Thoroughbred Makeover | Horse Racing Free Tips

2022 Thoroughbred Makeover Applications Open For Submission

Applications for the 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, are now open for submission through close of business day on January 21. Accepted trainers will be announced no later than February 15, 2021. The 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover Rulebook outlines all rules and information relevant to the competition, with changes for 2022 marked in red and clarifying information marked in blue. Interested applicants can start the process now by clicking on the Trainer Portal at tbmakeover.org.

Entering its eighth year at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, the Thoroughbred Makeover features competition in ten disciplines for recently-retired Thoroughbreds in their first year of retraining for a career after racing. 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 $100,000 in total prize money, plus the coveted title of Thoroughbred Makeover Champion at the Kentucky Horse Park on October 12-15, 2022. The Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium includes not only the competition, but educational seminars, a vendor fair, the Makeover Marketplace horse sale, and the Makeover Master Class, featuring demonstrations and insight from leading trainers. The Thoroughbred Makeover Finale features the top five horses in each discipline based on preliminary competition and will be live-streamed for viewers at home.

The Thoroughbred Makeover is open to professionals, amateurs, juniors (ages 12 and over), and teams. Applicants are required to provide information about their riding and competition background as well as references, including one from a veterinarian, and video that showcases their riding ability. Competitors do not need to have acquired their horse at the time of application, though they must register their horse no later than July 29, 2022.

Accepted trainers may acquire eligible Thoroughbreds through whatever source they choose, or can ride under contract from an owner. Eligible horses must have raced or had a published work on or after July 1, 2020 and must not have started retraining for a second career prior to December 1, 2021 other than a maximum of 15 allowable rides, intended to allow for trial rides.

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2021 Thoroughbred Makeover Fast Facts:

The 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover was a unique “Mega-Makeover” format, with two separate competition years running side-by-side to accommodate horses from the postponed 2020 competition as well as the regular 2021 class. The week of competition culminated in two separate Finales crowning their own champions
400 horses competed between the two competition years
Over $29 million has been invested into the future of horses participating in the Makeover since its inception in 2013, including health care, training, and more
A total of 4,048 trainers have been accepted since 2013, representing 46 states and four Canadian provinces
A total of 3,641 horses have been directly impacted since 2013
High-profile contenders from 2021 included Breeders' Cup participants Imperative and Ashleyluvssugar, as well as MGSW Page McKenney

2022 Thoroughbred Makeover Applications Open For Preview

Applications are now open for preview and drafting for the 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover!

As the application is redesigned for this year and also requires several additional pieces of information (including a signed letter from your veterinarian), we've added a preview and drafting period to the application process to allow you time to work without the pressure to submit.

Preview and start working on your application now at the Trainer Portal. Applications will be open for submission starting on Jan. 3, 2022 through Jan. 21 at close of business day.

Did you miss our live webinar last week about the application process for the 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover? Never fear — the recording is available to watch on-demand on our YouTube channel!

Managing director Kirsten Green and Makeover show secretary Rayna Erasmus walk you through major rule and process changes for 2022 and answer questions along the way. Still have questions of your own that you'd like to get answered? Email Rayna at secretary@tbmakeover.org!

2021 Year-End Campaign Update

The RRP's board president Dr. Carolyn Karlson has issued a challenge: she'll match all donations through the end of the year up to $25,000, meaning that YOUR contribution to the RRP this season will be effectively doubled! We've raised $19,060 so far. Thank you to all who have contributed!

Our Giving Tuesday Facebook fundraisers were a big part of that total. Congratulations to our highest fundraiser Jody Busch! Jody earned $100 in RRP Store credit. We'd like to give a runner-up shout-out to Laurel Statz who came in second.

Can you help? There are many ways to support:

Make a direct donation to the Retired Racehorse Project
Create a Facebook fundraiser for the Retired Racehorse Project
Shop our logo wear at the RRP Store
Subscribe to Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine

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2022 Thoroughbred Makeover Rulebook Now Available Online

The 2022 update of the rulebook for the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, is now available to be read online at TBMakeover.org! Print copies will be available for purchase at a later date.

