Have you heard of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance? Well, they accredit, inspect and award grants to approved aftercare organizations that help retire, retrain and rehome Thoroughbreds. We will be featuring the organization in our next issue. Here’s a few things the TAA is doing over the course of the next few months to showcase graduates and organizations efforts to upcycle these wonderful athletes.

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance will present awards honoring the highest-placing TAA graduates and the TAA-accredited organizations affiliated with those horses at five Thoroughbred horse shows this fall. The horse shows include: the New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Show and T.I.P. Championships Sept. 7-9 at the Kentucky Horse Park; the Fair Hill Thoroughbred Show Sept. 22-23 at Fair Hill Natural Resources Center; the Thoroughbred Makeover Oct. 4-7 at the Kentucky Horse Park; the Totally Thoroughbred Horse Show Oct. 7 at Pimlico Race Course, and the Thoroughbred Holiday Classic Horse Show Dec. 8-9 at Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

The awards will include prizes for riders aboard the highest-placing TAA graduates along with cash prizes for the TAA-accredited organizations that rehomed or are in the process of retraining the affiliated highest-placing TAA grad. Prizes vary by show.

“TAA-accredited organizations have been well represented by their graduates at these five horse shows. The TAA wants to showcase those graduates and to reward the accredited organizations that are successfully transitioning horses off the racetrack and into new careers,” TAA operations consultant Stacie Clark Rogers said. “To continue to support TAA-accredited organizations’ efforts, it is our plan to explore additional awards and horse shows in the future.”

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that accredits, inspects, and awards grants to approved aftercare organizations to retire, retrain, and rehome Thoroughbreds using industry-wide funding. Funded initially by seed money from Breeders’ Cup Ltd., The Jockey Club, and Keeneland Association Inc., the TAA is supported by owners, trainers, breeders, racetracks, aftercare professionals, and other industry groups. Since 2012, the TAA has granted more than $10.8 million to accredited aftercare organizations.