This month I am backing up a bit to talk about a vital issue that needed attention before Arktikos could begin his retraining and start the journey to the Thoroughbred Makeover. Taking on a Thoroughbred off the track can have many challenges. The first challenge that everyone faces is helping a horse that has been in intense training and consuming a high-octane diet transition to a different lifestyle. Looking beyond that universal need, there often are other issues that need attention before one can begin to retrain their horse for a second career.
Tag: aftercare
Thoroughbred Makeover Diary: Staying In My Own Lane
What type of animal can put you on an emotional roller coaster, shake your confidence and question your decisions…. then bring it all back in less than an hour? A horse. I’m here to tell you, no animal can do this better than a horse. Especially a retired Thoroughbred horse. This month has been a whirlwind of rights, wrongs, then really bad wrongs, and then back to super right.
Churchill Downs Racing Club’s Warrior’s Club To Join TRF At Chestnut Hill Sanctuary
The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) will welcome graded stakes winner Warrior's Club to the TRF Sanctuary Farm at Chestnut Hall through a generous $30,000 donation from the Churchill Downs Racing Club.
“The Churchill Downs Racing Club has been a real thrill and has generated hundreds of new Thoroughbred owners,” said Gary Palmisano, Churchill Downs Racing Club Director. “Warrior's Club has taken his members and the club on an incredible journey and he deserves, like all Thoroughbreds, to live out his days in a place where people can visit him and he can enjoy his retirement.”
Warrior's Club was the first horse for the Churchill Downs Racing Club which was started in 2016 and the son of Warrior's Reward took the 200 partners involved in his group on a whirlwind ride over the course of four years winning races at marquee tracks across the country with victories at Churchill Downs, Saratoga, Oaklawn and Keeneland. Trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, Warrior's Club amassed earnings of over $850,000 including a victory in the Grade III Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland Race Course and competed at the sport's highest level, even participating in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (GI).
The Churchill Downs Racing Club has a commitment to aftercare. Through the success of Warrior's Club on the racetrack, the group was able to purchase several other horses, all of whom have gone on to second careers and homes after racing. To date, the club has either claimed back or purchased back all but two horses, both of whom are actively still racing, to ensure safe and happy retirements.
On behalf of Warrior's Club and the Churchill Downs Racing Club donations also were made to Second Stride, New Vocations, the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and Thoroughbred Charities of America.
The TRF Sanctuary Farm at Chestnut Hall opened in April 2021. The farm, a first-of-its kind, was designed to give the Louisville community and fans from around the world a direct connection to the horses at the heart of horse racing. The new TRF Sanctuary Farm at Chestnut Hall will be the permanent home of 11 horses from the organization's national herd of 500 retired Thoroughbred racehorses. These “herd ambassadors” will serve as educators to tell the story of the long life and diverse second careers that await these equine athletes when their racing days are done. Located on nearly 30 acres of historic farmland in Oldham County and featuring a beautiful farmhouse restored to serve as an event venue, Chestnut Hall has been created for the express purpose of connecting Thoroughbred horses to the people of Louisville, the Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond. Starting mid-May, the farm will be open to the public for tours through Visit Horse Country and will be available as a unique venue for educational events and fundraisers for nonprofits across the Louisville community.
Read more here.
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Thoroughbred Makeover Diary: Grace, Eagerness to Learn Make Pied Strong Student
With taking the leap to apply to the Thoroughbred Makeover, I knew I would be committing to a journey that would not only challenge me in the short term, but have a long lasting impact on my horse(wo)manship and a deeper love for the breed. Triple Crown season is upon us, the Makeover is approaching, and summer shows are right around the corner.
