Retired Racehorses

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CREATING AN INCREASED MARKET
FOR RETIRED RACEHORSES
Retired racehorses generally fit into two categories:
those that do not make it to the track and those
who retire from the track when their racing careers
conclude. Typically, these horses “retire” in several
ways, including:
• Sold at private sale
• Sold at public sale through a breed auction
• Sold at public sale through a livestock auction
• Becoming breeding stock
• Given away
• Retained by the owner for sport or pasture
retirement
• Donated to a variety of charitable models
(transition facilities, inactive retirement, nonprofits,
therapeutic or hippotherapy use)
The quality of a horse’s postracing
career is in the hands
of their breeder, racing owner,
and most significantly, their
racing trainer. Horses that
leave racing while physically
sound and possessing the
behavior suited for today’s
riders, handlers and uses, will
have a greater likelihood of Photo courtesy of USTA
transitioning to performance
sporthorses. In turn, this will create increased
interest by horse professionals and enthusiasts to
acquire horses directly off the track.
In October 2011, the Jockey Club announced the
Thoroughbred Incentive Program (TIP), which offers
awards to horse shows and other competitions. The
Virginia Horse Center’s Thoroughbred Celebration
Horse Shows occur quarterly each year, with
qualifying shows and classes in other states.
TIP and the Thoroughbred Celebration Horse
Show are good examples for entities in New
York to emulate, as they increase the awareness,
attractiveness and value of racehorses as
performance sporthorses to the equestrian
community.
The Task Force recommends that the New York
State Racing and Wagering Board, the Department
of Agriculture and Markets, the New York State
Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund
Corporation, the Agriculture and New York State
Horse Breeding Development Fund and the Retired
Racehorse Fund (if created) promote the market
for former racehorses through advertising, agency
communication vehicles, events, awards and more.
The entities should do so in conjunction with
racing and sporthorse stakeholders, including
track operators, horsemen’s, equestrian, youth and
breeding organizations. Some examples of actions
include:
• Develop a network of retraining and other
educational tools for grass
roots equine and youth riding
organizations to enhance
the marketability of former
racehorses that cannot meet the
demands of performance horse
careers but are still viable for
other careers.
• Coordinate with national and
local organizations and other
states to inform, educate and
vigorously promote second
careers and placement for retired racehorses.
• Develop a statewide retraining incentive
program for Thoroughbreds focusing on training
for disciplines such as those represented in the
Olympic games, including jumping, dressage
and combined training.
• The Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption
Program, Inc. provides pages on its Web site and
assistance for trainers and owners to privately list
horses for sale. The New York Racing Association,
Inc. (NYRA) and the New York Thoroughbred
Horsemen’s Association (NYTHA) should develop
a marketplace of Thoroughbreds available for
gift, sale or adoption, similar to Communications
Alliance to Network Thoroughbred Ex
Racehorses’ (CANTER) and Finger Lakes’ trainer
listings. Programs for Standardbreds should