Real World has chased home Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) twice over a mile this term and was set to compete over a-mile-and-a-quarter in the Eclipse before being ruled out of the Sandown showpiece late in the day.

Bin Suroor is taking his time with the six-time winner following that mid-season setback and is undecided on a prep run for the versatile Godolphin charge before heading to Australia.

He said, “Real World is OK, he's still having an easy time. The plan is to take him to Australia. The horse has had a break, he was coughing before Sandown and he's had an easy time. Now we are trying to prepare him for the Australian races.”

The trainer added, “He could maybe have one more race here before he travels or maybe he will go straight there. The Cox Plate is a possibility, but he's got plenty of options.”

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“Portal was a super cool horse and he was being trained by a good friend Ian Wilkes,” said Blair. “We had been watching him and he was running well. Plus, he is a beautiful, striking almost black horse and had a neat personality.”

Portal won the next two times out in allowance races at Churchill and Ellis Park and gave the owners their most exciting wins ever as an entity. In his fourth race for Evergreen, at Keeneland, Portal didn’t finish and was vanned off after being pulled up on the backstretch by Miquel Mena. In his lifetime, Portal earned $161,513 in 18 starts.

“He took a bad step and they brought him back on the ambulance but he walked off fine,” said Blair. “He fractured his sesamoid with a clean break. It was a career-ending, but not life threatening injury nor was it recommended for surgery.

“We started what we knew would be a long recovery at the barn and after a few weeks brought him up to Brian and Jamie Hernandez’s barn for continued rehab.”

There was never any question that Evergreen was going to pay for Portal for as long as necessary until he found a home.

“It is so important to us and for the industry that owners keep their commitment to the horse,” said Debbie Appel, a partner in Evergreen and currently co-owner of Surfside Stables that also has horses with Blair. “We didn’t know most of the other people in Evergreen but everyone agreed, without question, that we would see our commitment to Portal through to the end.”

After a few months of stall rest, the Blairs began calling and emailing aftercare organizations to place Portal, but that proved difficult.

“He was turned down by every aftercare we called,” said Blair. “The injury was the main problem. No one felt confident in the vet’s prognosis which was that he would be sound for flat work, dressage or trail riding.

“Finally, through Jamie Hernandez, we were introduced to Amelia Foster who buys and sells off-track Thoroughbreds.”

Foster, too, was struck by Portal’s looks and drawn in by his friendly demeanor.

“He is super fancy and at first I was thinking of what a great sale prospect he could be because he was eligible for the Thoroughbred Makeover,” said Foster. “But when I learned more about the diagnosis, care and meticulous rehabilitation process to date, I decided to keep him for myself and take any pressure off of him.

“The trainer and owners had done everything right–to the letter–for this horse and if they were not confident that I was going to do the same, Portal would not have come to me.”

Today, Portal is learning dressage and also teaching novice riders the basics. The personality that had endeared himself to so many people along the way only blossomed and he is one of the easiest horses at Foster’s Cannonbrook Farms to ride.

“When I first got on him, I could not believe how gentle and smart he acted,” said Foster. “I said to myself that this is a testament to how he was handled for the first six years of his life.”

Foster was not put off by Portal’s injury or the vet’s somewhat guarded prognosis.

“In my experience, if you follow the rules and do what the vet says, horses will heal,” said Foster. “Plus, I have no agenda for him. He is going to tell me when he is ready to do more. So far, he has never taken a lame step.”

“I am thrilled whenever Jordan sends me pictures of Portal in his new life,” said Appel. “While the partners in Evergreen were all supportive of his efforts, Portal was saved because of Jordan’s commitment and dedication to him. I was at Keeneland for Portal’s race and witnessed first hand how deeply Portal’s injury affected Jordan. His care of and commitment to Portal, as well as to all the other horses in his barn, is unparalleled.”

“Myself, my wife, my clients, we all really care about where the horses go after racing,” said Blair. “We love the animals, and we love the game. But we got into the game because we love the animal.

“Portal was a lot of fun and brought a lot of joy for a lot of people. We couldn’t be any happier about where he is now.”

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Smith founded Second Stride, Inc. in 2005 with the goal of helping horses and people in racing by building on those relationships. The Crestwood, KY nonprofit usually maintains 15-20 horses at a time and is located at Moserwood Farm, a full-service boarding and training facility. Smith works hard at making retirement to Second Stride easy for trainers and owners. They even have an agency form so that owners need not do the transfer paperwork themselves. There is no mandatory monetary donation if a horse is accepted and Second Stride takes horses on short notice.

“I’ve been there on the owning and training side,” said Smith. “So, I know that the time it takes donate a horse matters. It’s not because racing people are insensitive or indifferent to the horse, it’s just a factor of the business and how important stalls and timing of the meet goes.”

