Thoroughbreds for All! Event Set for April 28

An educational and social event called Thoroughbreds For All! is slated take place at West Wind Farm in Lexington April 28.

Hosted by New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program and the Retired Racehorse Training Project, the event will start at 5 p.m. following the Rolex cross country event at the nearby Kentucky Horse Park. The event, which will feature a southern dinner and cash bar, is sponsored by AmWest Entertainment, the Gulfstream Park Thoroughbred After-Care Program, and LubriSyn.

Highlights will include two-time World Champion Bruce Davidson alongside Rolex veterans Dorothy Crowell and Cathy Wieshhoff and Thoroughbred veterinarian Dr. Steve Allday evaluating the potential of recently retired racehorses available for adoption through New Vocations.

Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron and students from the North American Racing Academy will demonstrate how racehorses are ridden and how jockeys and exercise riders develop skills that all equestrians should learn. Demonstrations will also include working with retired racehorses at various stages of training as well as a special appearance by Kentucky-bred retired racehorse Molokai, who was named the1994 World Equestrian Games silver medalist and 1998 top-placed American at Rolex.

2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) contender Advice will also participate in a session during the event and will be available for adoption via New Vocations shortly after this year’s Kentucky Derby.

“New Vocations is thrilled to be hosting this event as a way of showcasing not only our own horses but also the hundreds of other off-the-track Thoroughbreds in central Kentucky to the fans of the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event,” said Anna Ford, program director of New Vocations, in a release.

“The Retired Racehorse Training Project sees this collaboration as a model for future Thoroughbreds For All! events throughout the country,” said RRTP president Steuart Pittman in a statement. “Combining public education with a marketplace for buyers and sellers to meet is a formula that has potential to increase demand for ex-racehorses everywhere. That is good for the horses, good for the racing industry, and good for the next generation of riders.”

All sessions will be moderated by Pittman and Ford. Tickets are available online at http://thoroughbredsforall.eventbrite.com for $35 each, with space limited initially to 300 people. Additional tickets may be available in the days preceding the event.

In addition to the Saturday evening event, Thoroughbreds For All! includes a printed and online catalog of Thoroughbred ex-racehorses available for purchase or adoption in central Kentucky. The online catalog will appear on the RRTP website at www.retiredracehorsetraining.org and be sorted by sponsoring organizations or farms with mapping to the locations of the horses. The print catalog will be distributed through sponsoring vendors and organizations at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Proceeds from the event will benefit New Vocations and Retired Racehorse Training Project, both of which are 501(c) 3 charitable organizations.