Second Stride, which rehabs, retrains and rehomes retired Thoroughbred racehorses, will open its 2024 fundraising efforts with twin raffles for third-floor boxes for six people, one box each for Kentucky Derby and Oaks Day donated by Churchill Downs. In the spirit of May 3-4 being the 150th runnings of America's favorite race and its filly counterpart, only 150 tickets will be sold at $150 apiece for the Derby and for $125 apiece for the Oaks. Buy raffle tickets for the all-inclusive boxes (including food and alcoholic beverage) here.
The drawings will be Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. ET and streamed via Facebook Live.
Second Stride, which was founded in 2005, rehomed 169 horses in 2023 and directly assisted a total of 197, up from the 124 adoptions in 2022, when the facilities expanded to include Chorleywood Farm in Prospect, according to a release from the organization. The former racehorses, as well as broodmares and unable-to-race bloodstock, came from 49 tracks, training centers and farms and went to new homes in 26 states and Canada this past year. The average stay at Second Stride for horses being rehabbed and/or retrained before adoption was 57 days, covering more than 2,500 training sessions.
“We spent 2022 working on expansion so we could take care of and find second careers and forever homes for more retired racehorses,” said Second Stride founder and executive director Kim Smith. “Aftercare for horses coming off the track is a race without a finish line. So now we look to build on 2023, which across the board was our most successful in terms of horses served, rehabbed and adopted as well as financial growth including fundraising and grants and volunteer hours. And just to put the 197 horses we assisted last year in perspective, that number is slightly more than the 1% of North America's 2023 foal crop.
“We can't thank Churchill Downs enough for donating a prime box to these historic runnings of the Derby and Oaks. Every dollar raised will go toward the horses. This will get our fundraising off to a great start and hopefully make more people aware of Second Stride, how the horse donation process works and how our staff and volunteers prepare each donated horse individually for a second career, whether that be eventing, in the show ring, trail riding or as a wonderful, loving companion.”
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