“Our goal is to help as many horses as possible and so we make it easy to do the right thing,” said Smith. “We don’t require a donation with a horse, but most owners and trainers will offer one. My goal is to build a relationship so that if I take a horse with a tendon that will need a lot of work, I will also be offered the horse that is perfectly sound and ready-to-go.”

Smith accepts stallions and gelds them, broodmares and horses that may need time and extensive rehabilitation before they can be ridden or re-trained. Second Stride excels in getting horses placed with show horse trainers and adopters quickly and efficiently. Smith accomplishes this in no small part because of the many exercise riders and other racetrack connections who work or volunteer for Second Stride. Since 2005, over 1000 Thoroughbreds have been adopted through the program.

“Our riders are gallop riders or the people who go around and break Thoroughbreds for the farms,” said Smith. “So, we are able to get the horses retrained and ready to move on pretty quickly.”

On the adoption side, the Second Stride application is long but potential adopters are appointed an adoption coordinator who knows, and has probably ridden all of the available horses.

“Making the right match requires someone who really knows the horses and can sometimes convince people to try a horse that may not fit the original profile of what they are looking for,” said Smith. “Our return rate is extremely low and I credit the personal care we put into making the match. Many of the adopted horses that are returned, are well-trained and donated back for us to adopt out again for another fee.”

“We hit our stride in 2012 and on average, we adopt out about 100 horses per year,” said Smith. “This year, however we are already at 96 through August so, it is going to be a banner year.”

She continued, “We see time and time again the versatility of the Thoroughbred. We put Western tack on them, ride them through water, take them to cows and see how they adapt to all situations and disciplines. We have placed them in all over the country in every discipline.”

“One of my favorites is a horse named Capote Cat, by Storm Cat out of a Capote mare,” said Smith. “We tried him in every normal discipline–English and Western, but as soon as things got repetitive, he got naughty. So, we tried a mounted search and rescue in North Carolina and he thrived there. He loves that job.”

Amy Lent, of Ramblen Farm in Versailles, KY adopted Delightfully (Redding Colliery) from Second Stride. Due to an injury, the mare was never a show riding prospect. But, under Lent’s expertise, she has excelled in driving and competed in the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover.

Second Stride sends an average of three to six horses a year to the Thoroughbred Makeover and always asks the previous owner to make a donation to cover the entry fee. If they cannot, Second Stride will pay the fee.

“The Thoroughbred Makeover has done an amazing job in its mission to increase the marketability of Thoroughbreds as show horses and as riding horses in general,” said Smith. “I love the sense of camaraderie and cooperation at the competition and how the year of intensive training gives the horses such a solid base.”

“So much is going in the right direction for Thoroughbred aftercare, including the advances of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, but funding and a lack of sound horses in aftercare charities are still an issue,” said Smith. “I wish that more owners and trainers would donate their horses to non-profits, rather than sell them privately. Sound horses that can be adopted for a substantial fee help organizations balance the cost of horses that need long-term care or more rehabilitation before they are rideable.”

For more information about Second Stride, Inc., go to https://secondstride.org/.

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The mission at Out Side In is threefold. The organization focuses on providing psychotherapy, a unique 12-week program for veterans, and Thoroughbred aftercare. The majority of the clients participating in psychotherapy and the veterans’ program are severe trauma victims with post-traumatic stress disorder. Many have attempted suicide or have had suicide ideation. Many clients are referred to Out Side In because they are considered treatment-resistant, meaning these women, men, teens and children have refused treatment, or that other therapies have failed for them.

“We take the hardest cases and we have success where other therapists do not,” said McVoy. “In many situations, I say just get him or her here and if need be, I bring a horse to the car.”

Out Side In employs six therapists and all have a deep background in horses. On the first visit to Out Side In, the therapist and client go into the pasture to meet the herd of Thoroughbreds. To ease the client into the treatment process, they ask questions related to the horses which bring out answers about themselves and the issues they are facing. Inevitably, one horse will be especially interested and pick that person.

“We don’t really know why one horse connects with a certain person,” said McVoy. “All it takes is that one moment when the horse comes over and chooses the client. In that bonding moment, the walls in the person just come down.”

Over its almost 10 years of operation, Out Side In has grown and become established in the community for its unique success rate, serving 150 people per week. Because they practice traditional psychotherapy, enhanced with the participation of horses, client care is often covered by insurance and Medicaid for uninsured or under-insured clients. With the help of local supporters, Out Side In grew from one pasture with a port-a-potty to a state-of-the-art facility with a more-than 20,000-square foot indoor arena, six treatment rooms, a waiting room, and 16 stalls. Thoroughbreds are the only horses helping with therapy.

