What Is a Life Worth? Stable Recovery Looks to Raise Funds for 2025

Just a few years into its existence and Stable Recovery-the innovative program that helps people recover from addiction and continues to support them through their recovery with jobs in the racing industry-is flying. The organization recently published statistics that show that hundreds have been through the program who have sustained their sobriety between 30 and 90 days, that they have conducted over 56,000 AA meetings, and that their graduates had found full-time work in 13 different Kentucky farms and businesses.

The program's success is clear to see in those numbers, but it's what those numbers represent that shows where its true success lies. The program's driving force, Frank Taylor, estimates that as a result of the program, they have reunited over 1,000 family members with their loved ones-ties that had been broken due to the pain that comes from watching a love one suffer from addiction.

This week at the Breeders' Cup, the program will showcase one of its biggest success stories when Minaret Station represents the Will Walden barn. Walden, himself a graduate of the program, employs several other graduates who will head with him to watch their colt compete in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. (Read Sara Gordon's story on Tyler Maxwell in today's TDN.)

This year, the program will graduate 80 trainees from the Taylor Made School of Horsemanship, where men in recovery receive 90 days of intense horsemanship training before they go on to work in careers in the industry.

“Stable could not be going any better, in my opinion,” said Frank Taylor, who started the School of Horsemanship four and a half years ago, and Stable Recovery, which provides a safe and stable living environment for men in recovery–two years later, in partnership with Christian Countzler, who serves as its CEO.

The two programs work hand in hand. The men live, work, and recover together, while attending the School of Horsemanship to prepare for a new career.

WinStar Farm has recently added a Stable Recovery house on their farm, and Keeneland has pledged to do the same in conjunction with the program at their Manchester Farm.

Frank Taylor | Sue Finley photo

“We can handle over 50 guys at a time,” said Taylor. Just a year ago, that number was 32. “And, we have all these strategic partners where we're sending people,” he said. Those partners include Taylor Made, WinStar, Godolphin, Spy Coast Farm, Brook Ledge, Hallway Feeds, Rood & Riddle, Coolmore, Lane's End, Old Friends and two partners outside the industry, Amteck, an electric technology company, and Clark, an industrial solutions company. “As they graduate out of the program, we can send them out to these strategic partners.”

It is very hard for people to overcome addiction if they leave their rehab program and head right back to where they were before, circulating in their old haunts with their old crowd. The power of this program is in the group model, which breaks that cycle, Taylor said. “You stay in that safe community, where if you're going out to a farm just by yourself, or with one other guy, it's not as good as going out there and being able to stay there with six or eight or 10 other guys.” Hard work, AA meetings, and the power of the horse complete the `secret sauce,' as Taylor likes to call it.

Taylor said that managed growth was another key to its success. “One of our biggest threats, I think, is us growing too big, too fast,” he said. “We need to develop our people faster than we're developing our growth.” Some of those people come from within the program itself, with graduates going on to work for Stable Recovery helping others. “We've had a lot of interest from other states wanting to start programs, but we're a little reluctant just now. We may do that in the future, but right now we're just focusing getting it really right here, and managing it here, before we spread out too far.”

Taylor said that the program would cost $1.3 million to operate in 2024, and an estimated $1.5 million in 2025. Since the inception of the program, around 90% of the money has been raised on private donations, including a substantial investment from the Taylor family themselves. They also received $300,000 in the form of an Opioid Abatement Grant from the State of Kentucky last year.

“The program is really, really working,” he said. “We have beefed up our training at Taylor Made in the School of Horsemanship. We have now two full-time trainers who are training the guys, and then I'm taking about 50% of my time and training them myself.”

Will Walden isn't the only success story. “Mike Lowery just got another promotion at Taylor Made,” said Taylor. “And then we've got Josh Frank. So there are two guys who are divisional managers at Taylor Made. It's upwardly mobile. We're not looking to just try to produce a bunch of grooms who make $15-$17 an hour forever. If that's what they're capable of and that's what they want to do, that's fine. But Blane Servis (who works at Godolphin), for example, is an up-and-coming guy who I think will be out on his own training some day soon. And he's got a very bright future. And you're going to see more and more of them in the industry.”

Taylor said that the organization's strategic partners come to them looking for employees rather than the other way around. “We really haven't reached out to any of these strategic partners to come to us. They have reached out to us, which is nice. And I think more will come naturally, as people watch the program and need the help.”

Taylor said that their current goal was to raise the $1.5 million the program will need to operate next year, when it expects to turn out 100 graduates. That works out to $15,000 to save a life, rebuild a family, and create a stable worker for the industry.

Seems like an incredible investment.

To learn more or to donate to Stable Recovery, visit https://stablerecovery.net/.