Six retired racehorses graduated the Placement Program in May and as always, we are thrilled to see them take the next step towards becoming much loved pets and riding horses.
These off-track-Thoroughbreds are receiving training for their second careers and are available for adoption – so please, keep in touch with the organizations if you're interested in adding a new member to your family.
If you would like to make a difference in the lives of newly retired race horses, please consider making a donation to help support the Placement Program.
Without further ado, here are the May 2019 Graduates!
Vegas Itch
When “Vegas” joined the Placement Program in October 2018, there were lots of people itching to get their hands on him. Being tall, dark and handsome, it is easy to see why!
Vegas is a five-year-old gelding by Twirling Candy and out of Martika Tianna who made 16 starts during his racing career – most notably his fifth place finish in the Gr. 1 Del Mar Futurity.
Aftercare Charity CANTER-CA has been following Vegas for several years and jumped at the opportunity to take him into their retraining and rehoming program. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on Vegas, give CANTER-CA a follow on their social media channels.
Sagittari
Like his zodiac namesake, Sagittari has a cheerful, curious and comedic personality making him a favorite of his caretakers. Our paths crossed with Sagittari last summer when he made his final career start at Golden Gate Fields – retiring from racing with a record of 15; 2, 5, 1 and more than $50,000 in earnings.
His thick forelock and soft expression captured the attention of Aftercare Charity Whispering Meadows Ranch. He is in training for a second career and is already much adored.
Dominate Warrior
The future is bright for Dominate Warrior with his playful, smart and outgoing demeanor. Walking around the pasture with him, he checks your pockets and will nibble at your hair. He just loves people.
Dominate Warrior is a four-year-old gelding by Warrior’s Reward and is out of Berengaria. His racing career was a short but competitive one. In his four starts, he always finished in the top three.
He was placed with Aftercare Charity Whispering Meadows Ranch and already has a potential adopter lined up!
Crazy Uncle Rick
Everyone’s favorite named horse, Crazy Uncle Rick, is a spunky four-year-old gelded son of outstanding sire Uncle Mo and out of Two Foxie. Ricky was a hot prospect in the sales rings, fetching a total of $275,000. He debuted a promising third in the Barretts Juvenile Stakes. He retired from racing with a record of 7; 1, 0, 1 and more than $36,000 in earnings.
Ricky joined us in February 2019 and after a 90-day vacation, he was placed with Fresh Start Sport Horses where he will begin training for a second career. He will be available for adoption in time.
Cowboy Tommy
He is a prime example of a Thoroughbred who just isn’t destined to be a racehorse. He was slow and more interested in being a pet. The owner and trainer of Cowboy Tommy reached out to us wanting help connecting him towards a second career as a sport or riding prospect.
Tommy is a three-year-old gelding by Gervinho and out of Milligan. In his one and only race, he was 40-1 and finished ninth. He joined us in April and after a short assessment period, found a new home with Aftercare Charity Win Place Home and now goes by Samwise. He will soon start training and will be available for adoption.
Extraordianrius
Trainer: I have a really nice horse for the Placement Program.
CARMA: Okay, great. What is the name of the horse?
Trainer: *Chuckles* Well, his name was submitted to the Jockey Club spelled wrong but it is supposed to be Extraordinarius. Like a play on extraordinary or something like that, but they flipped a couple of letters.
CARMA: Okay, do you know how they misspelled it?
Trainer: *Silence*…. I’ll have to get back to you on that.
After several rounds of guessing how the misspelled named was spelled, we found Extraordianruis going through the Equibase race records and the mystery was solved.
“Extra” is a four-year-old gelding by Uncle Mo who sold for $230,000 as a yearling. His racing career was short with only two starts – one at Tampa Bay and the other at Santa Anita Park. We highly suspect his true athletic prowess will show itself in his second career. Extra has already impressed Aftercare Charity Sandia Creek Auxiliary Foundation with his calm and classy demeanor.