“After nine years, the Thoroughbreds still amaze me every day,” said McVoy. “I will only do this work with Thoroughbreds. They are intelligent, perceptive and they love to be with people. Especially with the difficult cases we handle, there is so much to work with.”

The veterans program, Heroes for Horses, pairs three veterans at a time each with a horse, recently off the track, for 12 weeks. Together, they work through their many common experiences.
“Just like veterans, foster kids, survivors of abuse and trauma, and all people, racehorses have life experiences that shape their personalities and how they interact with others,” said McVoy. “We can watch the herd and talk about how the horses adapt to their circumstances, like being moved from one home to another and having to become part of a new herd or family.”

Often previously treatment-resistant veterans will ask to stay and volunteer to help other horses when their 12-week program has ended. One such veteran suffered from severe PTSD and had tried therapy at the VA that was not successful. He wife pressed him for three years to visit Out Side In. Finally, when she gave him an ultimatum, he agreed.

“He bonded early on with one mare, Theteflonwarrior (Killenaule), and completed the program,” said McVoy. “He lives close by and he still comes and helps early in the morning before we open. He even had a picture of the mare and our logo tattooed on his neck. He said she saved his life.”

Out Side In retrains and adopts out two to three OTTBs a year to make room for new rescues. Esla Mambo (Black Mambo), the second OTTB to enter Out Side In, came through CANTER. He ended his racing career with 38 starts and close to $50,000 in earnings at Hawthorne Race Course. He is the herd leader and the calm quiet type–often the gateway horse to ease the initial fears of new clients.

“Esla Mambo is our go-to horse when people are nervous about horses,” said McVoy. “It’s funny because he is the biggest horse but he is a gentle herd leader and we can trust him around everyone.”

“We have a wonderful therapy client who my daughter is now teaching to ride on Esla. It was always her dream to learn to ride. She is 82. She started therapy with us when she lost her husband a few years ago.”

Out Side In serves many children and teens who have been abused and are now in the foster care system.

“I just did an intake of two children who witnessed their father shoot their mother in the head,” said McVoy. “She survived and brought them to us. For them and for many others, being with the horses becomes the only good experience in their life.”

“So many kids have done nothing wrong and no good situation exists for them in their home or in being removed from their home. At Out Side In, in spite of everything, they can have an hour of happiness. I always let them sit on a horse and then a kid who has nothing good in his life to talk about can go to school the next day and say `I rode a racehorse.'”

For more information about Out Side In, visit https://www.outsideintherapy.com/

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When Richards moved to Coalinga, California, a city in Fresno County and the western San Joaquin Valley, for college, she began a 10-year career at Harris Farms where she worked in every aspect of the breeding and training of Thoroughbreds. Her career on the farm ended when Richards began to feel conflicted about the long hours at work away from her child.

“It was breeding season and my son was three and I was working 100-hour weeks,” said Richards. “I really wanted to be a hands-on mom, so I needed to make a change. The only place close by that paid well was the prison. I planned on staying at the prison for 10 years and then going back into horses.”

That was 17 years ago. Since making the transition, Richards has been a full-time correctional officer at the Pleasant Valley State Prison. Not long into her career, Richards began to think about ways to help the inmates break the on-going cycle of recidivism.

“I started asking them why they keep coming back,” said Richards. “The answer was always that they didn’t know anything else in life.”

That got Richards thinking about a horse program. Her first idea was to start a program for mustangs, but it required permanent fencing and more space than she had. In her research she found the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Second Chances Program.

“When I found the TRF program, I immediately starting calling them and working with my superiors to get it done,” said Richards. “I had the support, but not the funding.”

Richards did not give up and found an opportunity through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Innovative Programming Grants in California Prisons program. Richards met with West Hills Community College District and worked tirelessly to put together a unique partnership and secured a three-year grant for $300,776.

“It was a dream come true after four years and 10 months of hard work,” said Richards. “Of the 52 grants issued, they said that this one was the best one. That is because the program is so good. It is also an excellent example of private-public partnership because I couldn’t have done it without the support from the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Second Chance Program, Harris Farms Horse Division, and West Hills Community College.”

Pivot now to a horse program in a prison in the California hills. The entire structure: paddocks, barns, classroom etc., are all within the high security fence. In other TRF programs, the horse farms are outside of the fence and sometimes a short drive away. In those programs, at least one extra security person is needed to oversee the inmates. This can cost more than $50,000 to $75,000 per year. Therefore, having the program within the security fence saves the prison money. There is another interesting benefit to this set-up.

“Other inmates can watch the program and see the horses from a safe distance,” said Reid McLellan of The Elite Program, who provides Richard’s curriculum and teaching tools as he does for other Second Chances facilities. “The Second Chances program in California is unique in a number of ways. The Groom Elite Program course is actually taught through West Hills Community College, which allows participants to receive college credit. The arid climate presents unique challenges requiring more hands-on care plus management techniques used by horse farms in that area. And, Harris Farm provides ongoing support plus sends horses for rehabilitation if necessary and retraining.”

