We have been selected to be the “Chari-TEE” of the month for Old Smoke Clothing. For every T shirt you buy at Old Smoke Clothing, a portion will be donated to Racing for Home! Old Smoke is a huge supporter of horse racing and their equine athletes, and we are thrilled to participate. Go to Old Smoke, get some great clothing and make a donation to Racing for Home. For info go to: Chari-TEE of the Month for February by Old Smoke Clothing Co. | America’s Best Racing.
We have achieved Guidestar Silver Seal of Transparency!
In order to increase our visibility, and give our donors greater confidence in our organization, we have worked hard to achieve Guidestar”s Silver Seal of Transparency. We are vey proud to show off our new seal!
Acacia Courtney Hosts Eclipse Awards
Acacia was honored to host the Eclipse Awards, the annual awards show for horse racing, on January 23 at Gulfstream Park and featured on the TVG television network. One of the features of the show was a montage of former racehorses living their best lives in other disciplines. People from all over the world posted their stories and pictures of their OTTBs. Look closely – you will see several current and former Racing for Home horses including Sukkari, Firestar, Trance, Easy Street, Palace Diva and We’re All Set! If you have Vimeo you can look at the videos of our horses here: https://vimeo.com/388008457 https://vimeo.com/388008428 https://vimeo.com/388008393
We are Now TAA Accredited!
We are honored and pleased to announce that we have been accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, and are now one of only 74 accredited aftercare facilities in the United States and only the second one in Connecticut. The accreditation process started n March and involves rigorous inspections of our facilities, finances and programs. Here is the press release so you can read more about TAA: https://www.thoroughbredaftercare.org/taa-announces-accreditation-of-40-organizations/
Ocala Jim Finds a Forever Home
Ocala Jim has completed his stay with Racing For Home and has been adopted by two wonderful new owners. Lindy and Adam Gutman, who are part of the Funky Munkey Racing Syndicate who previously owned Ocala Jim, reached out to us to ask if they could give him a new home, and we were thrilled to make it happen. During his stay with us after being rescued from the kill pen, Ocala Jim added almost 300 pounds to his emaciated frame and now looks like his former racehorse self. Here are the comaprison pics of him when he was at the acution, and on the last day he was with us before moving to his new home:
He will now reside at a beautiful farm in Maryland under the Gutman’s watchful eye, and they have promised to keep us posted on his progress. We are so happy for our boy!
Help Us Rescue Mares in Desperate Need
Two mares – Simply Belonging and Burning Bluegrass, are being held until Tuesday Oct 16 before being sent off for slaughter. We are currently fundraising to obtain sufficient funds to pay the fee, shipping and quarantine costs before being sent to our home barn. They are in the same place that Ocala Jim was placed after being sold at auction. So – please help us to raise enough funds for their rescue, shipping and quarantine. Any donation would be greatly appreciated – you can click on the Donate link at the top of this webpage, or you can go to https://www.paypal.com/paypalme2/racingforhome.
Or visit our Facebook page. We will post updates there and here when we have been able to complete the rescue, and will update you all on their progress. Thank you!!
Ocala Jim – On the Road to Recovery
Ocala Jim continues to show great progress in recovering from his ordeal. After 30 days of quarantine, he was brought to our facility in Connecticut on June 28. Since then he has been scrubbed, loved, and fed (a lot). He has gained about 150-200 pounds, though he still has a ways to go after having lost so much weight prior to rescuing him. With the help of proper nutrition and a prescribed medicated bath, his coat quality has made a huge improvement and he now shines in the sun. Ocala Jim can be seen trotting and galloping in our upper fields with no soundness issues. He looks truly happy at our farm, and we couldn’t be more excited for his future.
August 2019 – Ocala Jim mid roll – what better way to celebrate after a bath! 
July 7, 2019 – Acacia giving Ocala Jim a good scrub
Everyone needs a sidekick
Ocala Jim joins our barn!
Ocala Jim’s racing career ended in 2017, and was retired to what was thought to be a forever home. Zilla Racing Stables looks out for all their horses, and this was no different. We learned that OJ was sold to a kill buyer in PA. Zilla, along with Racing for Home, arranged to purchase OJ, as his fate would otherwise be to ship to slaughter in Canada within 2 days. Thank you Zilla for stepping in and being such outstanding owners (now, and forever). RFH promises that OJ will NEVER be hungry or scared again!
So please welcome OJ to the Racing for Home family! We’ll keep you all updated on his progress, as unfortunately he no longer looks like this photo and is very thin and dealing with rain rot. He’ll head to quarantine and then join the gang in Connecticut.
Quarantine will be a precarious time for OJ, as he’s clearly been in a bad situation for some time, and is severely malnourished. He also suffers from rain rot. We have an excellent staff that will help get him back to a healthy weight the right way and he’ll have very capable eyes watching him at all time! If you would like to donate to OJ”s care, click on the “Donate” link at the top of our homepage and it will connect you to our Paypal account. All donations are tax deductible.
We’ll see you soon, OJ!
Follow our Journey!
Click on our blog post here for a link to our Facebook. There we like to share updates on all our OTTB’s in real time. Whether that’s checking in on how their rehab is going, or what new adventures they have been up to as part of their retraining, or just a fun picture of the day we share it all!
