Featured TCA Charity

Barbara Luna’s lifelong love of horses has motivated her career path – from working as an exercise rider, racehorse trainer, and racetrack publicist to running a retirement facility for retired racehorses. Luna’s passion for helping horses who had nowhere else to go was the driving force behind her decision...

“I love Thoroughbreds – they’re versatile and can go in any discipline,” says Jim Rhodes, Founder and Director of Equine Rescue of Aiken. Since its beginning in 2006, Equine Rescue of Aiken has adopted out close to 1,000 horses, with almost 700 of those horses being Thoroughbreds. “I actually...

When Kim Smith started Second Stride in 2005, the non-profit dedicated to providing professional rehabilitation, retraining, and placement for retired Thoroughbred racehorses in qualified homes came about because of a recognizable pattern. “I was always a matchmaker, a liaison between my friends and work in the racing community and...

The Backside Learning Center is a non-profit organization that provides educational and youth programs to the families and workers at Churchill Downs. This innovative and visionary center was opened in 2004 when advocate members of the Kentucky Derby Museum and Churchill Downs, saw an immediate need for educational resources...

Down the Stretch Ranch is an off-track Thoroughbred retirement facility that offers equine-assisted therapy to veterans suffering from a diverse range of disadvantages and disabilities. The organization’s unique program benefits both horses and humans and was founded in 2015 by Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, Janet Hollendorfer, and...

Launched in 2012, the TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program sponsors Thoroughbred-only classes at horse shows across the country. The program was the brain child of Thoroughbred trainer and New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NYTHA) President Rick Violette, who worked with former New York Racing Association Director of Racing P.J....

Founded in 2012 by Denali Jordan, Humanity for Horses (HFH) is a California-based equine sanctuary. With approximately 105 Thoroughbreds in their care today, the organization will ultimately be able to take in up to 400 Thoroughbreds. HFH obtains horses directly from owners and trainers who can no longer care...

Galloping Out, an Illinois-based retraining and rehoming organization, created by the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association began when, according to Jan Ely, program coordinator, “the last remaining horse slaughter house was shut down in 2007.” Over the next three years, operational details were ironed out and in 2010 Galloping Out...

The Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) is an organization that ministers to the spiritual, emotional, physical, social, and educational needs of racetrack workers. Founded in 1972 by Salty Roberts, the RTCA has had an impact at racetracks across the United States and beyond. Together, the Chaplains, Councils, and...

Founded in 1996 as an extension of the Kentucky Humane Society, ReRun, Inc., is a Thoroughbred rehabilitation, retraining, and rehoming organization now located in New York. Executive Director Lisa Molloy has been with the organization since 2012 and has seen significant growth over the last couple of years. “Adoption...

The Elite Program: Educating Caretakers Across the Country The Elite Program, commonly known as Groom Elite, was founded by Susan O’Hara in 2001. O’Hara owned Thoroughbred racehorses and believed that her horses would perform better and have a better chance of retiring sound if their daily caretakers were provided...

In 1981, Dr. Peter Bosomworth, Debbie Marcum, Rusty Cheuvront, Becky Howard, Jim Howard, and Mary Quattrocchi launched a dream. They believed so strongly in the benefits of horseback riding for individuals with disabilities that they founded Central Kentucky Riding for the Handicapped. The non-profit was renamed Central Kentucky Riding...

The United Pegasus Foundation (UPF) was created by Helen Meredith in 1994 as a home for retired racehorses in California. UPF, originally based in Meredith’s half-acre backyard, now has two major facilities, both over twenty acres. Between the two facilities, UPF is home to 76 horses, most of which...

The Kentucky Racetrack Chaplaincy (KRTC) was established in 1989 as a division of the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America. Today, the ministry serves Churchill Downs, Ellis Park, Kentucky Downs, Turfway Park, and four Thoroughbred training facilities in Kentucky as well as Belterra Park in southern Ohio. KRTC operates in a...

Bev Dee created Bright Futures Farm in 2000 when she met and fell in love with her first rescue horse, a retired Thoroughbred named Brite Decision. Previously, Dee thrived in corporate America but she never knew anything was missing until she met Brite. She said, “To take a horse...

