New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program raised $12,500 at the Fifth Annual Silent Auction at Thistledown Oct. 30. Over 60 individuals donated art, memorabilia, tickets to sporting events, tack, gift items, and services to the auction. The merchandise portion generated $4,170 while additional monetary contributions totaled $8,330."This was a tremendous outpouring of support," Executive Director Dot Morgan said. "A lot of owners and trainers worked very hard to gather merchandise and monetary donations. I want to express my deepest appreciation to everyone that joined in this effort."
New Vocations has placed more than 200 retiring racehorses in carefully screened and monitored homes this year. "These are the tired, stressed, unprofitable, and often injured individuals that owners and breeders no longer want," Morgan said. "It's only through broad industry support that we can continue and expand this program to meet the growing need."