We Are Here Initiative

The We Are Here Initiative (WAHI), formed last year to assist Thoroughbreds retired from racing due to the financial strain of sustained track closures from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has dispersed its resources. WAHI helped move several horses from tracks in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, and Louisiana to aftercare organizations in addition to assisting owners and trainers who were affected by the pandemic, but the expected surge of Thoroughbreds needing immediate new homes was lower than anticipated. The remaining funds donated to WAHI are being dispersed to the Kentucky...

The scope and pace of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected daily life, the national economy, and by extension, the Thoroughbred racing business, is dizzying. For so many, the hardest aspect of the pandemic-induced crisis is the uncertainty about if and when things will go back to the old normal. The pandemic is like nothing we have experienced before and therefore, we have no models on which to rely. With the delayed opening of most racetracks, and with others having no opening day in sight, many people are asking if...