The Square Peg Foundation, a one-of-a-kind riding program, was founded in 2004 by Joell Dunlap and her husband, Darius. Dunlap grew up around horses and became a riding instructor early in her career. In her work with different riding programs, she noticed a unique need. There were therapeutic riding...

One of the organizations TCA proudly assists is the Communication Alliance to Network Thoroughbred Ex-Racers (CANTER) affiliate in Colorado. CANTER Colorado was founded in 2008 and is currently directed by Jamie Girouard. As stated on CANTER’s website, the organization is “committed to rehabilitating, retraining, and rehoming each horse in...

Since 1971, the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) has been providing supportive services to backstretch workers across the country. The organization functions with the guidance of a national board of directors and constitution. The New York (RTCANY) branch of the chaplaincy—founded in 1986—is currently led by Chaplain Humberto Chavez...

Founded by Robin Brookins and Royce Clay in 2007, the Oklahoma Thoroughbred Retirement Program works to repurposing Oklahoma-bred Thoroughbreds at the conclusion of their racing careers; OTRP is the state’s oldest non-profit aftercare organization. Over the last eight years, the program has grown to include five facilities that house...

In 2010, Steuart Pittman and a small group of Thoroughbred enthusiasts formed the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) to meet the growing demand for Thoroughbred advocates and educators. Their mission is to facilitate the placement of Thoroughbreds in second careers by increasing demand in the marketplace and serving the farms,...

In 2002, Bev Strauss and Virginia Suarez co-founded MidAtlantic Horse Rescue (MAHR) along the Sassafrass River in eastern Maryland. Strauss and Suarez shared a vision: to purchase slaughter-bound Thoroughbreds, repurpose them, and send them to forever homes. Since 2002, the MAHR team has repurposed over 800 Thoroughbreds. Their farm...

In 2006, Thoroughbred owner John Hettinger dedicated 1,000 acres of his farm to a permanent haven for retired Thoroughbreds. Akindale Thoroughbred Rescue (ATBR) in Pawling, New York, is Hettinger’s living legacy and a paradigm of Thoroughbred aftercare. On any given day, ATBR is home to over 150 horses. Some...

“Rehoming Thoroughbreds can be addictive, the more you rehome the more you want to rehome,” said Kimberly Clark the president and founder of Thoroughbred Placement Resources (TPR) in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. “When horses come though our program and then go on to adoptive homes, it fuels you to put...

In 2002, while working in marketing and community relations at WinStar Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, Elisabeth Jensen and then farm co-owner Bill Casner sought to find an effective means to give back to the Thoroughbred industry while making a significant impact within the community. As they worked to identify...

“This is the best job I’ve ever had,” said Ruth Plenty founder of Harmony and Hope Horse Haven in Portal, Arizona near Rodeo, New Mexico. “Horse rescue can be terrible heartache but there is also nothing more rewarding. You just do the best you can.” Located in a rural...

“We are unique in that we only focus on high risk Thoroughbreds,” said Caroline Betts the founder and president of Southern California Thoroughbred Rescue (SCTR). “Our program was created to provide a safety net for Thoroughbreds that have run out of options.” Founded in 2008, SCTR’s all volunteer staff...

In 1996, while traveling together on a plane, Rob Whiteley of Liberation Farm said to Fred Seitz of Brookdale Farm that Bluegrass farm workers deserved greater recognition and support for their tremendous contribution to the industry. This hard-working group is often described as the backbone of the breeding industry,...

In 2007, when the economy was in the midst of a recession, a group of Central Kentucky equine advocates saw a need for an all breed equine rescue and rehabilitation organization. The group formed the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, a non-profit organization that provides care for horses surrendered by...

“I can’t explain what just happened.” “I was so flooded with emotion.” “It made me feel forgiven.” “I feel like the world has dropped off my shoulders.” These are some of the sentiments that Bob Nevins hears from veterans who have been touched by the Saratoga Warhorse experience. Nevins...

