SARATOGA SPRINGS – Winning a Grade I race can increase the value of any
racehorse when it goes to stud. Even placing in a Grade I race can do
the same, but what happens when the horse is a gelding? Obviously, there
is no stud career for a gelding, but thanks to a new program started
this year called TAKE2, there is a second career for racehorses.
Sponsored by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, the New York Racing Association and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc., TAKE2 is a program that turns retired racehorses into hunters and jumpers, giving them more opportunities to find new homes after their racing careers are over, while also offering them prize money in competition.
Past the Point, who finished second at 40-1 in the 2008 Woodward Stakes, retired from the track in 2010 with earnings of $418,025. The 8-year-old gelding is still stabled at Saratoga Race Course, enjoying his second career as a show horse. In June, he made his debut at the Skidmore College Saratoga Classic Horse Show, competing in the hunter division. “He was very good for his first show, I have to say,” said his new owner, trainer and rider Trish McLaughlin, the wife of Neal McLaughlin, the assistant trainer to Kiaran McLaughlin, who saddled Alpha to victory in the Aug. 25 Travers Stakes. “He pranced by the racetrack every day on the way to the show ring, and once we were in the ring you could tell he was thinking, ‘Why are these horses in front of me? Why aren’t we going faster?’ But he settled down and, even though he didn’t win, he did really well for his first time out.” Originally from Canada, Trish began working for Kiaran about 12 years ago but always loved horses. “My first word was probably ‘horsey’”, she joked.
She has already retrained five racehorses for new careers. “The majority of racehorses can learn to be show horses,” Trish said. “It takes time and it takes patience, but it is well worth it. You can’t get a better horse than a Thoroughbred.” She also is a fan of the TAKE2 program. “I think it’s great that they have gotten together to promote second careers for thoroughbreds coming off the track,” Trish said. “It’s an amazing idea. I think the more programs we have like this, the more thoroughbreds will be showcased and the more people will want them.
There are many thoroughbreds that need new homes and new jobs, and this will create an outlet for them.” Kiaran McLaughlin, who also serves as a member of the NYTHA Board, is proud of the program’s early success. “Thoroughbreds are born athletes, and they love to complete,” the trainer said. “They have all the qualities needed to excel at second careers in the horse show world. The TAKE2 program is a great way to get the word out, and to make sure that there are plenty of opportunities for our racehorses when they are retired from the track.” -- Shackleford, the 2011 Preakness winner, breezed four furlongs in :50.97 Monday morning as he prepares for a start in Saturday’s Grade I Forego Stakes at seven furlongs. In his last start, the 4-year-old finished last in the Aug. 5 Vanderbilt Handicap. -- It’s Tricky suffered just superficial cuts when third in Sunday’s Personal Ensign after stumbling badly at the start of the race, still finishing third.
Sponsored by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, the New York Racing Association and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc., TAKE2 is a program that turns retired racehorses into hunters and jumpers, giving them more opportunities to find new homes after their racing careers are over, while also offering them prize money in competition.
Past the Point, who finished second at 40-1 in the 2008 Woodward Stakes, retired from the track in 2010 with earnings of $418,025. The 8-year-old gelding is still stabled at Saratoga Race Course, enjoying his second career as a show horse. In June, he made his debut at the Skidmore College Saratoga Classic Horse Show, competing in the hunter division. “He was very good for his first show, I have to say,” said his new owner, trainer and rider Trish McLaughlin, the wife of Neal McLaughlin, the assistant trainer to Kiaran McLaughlin, who saddled Alpha to victory in the Aug. 25 Travers Stakes. “He pranced by the racetrack every day on the way to the show ring, and once we were in the ring you could tell he was thinking, ‘Why are these horses in front of me? Why aren’t we going faster?’ But he settled down and, even though he didn’t win, he did really well for his first time out.” Originally from Canada, Trish began working for Kiaran about 12 years ago but always loved horses. “My first word was probably ‘horsey’”, she joked.
She has already retrained five racehorses for new careers. “The majority of racehorses can learn to be show horses,” Trish said. “It takes time and it takes patience, but it is well worth it. You can’t get a better horse than a Thoroughbred.” She also is a fan of the TAKE2 program. “I think it’s great that they have gotten together to promote second careers for thoroughbreds coming off the track,” Trish said. “It’s an amazing idea. I think the more programs we have like this, the more thoroughbreds will be showcased and the more people will want them.
There are many thoroughbreds that need new homes and new jobs, and this will create an outlet for them.” Kiaran McLaughlin, who also serves as a member of the NYTHA Board, is proud of the program’s early success. “Thoroughbreds are born athletes, and they love to complete,” the trainer said. “They have all the qualities needed to excel at second careers in the horse show world. The TAKE2 program is a great way to get the word out, and to make sure that there are plenty of opportunities for our racehorses when they are retired from the track.” -- Shackleford, the 2011 Preakness winner, breezed four furlongs in :50.97 Monday morning as he prepares for a start in Saturday’s Grade I Forego Stakes at seven furlongs. In his last start, the 4-year-old finished last in the Aug. 5 Vanderbilt Handicap. -- It’s Tricky suffered just superficial cuts when third in Sunday’s Personal Ensign after stumbling badly at the start of the race, still finishing third.
