“We sincerely appreciate the time and dedication it takes to transition Thoroughbreds into their next careers,” said Executive Director of TCA Erin Halliwell. “We're looking forward to October where we'll see hundreds of Thoroughbreds demonstrating their new skills in many different disciplines.”

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Presented by the Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation (TERF), the teleconference will offer four webinars providing an interactive experience for participants to explore a variety of topics pertaining to non-profits and business entities. Options to register for the entire conference or individual sessions a la carte will be offered on the sign-up page. An all-access conference pass is $10 while individual passes will be $5 per session.

“We're grateful to TERF for supporting our vision of building on the original Aftercare Summit concept, allowing us to tackle topics in greater depth and deliver sessions in a way that increases accessibility for anyone wanting to participate,” said Kirsten Green, RRP executive director.

“The aftercare industry in North America has grown into a diverse community of entities that contribute to a Thoroughbred's transition in a variety of ways. The RRP is unique in that we interface with everyone within that community, and we're striving to foster collaboration and networking which will only increase the impact of the community as a whole.”

A full description of all seminars is available on the RRP website.

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Entering its 10th year at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, the Thoroughbred Makeover features competition in 10 disciplines for recently retired Thoroughbreds in their first year of retraining for a career after racing. A competition division is also open to recently retired broodmares exiting the bloodstock industry.

Horses and their trainers may compete in one or two disciplines of their choice, including Barrel Racing, Competitive Trail, Dressage, Eventing, Field Hunter, Polo, Ranch Work, Show Hunter, Show Jumper and Freestyle (a freeform discipline showcasing skills of the trainer's choosing).

Horses and trainers will compete for more than $110,000 in total prize money, plus the title of Thoroughbred Makeover Champion, at the Kentucky Horse Park Oct. 9-12.

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Revisions to the rules are indicated in red, while clarifications are in blue. A free webinar presentation about the application process will take place for any interested individuals via the Retired Racehorse Project's Facebook page on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

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“I want to thank Kristen Goncharoff at e5 Racing Thoroughbreds for making the phone call, and Bob [Edwards], the leader of e5, who was looking to rehome this horse,” says winning rider Alison O'Dwyer. “Wesley Ward had him in training at Turfway and when he didn't think much of him, they decided to cut his career short as a two-year-old. I'm thankful for the friendships that I've made that trusted me with this horse – Kristen loved this horse as a foal and there was something about his personality and his eye that really spoke to her.”

The People's Choice Award went to 9-year-old gelding Arklow (Arch) who earned over $3,000,000 in his racing career and took the final honors in the Makeover's Field Hunter division.

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The former Brad Cox trainee, who earned over $3 million during his racing career, turned in three relaxed rides over two days of competition and has made it to the weekend. The 9-year-old will have the opportunity to take part in his division's Finale Championship on Saturday.

“He's just so fun,” said Gans. “When we had the big gallop up the hill today [in the Mock Hunt], he really took a big hold of me… but when we got to the top of the hill, he stopped in the check and just looked around. I think that's really hard for a lot of Thoroughbreds to be able to turn it on and switch it off–you show him something and he gets it and he's calm and cool. The biggest difference is the brain on him. His brain being so good makes such a difference–he could do anything.”

Click here for a complete Thoroughbred Makeover schedule.

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The foal crop keeps dropping every year, but that doesn't seem to affect the September sale. There were 4,215 horses entered in the sale this year, the second straight year that number had increased. Breathnach was asked how Keeneland has avoided a downturn in the number of horses entered in the sale.

“It's a great question, and I'm not sure there's an easy answer, but there's a lot of things that we look at in there,” Breathnach said. “We're very grateful for the support that we get. Twenty-four percent of the entire North American foal crop goes through the Keeneland  September sale, which is staggering. It's a tribute to the people who came long before Tony (Lacy) and I, people like Rogers Beasley and Geoffrey Russell and everybody else that made this sale what it is today. We're just trying to be stewards to advance that as far as we can. There are a lot of very clever, very experienced, very dedicated commercial breeders. And thankfully for us, they're looking to our September sale as a large outlet for their for their stock every year. That's a privilege for us, but also a huge responsibility that we do the best we can with what they're bringing us.”

