CAREER CHANGE Thoroughbred Style

THOROUGHBREDS THAT STARTED OUT ON THE RACETRACK ARE BEING INCREASINGLY EMPLOYED IN OTHER DISCIPLINES.

- SUSAN L. EBERT

Many of us—myself included—discovered that our first job was a poor fit. Perhaps, we found the work monotonous; perhaps, we had a boss that just didn’t “get” us. Or, perhaps, we just weren’t as good at it as we had hoped we’d be. But once we found—for me, it was the magazine business—that job that we both could love and could excel at, we looked forward to going to work each day.

So it goes with Thoroughbred racehorses. Some, frankly, just aren’t very good at their jobs. Used to be, many ex-racehorses were sent to slaughter, which reached its peak in the late ’80s, when a change in tax laws and a trend toward over-breeding flooded the market with Thoroughbreds.

Today, however, Thoroughbreds are increasingly finding a second life in a wide array of disciplines and excelling in a completely different arena than one with an oval dirt track.

Helping facilitate these second careers is where the Retired Racehorse Project comes in. Founded in 2010 by Steuart Pittman, a Maryland-based equestrian who has built his riding and training career largely on the backs of retired racehorses, the RRP takes a market-based approach in facilitating second careers for off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs). By increasing demand for them in equestrian sports and showcasing the farms, trainers, and organizations that transition them into their “new jobs,” the RRP gives these former racehorses a new lease on life, to the delight of their new owners.