one of a kind. "This was his first off-the-farm trip where we took him camping up in the mountains," Conrad shared....

Edited Press Release The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) has welcomed 484 accepted applications, representing 480 unique trainers and teams, to the 2021 class of the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America. The Thoroughbred Makeover is the world's largest and most lucrative retraining competition for ex-racehorses, and the 2021 class combined with 322 trainers from the postponed 2020 competition year will make this the biggest Makeover yet. "After the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover, it was important to us to preserve the...

Vivien Goodman Malloy, the Thoroughbred breeder who owns and runs Edition Farm and racing stable in Hyde Park, New York, has recently published a memoir detailing her family's against-the-odds journey from modest roots in Havana to the high life in New York City and beyond. Central to the 88-year-old entrepreneur's family history is a deep appreciation of horses, and Malloy is donating a portion of the proceeds from My Life as a Long Shot: From Cuba to Rye to benefit the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP). Two of the book's 13...

Applications are now open for the 2021 competition year of the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 15, 2021 and accepted trainers will be announced Feb. 15, 2021. As the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover was postponed to 2021 due to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 edition of the Retired Racehorse Project's banner event will include competition groups both for horses that would have competed in 2020, as well as those entering for 2021. The two groups...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Protequus, the company behind the NIGHTWATCH smart halter, are teaming up for a holiday promotion benefitting the Retired Racehorse Project. Now through Dec. 31, members of NTRA and approved affiliates will receive a 25% discount on their purchase of a NIGHTWATCH smart halter with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the RRP. The NIGHTWATCH smart halter is an equine distress and wellness monitor that promotes early referral and intervention among horse owners while fostering more informed decision making by veterinarians and trainers through noninvasive...

OTTB United, a mobile app that unites sellers, buyers, and shippers of Thoroughbred ex-racehorses and gives back to the Thoroughbred placement community was released by the Retired Racehorse Project and OTTB United Tuesday. The app is also designed to give back to the Thoroughbred placement community: a portion of the premium subscription fee is donated to the Retired Racehorse Project. Subscribers can select from a list of aftercare organizations and for-profit resellers to receive an additional contribution. "We are so fortunate to partner with the Retired Racehorse Project," says OTTB...

The Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation (TERF) awarded $108,000 in grants to nine organizations. With the vision and mission of bettering the life of Thoroughbreds, TERF primarily aims to support students in pursuit of education in equine medicine and to fund research efforts which better the life of the Thoroughbred horse. In 2020 to fund scholarships and education $10,000 was awarded to the Belmont Child Care Association, Inc., $12,000 to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, $2,000 to the MidAtlantic Horse Rescue, $4000 to the Retired Race Horse Project, $10,000...

The silent auction portion of the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP)'s fundraising for the 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover opened Thursday. The online auction will close Saturday, Oct. 10, at 4:00 p.m. ET. Racing memorabilia, experiences or services, artwork, jewelry, and equestrian items are among the items up for bid. Halters worn by Authentic (Into Mischief), Tiz The Law (Constitution), Catholic Boy (More Than Ready), English Channel (Smart Strike), and Get Stormy (Stormy Atlantic) are among the items included. "Although we'll certainly miss gathering at the Kentucky Horse Park for the Makeover and...

StableDuel has teamed up with Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and Retired Racehorse Project to raise money and awareness for both organizations through its app during the month of September. Owners of off-track Thoroughbreds are invited to share a picture or video of their Thoroughbreds on social media showcasing "something cool" they do with the hashtag #PlayRaceAdopt. They will then be entered to win a prize pack from the three organizations, including a saddle pad, riding clothing and more. Two winners will be selected and announced each week. "We are so excited...

Owing to a grant from the ASCPA, the Retired Racehorse Project will continue to produce the Makeover Marketplace as a means to promote transitioned Thoroughbreds as premier sport horse prospects online. The ASPCA Makeover Marketplace catalog will once again be offered in print as well as digitally. Sign-ups are now open to receive the catalog, which will be printed in the Fall 2020 issue of Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine. "The ASPCA Makeover Marketplace has become one of the country's premier horse shopping and adoption opportunities for equestrians looking for well-started sport...

The board of the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) has made the unanimous decision to postpone the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA), until 2021. The RRP plans to host an expanded Thoroughbred Makeover Oct. 12-17, 2021 that will offer separate classes in all 10 disciplines for both 2020 and 2021 entries. Put on each year by the RRP, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, the Thoroughbred Makeover typically draws hundreds of competitors from 40+ states and multiple Canadian provinces, each of whom has taken on...

Keeneland will be a sponsor of prominent equine safety and welfare initiatives at the Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover this year: the Arrival Exam and the Finale Jog. The Arrival Exam was instituted last year at the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, and required each horse to have proof of current vaccinations, vitals within a normal range, be scanned for a microchip that has been registered with The Jockey Club, pass a walking soundness exam and score a four or higher on the Henneke...