With a stop at the TRF in between, hundreds of former race horses have gone from the racetrack to productive second careers as show horses, pleasure horses, even mounted police horses and polo horses. In 2003 alone, 126 horses were adopted out by the TRF. With time, training and lots of TLC, it’s amazing what can become of horses who had been trained to do little more than run.

The TRF’s primary retraining and rehabilitation facility is the Exceller Farm in Poughquag, New York, which is managed by Michele Oren. Michele’s job is to teach her “students” to adapt to the unfamiliar world that sits outside the racetracks gates.

“When a horse first arrives at Exceller, the shoes are pulled off and a gradual turnout process begins,” Oren said. “The horses that arrive from the track have not been turned out for quite some time, so they start out in a small medical paddock (50x50) with a mild tranquilizer. Here they stay out for a few hours at a time for a few days, and then they move to a larger paddock. There they get to join a small herd. It is very important to give these horses the turnout, or down time for 30-60 days, depending on the horse. During this time they start to relax and just become a horse again. Also, this is a good time to evaluate the horse for any injuries it may have.

”After the let-down process has been completed, horses will come to the barn, get their teeth done and a fresh set of shoes on front. We lunge them in a large circle to see how they travel, to see if they are sound or unsound. My whole training theory is that it is a process and not an event. These first few trips to the barn are very short work periods because their attention span is very short. I may only work with a horse for 10 minutes the first few times. The idea is to always end on a positive note.

“I then have a rider get on their back and evaluate their movement under weight. The first few rides are just a walk, maybe a trot. They need to get use to a leg on their sides. We do a lot of circles, figure 8's, and so forth to get them use to turning, bending, and leg yields. They are taught primarily to walk, trot, whoa, and to canter on the correct lead.

“From this point, many horses are ready for adoption and the new caregiver can direct them in whatever discipline they have chosen. From time to time, when I feel we have something special—they are all special in their own way to me--we will pop them over a few x-rails to see how they respond.

“The horses that come to us have varying degrees of injuries. Some arrive totally sound as well. TRF horses have been adopted for everything from therapeutic riding, to eventing. There is a Thoroughbred for everyone, but not everyone for a Thoroughbred.”

Oren stays very busy. Depending on the time of year, there are anywhere from 25 to 40 horses under her care.

Visits to Exceller Farm are by appointment only, call (845) 724-3680.