The Retired Racehorse Project announced May 30 the launch of its new and improved Horse Listings, which had been temporarily shelved while the organization updated its website and improved processes in the back end.
The RRP Horse Listings is the only listing service dedicated exclusively to Thoroughbreds at all stages of second careers, from horses just being retired from racing to finished horses in all disciplines with show records, as well as from all backgrounds, including both non-profit adoption organizations and private sellers.
On the back end, horse listing information will be linked to a profile for that horse in the RRP's database and will be linked to any past or future Thoroughbred Makeover registry for that individual horse, creating a traceable process to track how horses are moving through their second careers. Increasing traceability has been a major goal of the RRP and the new Horse Listings have been designed with that goal in mind, moving towards a long-term goal of creating a database for all Thoroughbreds in second careers.
"Offering exclusive listing services for Thoroughbreds has always been a fundamental part of our mission-based work, but following the update of our website last year we saw an opportunity to leverage these records and start connecting the dots for horses once they exit the racing industry," said RRP executive director Kirsten Green. "We appreciate everyone's patience as we've taken the time needed to build the infrastructure and thoughtful features that bring added value to our community, and we're proud to lay a foundation to improve traceability in the future."
While the RRP Horse Listings remain a free service for all to use, upgrades to individual ads and services are now available, including premium listings and a subscription model for businesses, entities, or organizations who list multiple horses throughout the year. Discounts on annual subscriptions are available for Thoroughbred Charities of America grant recipient organizations, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited organizations, and Right Horse partner organizations. The scholarship program has also launched with the RRP Horse Listings, giving listing connections the opportunity to credit final entry fees for the Thoroughbred Makeover with funds held in escrow by the RRP.
The Thoroughbred Makeover is the world's largest Thoroughbred retraining competition for recently retired ex-racehorses. Open to the compeition are trainers (professionals, amateurs, juniors and teams) who applied between Jan. 2-20 with Jockey Club-registered Thoroughbreds that had a published work or race after July 1, 2021, and did not have more than 15 retraining rides prior to Dec. 1, 2022. A wait list is also maintained through the end of June for late applicants.The Makeover will be held Oct. 11-14 at the Kentucky Horse Park.