“Richards, a certified Second Chances Groom Elite instructor, is a very accomplished horsewoman and rancher that brings a great perspective about people and livestock to this program. Kudos to her for making this happen and providing another model whereby Thoroughbreds and people in need are brought together.”

The results reported so far are positive in every respect.

“I am constantly amazed at how all 15 men are so moved by the horses,” said Richards. “I have their complete attention at all times and they take their responsibilities very seriously.”

The program is 18 weeks long with five horses and 15 men. One graduate is assigned to feeding the horses on weekends and overseeing their care when Richards is off.

On July 8, Richards was named the 2020 Correctional Officer of the Year by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for her effort in spearheading the Pleasant Valley State Prison Equestrian Program.

To learn more about the TRF’s Second Chances Programs, go to www.trfinc.org.

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DP: Georgiana, what is your background and how did you come to this post at Aftercare Charles Town?

GP: I have a small general practice law firm in Charles Town. I’ve ridden most of my life and had off-track Thoroughbreds as my riding horses. In late 2016, a friend of mine was on the board and she contacted me to ask me if I was interested in serving. I said yes right away because it was something I care about. I became the president in 2018.

DP: What makes you most proud about serving on the board and as president of ACT?

GP: ACT may be a small program, but we have high standards and insist on quality programs for our horses and I think we can hold our head up, even among some of the more well-funded heavy hitters in the track-based aftercare realm.  We are down in the trenches doing the actual hard work of dealing with the needs of each individual horse and creating good outcomes. It is very satisfying to see the horses and their new owners happy and connected.

DP: Can you give us an overview of how the program operates?

GP: Horsemen file paperwork with us to accept horses that have raced or are racing at Charles Town. Because most of the funding comes from the horsemen at Charles Town, we have guidelines that allow us to serve the horses that have primarily raced here. We also require vet records to help us get a picture of the horse’s soundness and what sort of second career will be most appropriate for the horse. Based on the horse and its potential, we arrange for it to go to one of our placement partners where the horse will be rehabilitated, retrained and adopted out. We provide a stipend and pay for procedures that are needed to make a horse sound for a second riding career.

DP: How do you choose your placement partners?

GP: We work with non-profit organizations who are experienced, do follow-up and provide a safety net if that horse is returned. Each horse is a unique individual with personality and potential. I am not sure that everyone understands the amount of time and effort and skill it takes to give a horse the best chance of ending up in the right place and in the best condition. We look for partners who have experience and care about identifying the issues, doing the appropriate rehab, making full disclosure to the potential adopters and then matching the adopter to that horse and what conditions the horse may have.

DP: Did the COVID19 pandemic affect your organization financially?

GP: Yes, when racing stopped our income from paddock fees stopped so that has seriously impacted our budget.

DP: When the track was forced to close, did you see an increase in requests to accept horses?

GP: Surprisingly, no. We expected that we would receive more requests to place horses, but we did not. I think that the Horses First Fund relief effort as well as generous in-kind donations from Triple Crown and Blue Seal helped horsemen to feed their horses and hold on to their stables until racing started up again.

DP: How did the relief program work?

GP: We partnered with Thoroughbred Charities of America, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, the Charles Town HBPA, Southern States, Gower’s Feed and Triple Crown to aid trainers facing economic hardship due to the cancellation of racing, with horse feed and forage.

DP: What is your greatest challenge going forward in 2020 and beyond?

GP: Our greatest challenge is that our funding is limited even with the supplemental private donations that we receive. With better funding, we could place more horses. We also need to convince more horsemen that aftercare should be their first choice when a horse is ready to retire from racing.

DP: What do you see as the greatest opportunity going forward?

GP: After Care Charles Town is a great example of how a racetrack and its horsemen have stepped up to help provide reliable equine retirement options. Racing’s image with respect to horse welfare is only as good as the latest story out in the public on aftercare. It doesn’t matter to the public if the horse is a champion or never broke its maiden. So, every story should be a good one. Every racehorse deserves a safe and secure retirement. They don’t know if they made $2 or $2 million. The horse that never managed to break his or her maiden tried just as hard as the multiple graded stakes winner, and they are equally valuable and deserving of a good life after racing. Adequately funded aftercare at every track for every horse is achievable and it is a worthy investment for all involved: the owners and trainers; the horses; and the horses’ new owners/adopters. Everyone wins in this scenario.

For more information on Aftercare Charles Town and to reach Georgiana Pardo, go to tbaftercare.org or email tbaftercare@gmail.com.

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