One Big Thing: Retired Racehorse Project Announces New Graduate Classes for 2026 Thoroughbred Makeover
L-R: Erin Halliwell, executive director of TCA; Kirsten Green, executive director of RRP; Alison O’Dwyer and Knockemdown.
The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) announced yesterday the addition of Graduate Classes to the 2026 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America. New for 2026, the Graduate Classes will provide an opportunity for Thoroughbred Makeover alumni to return to the Kentucky Horse Park and compete once again as part of the Thoroughbred Makeover experience.
The Graduate Classes are open exclusively to any horse that was registered for the Thoroughbred Makeover in previous years, including those that are under new ownership or were withdrawn prior to the competition. This program provides an opportunity for those who wish to revisit the Makeover’s competition structure or even experience it for the first time.
Since its inception, the Thoroughbred Makeover has served as a showcase for recently retired Thoroughbred racehorses and the trainers who guide them through the early stages of transition into second careers. While many Makeover graduates go on to compete successfully in open competition across a variety of disciplines, the Graduate Classes offer alumni horses and riders an opportunity to reconnect with the event and community that helped launch those journeys.
“Our trainer community has been asking us for graduate classes for years,” said RRP executive director Kirsten Green. “We were always reluctant, encouraging participation in other programs like The Jockey Club T.I.P. and TAKE2, and ultimately open competition as a development pathway for their horses beyond their first year off-track. However, as we worked through our strategic planning process last year, we were able to look at the graduate classes through a different lens: our trainer community was asking us for a way to stay engaged with the RRP and to experience the Makeover specifically. We’re excited to see some returning faces and look forward to feedback following this pilot year.”
In its pilot year, Graduate Classes will debut in five of the ten disciplines currently offered at the Thoroughbred Makeover and will follow the existing preliminary competition format. Graduate Classes will run concurrently with the traditional Thoroughbred Makeover divisions but will have separate results and placings.
“The Thoroughbred Makeover fosters an extremely supportive community and has been coined the ‘happiest horse show on earth’ by our competitors for many years. We are very excited that the addition of Graduate Classes not only offers an avenue for folks to continue to their involvement, but an opportunity for those who missed the Makeover in the past to experience the community firsthand,” said Rayna Erasmus, program manager of the Retired Racehorse Project.
Complete details regarding Graduate Class eligibility, discipline offerings, entry procedures, fees, scheduling, prizes, and event policies are available in the Graduate Class Information Sheet on the Retired Racehorse Project website.
The 2026 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium will take place October 7–10, 2026, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. [Click here for more information about the Thoroughbred Makeover and the Retired Racehorse Project]
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Sponsor Corner: Kentucky Performance Products
KPP CEO Delia Nash watched her Thoroughbred “Sibelius” go from winning the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen race to the RRP Thoroughbred Makeover with his racing trainer’s wife, Alison O’Dwyer — and now has taken to his first ever event at the Loudoun Hunt Pony Club Spring Horse Trials last month with Sydney Hagaman at the Novice level.
“The horse has a pretty bright future,” Sibelius’ current trainer Tim Bourke said, which is a pretty cool thing to say for a racehorse that’s considered “retired.”
Read more about Sibelius and two other shining stars in Jonathan Horowitz’s Paulick Report article, “One Day, Three Shining ‘Wins’ For The Off-Track Thoroughbred”.
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This training tip is less for your horse, and more for you: the rider. Find the time to take care of yourself the way you would your horse ❤️
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Where is course designer Alec Lochore today? Why, wandering about the Scone Palace grounds, readying for another solid June event:
