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Thoroughbred Charities Of America Returns As Title Sponsor Of Thoroughbred Makeover

Fulfilling its commitment to improving the lives and welfare of Thoroughbred racehorses both on and off the track, Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) has returned as the title sponsor of the Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium. The 2021 edition of the RRP's banner event is being called the “Mega-Makeover” and will welcome horses eligible for the 2020 postponed competition as well as the regularly scheduled 2021 year.

The TCA Thoroughbred Makeover is a retraining competition, featuring trainers from across North America who have worked throughout the year (or past two years in the case of 2020 trainers) to prepare recently retired Thoroughbred ex-racehorses to compete for more than $100,000 in ten equestrian sports. Trainers compete as professionals, amateurs, juniors and teams. Horses from the 2020 and 2021 competition years will compete separately.

“We are very happy to again support the Thoroughbred Makeover,” said Erin Crady, executive director of TCA. “Through the Makeover, educational events, clinics, and expos, the Retired Racehorse Project successfully works to increase the demand for Thoroughbreds among equine enthusiasts. Over nearly the last decade, the RRP and its signature Makeover event have increased the market for Thoroughbreds retiring from the track. We look forward to the Mega-Makeover and to watching hundreds of Thoroughbreds excel in new disciplines.”

TCA's support for the Makeover is part of its annual grant-making activity. This year, TCA granted over $775,000 to nearly 70 approved organizations. For over three decades, TCA has worked to support not only Thoroughbred aftercare, but also programs that provide health and human services for backstretch and farm workers.

“For more than 30 years, TCA has had a profound and lasting impact on our industry, identifying programs and initiatives poised to make a meaningful difference for horses, backside and/or farm workers and seeding them with the funds to help them flourish,” said RRP executive director Jen Roytz. “Having come on as the title sponsor in 2012, TCA is one of our longest standing partners in putting on the Thoroughbred Makeover. Last year, when the pandemic forced most events to outright cancel, TCA's unwavering commitment allowed us to postpone rather than cancel the Makeover, thus retaining the opportunity for the class of 2020 to compete.”

For some participating trainers, the road to the Mega-Makeover has been a long journey that began for the 2020 competition year as early as December of 2019 when applications first opened. Applications opened again in December 2020 for trainers interested in competing in 2021. All trainers demonstrated on their applications their ability to successfully transition a horse off the track through narrative, references, and video. A total of 525 horses were entered for the Mega-Makeover after the Final Entry process, which captured additional data about their individual retraining processes.

Each horse and trainer will compete in one or two of the ten disciplines offered at the Thoroughbred Makeover and will be scored on performance and progression in training. Featured sports include barrel racing, competitive trail, dressage, eventing, field hunter, polo, ranch work, show hunter, show jumper, and freestyle (a freeform discipline allowing trainers to demonstrate any skill of their choosing). The top five scorers in each discipline will compete in a Finale competition, and an overall winner, as scored by the judges from all ten disciplines, will be crowned Thoroughbred Makeover Champion. The 2020 and 2021 competition years will each have their own Finale and their own Thoroughbred Makeover Champion.

In addition to the competition, the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium offers several events throughout the week that reflect its status as the largest gathering of individuals and organizations with an interest in rehoming Thoroughbreds: the Thoroughbred Aftercare Summit takes place on Tuesday, October 12. On Friday, October 15, the Makeover Master Class retraining demonstration will take place, followed by educational seminars on health topics pertaining to the ex-racehorse. Throughout the week, competitors and spectators can shop the vendor fair, as well as watch, try, vet and buy or adopt Makeover entrants who have been listed for sale through the ASCPA Makeover Marketplace.

A full schedule of events can be found at TBMakeover.org.

The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) is a 501(c)3 charitable organization working to increase demand for off-track Thoroughbreds in the equestrian world. In addition to producing the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, the organization also publishes Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine, hosts off-track Thoroughbred retraining clinics and programming at major horse expos and events around the country, and maintains the online Thoroughbred Sport Tracker (the internet's only user-driven database tracking second career talent and accomplishments of registered Thoroughbreds). Visit the RRP online at RetiredRacehorseProject.org.

TCA funds and facilitates the support of Thoroughbreds and the people who care for them. TCA distributes grants to several categories of Thoroughbred-related nonprofits including rehabilitation, retraining, rehoming and retirement organizations; backstretch and farm employee programs; equine-assisted therapy programs; and research organizations. Since its inception in 1990, TCA has granted over $25 million to more than 200 charities. TCA is the charitable arm of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA).

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Is There Such A Thing As Toxic Fencing For Horses?

Educated horse owners are aware of the toxicity of red maple leaves, but are fence posts and boards made from maple trees safe to use around horses? Dr. Anthony Knight tells EQUUS magazine that there is very little toxin in the trunk of maple trees, so lumber made from maples poses very little risk – even if the horse chews or cribs on the wood.

Wilted leaves of the red maple contain a tannin called gallic acid that damages horse's hemoglobin, the part of the red blood cells that carry oxygen. A horse that ingests three pounds or more of wilted or dried red maple leaves could have organ and tissue failure because of the lack of oxygen in his blood.

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Gallic acid has also been found in silver maples and sugar maples. All three maple species are found in the United States and are commonly used in landscaping. There are myriad hybrids and cultivars from these trees, as well. The leaves from all of them should be kept away from horses, Knight says.

The majority of the toxin is found in the tree's leaves when they become wilted, but there is some toxin in both the bark and branches of the trees. Horses do not typically ingest enough of these to cause damage to their organs.

Hagyard, Thoroughbred Charities Of America Launch Race To Give

Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and Thoroughbred Charities of America announced Sept. 8 the launch of the Race to Give, an online giving and awareness program to support Thoroughbred aftercare with the RaceToGive.org website as its central hub.

“2021 marks our 145th anniversary of caring for the equine industry,” said Hagyard's Dr. Luke Fallon. “These equine athletes have given us so much over the last century and a half. Our veterinarians created the Race to Give to demonstrate our appreciation. Leading an effort to support the critical area of aftercare in conjunction with other leading horse racing organizations was the right thing to do.”

The Race to Give calls to create teams and to challenge each other in fun and creative ways.

“The spirit of competition is at the heart of our industry,” said Ken Ford, CEO of Hagyard Pharmacy. “Hagyard's vision was to harness that spirit to not only raise money, but to also to expand the support of equine aftercare. By developing teams and then challenging each other, we could encourage a wider group of people to participate. Aftercare organizations which have been excellent stewards of our retired equine athletes have accomplished this through the generous support of donations from a concentrated nucleus of people in the industry. Race to Give is a new platform to encourage everyone who loves horses to donate.”

Organizations that have come alongside Hagyard and TCA include Keeneland, TVG, Thoroughbred Daily News, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, and Resolvet.

“Everyone understands how important aftercare is for our sport,” said TCA president Mike McMahon. “It is exciting to see big names in our industry come together in year one. And I can only imagine how the list will grow in the years to come as other organizations see the impact and, frankly, how much fun it is to be part of this team of leaders.”

Hagyard and TCA note that on average Thoroughbreds retire from racing by age 6, meaning they still have a lot of life left after the racetrack since horses can live well into their late 20s. Responsible owners can set their horse up for future success by retiring them into a TCA-approved and TAA-accredited aftercare program where they can be retrained for their next career. Many Thoroughbreds will move into careers in new disciplines such as eventing, hunter/jumpers, dressage, western, polo, trail riding, equine-therapy, and much more.

“Like many involved in the sport of Thoroughbred racing, Hagyard believes that it is our collective responsibility to protect the well-being of these horses we love that retire from racing and breeding,” Fallon said. “I echo everyone that is involved with Race to Give to please help us support these horses as they transition to their next careers.”

To make a donation, register to fundraise, or create or join a team please visit RaceToGive.org and follow #aracetogive on social media.

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Oaklawn To Celebrate Whitmore Day In 2022; Stakes Race, Barn To Be Named For Champion Sprinter

Oaklawn will celebrate the 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner and Champion Sprinter on March 19, 2022, with Whitmore Day highlighted by the $200,000 Whitmore Stakes. Formerly named the Hot Springs Stakes, Whitmore won the six-furlong race four times during his career for trainer Ron Moquett's Southern Springs Stable, Robert LaPenta, and Head of Plain Partners LLC. He also won the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) three times for a total of seven Oaklawn stakes wins, a record he shares with Swift Ruler.

In another move by Oaklawn to honor Whitmore, the Count Fleet barn, which was Whitmore's winter home for six years, will be renamed the Whitmore barn.

“Whitmore was truly Oaklawn's horse and we're excited to honor his accomplishments with Whitmore Day and the Whitmore Stakes next March,” President Louis Cella said. “It is rare for a horse to compete at the highest level for six straight years and Whitmore did just that, never backing down from a fight. This is why he has such a large following of fans not only in Arkansas but nationwide.”

Whitmore Day will also feature an appearance by the Champion, Whitmore t-shirts, and the first 5,000 fans will receive a commemorative Whitmore baseball card.

The now 8-year-old Whitmore won an Oaklawn allowance race in January 2016 in his 3-year-old debut and went on to place in the track's top 3-year-old stakes, which earned him a spot in that year's Kentucky Derby (G1). He did not race again until December 2016 when he won a six-furlong allowance race at Aqueduct, setting the stage for him to become one of the top sprinters in North America. Whitmore's other top wins included the 2017 Phoenix Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, and 2018 Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. He retired in August with a career record of 15-13-5 in 43 starts and earnings of $4,502,350.

“Oaklawn has always been my home track and it was Whitmore's home track, so it's a huge honor to have a stakes race named for him here,” trainer Ron Moquett said. “He was a hard-knocking horse that a lot of people could easily root for whether they put a bet on him or not. The amount of support we have received since his retirement has been overwhelming.”

The 2021-2022 Oaklawn live meet runs Friday, Dec. 3 – Sunday, May 8. There is no racing Christmas week, Dec. 24 -26, or Easter Sunday, April 17.

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