“I wanted to become part of the solution,” said Nicole Smith about working to find a suitable retirement for Thoroughbreds at the conclusion of their racing careers. Smith, a lifelong equestrian, became interested in the post racetrack welfare of Thoroughbreds when a representative of a retirement organization spoke during...

On any given day on the backside of tracks across the U.S. you’ll find owners, trainers, jockeys, backstretch workers and, increasingly, volunteers with the Communication Alliance to Network Thoroughbred Ex-Racers (CANTER). Founded in 1997 as a solution to help retiring racehorses find new homes, CANTER’s services have become a...

“I had always heard that horses were very therapeutic, and as the parent of a special needs child, I wanted to better understand this so I began volunteering at Horses Help, a therapeutic riding organization,” said Dannielle Marturana. A high school teacher without prior horse experience, Marturana seemingly was...

“The horses don’t know that it’s Thanksgiving,” stated Joanne Adams Executive Director of the Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. in New York, when describing the 365-day per year care that is provided to horses by racetrack backstretch workers. These non-traditional work schedules of those employed on the backstretch present...

It was 2005 when Sara Busbice met two kind-hearted businessmen that were concerned about the future of Thoroughbred racehorses once their days on the track were over. The duo, who were horseracing fans, did the administrative leg work to create a non-profit organization with the goal of giving Thoroughbreds...

At the Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center (MMSC), in a typical day you may see a farrier drop by, a horse on a lunge line, or a horse draped in a banner of colorful plastic flags. It’s all in a day’s work for the center where all horses are matriculated...

The backstretch of a racetrack is more than a place of employment, it’s a small community. A community of people living and working hard to care for horses who never take vacations and where a horse’s “sick day” means even more work for the horsemen. However, in Maryland the...

“So, an accountant walks into a barn…” sounds more like the start of a bad joke than the start of a successful racehorse re-training and adoption facility, but the story starts similarly for LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-Racers (LOPE) and founder Lynn Reardon. LOPE prides itself by utilizing a...

Employment at a horse farm in Central Kentucky isn’t a job; it’s a lifestyle with a unique set of challenges. Blue Grass Farms Charities (BGFC) recognizes this. Located in Lexington, Ky. and founded in 2003, by people in the horse industry who saw a need for resources for employees...

As a long-time horse racing fan and racehorse owner, Karin Wagner saw that Thoroughbreds had so much more upside left after their racing careers were over. Without a background in training or direct care of horses, she surrounded herself with top horsemen and put her business and financial savvy...

The Illinois’ backstretches may look a bit different than the rest of the country, youthful in-fact. It is common for racetracks to house workers that provide direct care to the racehorses, but Illinois is one of the few states allowing children to reside on their backstretches as well. This...

Jeanne Mirabito was 17-years-old when she saw Calumet Farm champion, Our Mims, win the Coaching Club American Oaks on TV. Although she meant to exclaim to her family, “I will own a horse like that someday,” she instead said, “I will own that horse someday.” Years later, after finding...

The glamour of the front side of a New York racetrack can often stray your mind from the thousands of backstretch employees who work seven days a week caring for all the superstars you see on the racetrack. The Backstretch Employee Service Team (BEST) focuses all their energy on...

“I really felt like I wanted to bring the old guys home,” said Stephanie Brennan about starting her Thoroughbred retirement charity, Final Furlong, based in Ocala, Fla. Final Furlong provides a segue for retiring Thoroughbred racehorses to be safely rehabilitated and repurposed. The program targets at risk horses and...

Delaware Park is serious about the health and welfare of their horsemen who fill the race cards year after year. The Delaware Horsemen’s Assistance Fund (DHAF), founded in 1966, is dedicated to providing benefits, aid, assistance and relief to grooms hot walkers, exercise riders, trainers, and other backstretch licensees...

Former racehorse trainer Patti Shirley established the Equine Encore Foundation in 2005 in Tucson, AZ, as a provider of a safe haven for successful racehorses after they leave the racetrack in the form of a new career or a dignified retirement. The foundation primarily provides permanent retirement homes for...