Notable rule changes for 2022:

All applicants, regardless of past Makeover experience, must submit video no more than two years old demonstrating riding ability on the flat as well as any discipline-specific skills, such as a barrel pattern, cattle work, stick and ball work, or obstacle work. All applicants declaring expertise in a jumping discipline should furnish video demonstrating a course at 2'6” or higher. All video should be submitted on a more finished horse, not current Makeover hopefuls
All team members must submit an application. The application fee for team captains remains at $300; the application fee for team members is $150
Ribbons (1st-10th) and special awards will be awarded at a Friday night competitors' party based on preliminary competition. The top five in each discipline will return for Saturday's Finale, which will be judged on a blank slate and placed as separate championship event

The 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover Rulebook outlines all rules and information relevant to the competition, with changes for 2022 marked in red and clarifying information marked in blue.

Note the new schedule for applications!

Starting on Dec. 15, the trainer application will be available for preview and drafting at TBMakeover.org. You'll be able to work on your application and save your progress within the trainer portal.

Starting on Jan. 3, 2022, trainer applications can be submitted with all required additional documents (signed waiver, letter of recommendation from a vet, riding videos, and application fee), through end of business day on Jan. 21, 2022.

It's time: starting today, Dec. 1, 2021, horses may begin training for the 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium! As a reminder, eligible horses are Jockey Club-registered Thoroughbreds (or foreign equivalents) who marked a timed workout or raced on or after July 1, 2020 and do not have more than 15 retraining rides prior to Dec. 1, 2021.

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Finnick The Fierce Retires From Racing, Could Point To 2022 Makeover With New Owner

Finnick The Fierce, the one-eyed chestnut gelding who captured many fans' imaginations ahead of last year's Kentucky Derby, has retired from racing and found a new home.

Jackie Barr, a long time fan of Finnick The Fierce, is the fan favorite's new owner and will be guiding his transition from the racing life to his next life.

“I followed his racing up until he was supposed to be in the Derby,” she said. “You just root for him, being an underdog. He's such a handsome horse.”

Finnick The Fierce had taken an extended break after being a late scratch out of the 2020 Kentucky Derby, returning to the races with an allowance win at Turfway Park in March of this year. Since then, however, Barr said his connections noticed he wasn't really competitive at the same levels he had been before, finishing third in his last outing at an allowance at Mountaineer Park. Although he was sound, co-owners Dr. Arnaldo Monge and trainer Rey Hernandez agreed it was best to let the horse find a new job. Monge's wife, Thena, knew Barr and learned she had been casually looking for her own horse.

Barr has previously ridden hunter/jumpers and fell in love with dressage while working at Hilltop Farm in Maryland. She also worked for Millennium Farms, and has recently been trying to figure out whether her time there overlapped with time Finnick may have been on the property as a weanling. Barr keeps track of several of her favorite Thoroughbreds from her time at Millennium and was excited to hear from Thena Monge at just the right time.

Finnick arrived at his new home at BTE Stables in Paris, Ky., earlier this week and will get some letdown time before Barr decides what his next move is. Her tentative goal for now is the 2022 Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover, contingent on his progress and their admittance to the competition. Barr said that for now, all doors are open to them. She is inclined to point for dressage and/or competitive trail with Finnick, but is happy to take him in whatever direction he expresses interest in, even if that includes hunters or eventing.

“I don't want to push him too hard on anything; I'll just take it real easy and see how he likes being a sport horse,” she said. “We'll go from there. If he's enjoying it we'll keep going, and if he doesn't seem to, maybe he'll be a trail horse, who knows.”

Barr watches Finnick in the field. Photo courtesy Erin O'Keefe

Finnick's right eye was removed when he was young due to a rare congenital cataract in the eye. Barr said that he doesn't seem to have any residual anxiety due to his limited vision, romping and playing around his new paddock comfortably.

“It really is amazing,” she said. “I've met a couple horses that only had one eye and were spooky on that one side [where the eye was missing]. When I first met him, we were all standing on that side and he didn't mind us being there. He would turn his head so he could see people but he had no problem with it at all. He gallops with his head tilted a little bit, I think so he has a greater range of vision, but other than that you'd have no idea.”

Whatever comes, Barr said she's just happy to be a part of the story she had followed so closely as a fan.

“It's been really great — I've just posted on social media in the past hour or so and there are so many people who remember him,” she said. “It's so cool that he has this built-in fan base. It just shows that you owe it to the horse to make sure he has a good landing and to continue letting him have a good story.”

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