The November sale will feature stars like GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Caravel (Mizzen Mast), Grade I winner Dalika (GER) (Pastorious {GER}) and Puca (Big Brown). Puca is the dam of GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) and will also be carrying a foal who is a full sibling to Mage. The sale will also give buyers their first chance to buy mares who are in foal to 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline (Tapit).

“We've had a lot of calls about Flightline already from all over the world about what mares are going to be in the catalog that he was bred to and how many and so on,” Breathnach said. “I think he's going to create the splash that everybody expects. People still remember that last year we sold a 2 1/2 percent share in him that went for $4.6 million. We're excited to continue that story.”

Keeneland opened Oct. 6 with its Fall Stars Weekend. Like everyone else, Breathnach is looking forward to what should be a great weekend of racing.

“It's going to be fantastic,” he said. “We have 11 stakes this weekend. Eight of them are Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' races. It's three unparalleled days of action here. One race that I think really jumps out to me is the Darley Alcibiades. I think that race is loaded. Look at the morning line, you've got fillies like Alys Beach at 20-1. It could be one of the best races of the year. The whole weekend, it's going to be action packed, turf and dirt sprints, races going long on the turf and dirt. I can't wait for it.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Retired Racehorse Project, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, West Point Thoroughbreds, WinStar Farm, XBTV.com and 1/ST Racing, Lane's End, the team of Zoe Cadman, Bill Finley and Randy Moss discussed a story in the TDN in which John Sikura called for a massive purse increase for the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks. While agreeing with Sikura, Finley pointed out that Churchill Downs has very little incentive to increase the pot. The team reviewed last weekend's big slate of races, which included a win by Cody's Wish (Curlin) in the GII Vosburgh S. Looking ahead, the trio agreed that the GI Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland could be the highlight of the weekend as it could be a showdown of the best turf horse in the U.S. in Up to the Mark (Not This Time) and the Charlie Appleby trained star Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.

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Enter Gina Robb, trainer and co-owner of Maryland's No Guts No Glory Farm. The daughter of a jockey, Gina has spent her life around racing including marrying fellow trainer Jerry Robb. Together, the pair is responsible for $800,000-earner Anna's Bandit (Great Notion) who reported her first foal, a Tapit colt, this spring. Early this year, Gina had a quartet of horses ready to come off the track to pursue second careers along with a broodmare who'd been down on her reproductive luck and in need of perhaps a third career. Gina also had a teenage daughter conveniently taking lessons at Talbot Run Equestrian Center and, with the help of Talbot Run's head trainer Robin Petrasek, a new alliance was formed.

“I went to Robin [one day] and said 'hey, I've got a few off-track thoroughbreds and I'd really love to do something',” said Robb. “So we got together and I supplied the horses and Robin and I decided 'okay, let's try this.'

Next week, a team of five horses and riders from Talbot Run will travel to Kentucky to take on hundreds of other ex-racehorses across ten disciplines over a three-day event. Petrasek's program is a bit unique in that it has allowed each rider, the other four being amateurs, to train their own horses.

“We decided to kind of gear towards helping juniors learn how to retrain the horses,” said Petrasek. “So it's kind of a teaching and building program so that we can build up their interest in the industry and shine awareness on what it takes and where these horses came from.”

Seany P cleans up at the World Equestrian Center | Talbot Run Photo

The Talbot Run team, consisting of Petrasek, CC Forgione, Gretchen Wolfe, Chloe Pleune and Angelina Rosenthal, will display four Maryland-bred horses and one Kentucky-bred broodmare. Petrasek and her mount Seany P (Nicanor) will compete in Dressage and Freestyle while Forgione will take the full-brother to Anna's Bandit, Little Bold Bandit (Great Notion), in Competitive Trail. The other three riders will compete in the youth divisions: Wolfe aboard Vampish (Bodemeister) in the Broodmare division along with Eventing and Show Jumping, Pleune with Scintillio (Uncle Lino) also in Eventing and Show Jumping and Rosenthal, Gina Robb's daughter, with Belfour (Super Saver) in Eventing and Show Jumping as well.

“Gina provided us with five horses that have a high potential for sport,” added Petrasek. “It's not only been good in that aspect, but also that the horses have been very safe, especially for the kids to handle.”

“It's great we take these awesome horses into a second career,” continued Robb. “My husband retires them early before they're not able to do any of these things. And that's important because the other [entries], they have to sit on for a long time before they finally feel well enough.”

In speaking to the importance of the Makeover's new Broodmare division, Robb was nothing but complimentary.

“There are a lot of farms out there with mares like her [Vampish] and I think this division is going to be a God send. They're older, they've already raced and raised their babies and now we're setting them up for potentially a third career. It's exciting because people need to know that [these mares] can have another job. I'm very excited about it.”

And while the team has their work cut out for them in what will be large and competitive divisions in Kentucky, both women maintain that a safe, happy experience for all is the priority.

“Our main goal at the end of all this is to have safe horses for our lesson program,” said Petrasek. “The Makeover is an opportunity to showcase what they want to do but, no matter what the outcome is, they've all come so far with these horses. They hadn't done anything except race and now look at what they can do.”

Robb hopes a continuing alliance between track and barn will lead to an avenue of new youth into racing.

“I want these young kids to get into the business,” she admitted with a laugh. “We need to find some new-timers and let them see what it's like to do these things. I'm hoping it sparks them.”

Talbot Run had the pleasure of a behind-the-scenes tour of Laurel Park earlier this Spring and, from all accounts, Robb may have gotten her wish.

Vampish, Scintillo and Belfour at the Maryland State Fair TB Show | Talbot Run Photo

“Some of the girls have already signed up to come get a license to gallop horses when they're old enough,” she said. “I tell the moms that that's the best place to start. Riding in a ring is very different to riding on the track but these girls are very, very capable so they'll make the transition easier. I'd like to say I might have been able to bring an upcoming jockey on!”

The Thoroughbred Makeover, which runs from Oct. 11 to Oct. 14 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, does allow trainers to also market their horses. But Talbot Run's entries will return home to Maryland where they'll join the lesson program and maybe just inspire next year's team and a new generation of racing fans.

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Existing board member Neil Agate was confirmed as board chair earlier this Spring when personal obligations required previous chair, Richard Lamb, to step back from the officer position. Lamb is still completing his second term serving on the board of directors.

“I have enjoyed being part of the RRP during the first ten years as a volunteer and competitor,” said Neil. “I am extremely honored to be asked to help shepherd the organization as board chair and I am looking forward to working with our great team of staff and volunteers to keep the RRP ecosystem growing and vibrant.”

The formation of the advisory council allows the RRP to engage a variety of professionals in an ongoing, consultative fashion without the full governance obligations of becoming board members.

“We're pleased to grow the community of individuals who help to inform the RRP's approach to issues relating to development, marketing, governance, and strategic planning,” said RRP executive director Kirsten Green. “The RRP has reached a stage in organizational maturation where it has firmly established itself as an integral part of the national aftercare industry and as we look to build upon our impact, it's essential that we are seeking expertise from a broad range of individuals who not only have the skills we need but also represent the communities that we serve.”

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The Thoroughbred Makeover features trainers from across North America who have worked throughout the year to prepare recently retired Thoroughbred ex-racehorses to compete for more than $100,000 in ten equestrian sports. This year, the competition scope expanded to include recently retired broodmares exiting the breeding industry.

“The Thoroughbred Makeover has really moved the needle in aftercare by increasing the demand for and value of Thoroughbreds in their post-racing careers,” Erin Halliwell, executive director of TCA, said. “TCA is pleased to once again support this important event that has impacted the lives of thousands of Thoroughbreds.”

The Thoroughbred Makeover culminates in a four-day competition, set for Oct. 11-14 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, and a symposium with educational, networking and social opportunities.

A full schedule of Thoroughbred Makeover events can be found on the Retired Racehorse Project's website.

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