The Secretariat Center, which has been hailed as “the Gold Standard in Thoroughbred Reschooling,” opened its doors in October 2004 and has rehomed more than 900 horses throughout the country.

The Secretariat Center uses its illustrious location at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington to:

• Promote the athleticism and versatility of the Thoroughbred in second careers to encourage adoptions nationwide.
• Ensure through our Track for Life program that each horse that passes through the campus has a safe and successful post-track career.
• Educate the public about Thoroughbreds and aftercare.
• Highlight the many good things that the racing industry is doing to support aftercare.

The Secretariat Center is a retraining and rehoming facility that selects horses to be ambassadors for the breed and the sport of racing as sport horses.  Horses are selected based on soundness of body and mind, temperament, and serviceability.

Horses in the program are taught new skill sets that give them a foundation on which to build a new career. Located on 22 beautiful acres in the Kentucky Horse Park, the Secretariat Center is home to up to 10 horses at a time and in various stages of retraining. Once adopted, Secretariat Center horses are tracked for life, to ensure their well-being and safety.

To facilitate successful adoptions, potential adopters fill out an application and supply references. Once an adopter is approved, they can visit the facility to ride the horses and ensure the match between horse and rider is a good one. Adoption fees vary based on the length of stay, the extent of a horse’s limitations, if any, and the scope of the horse.

Secretariat Center offers college and high school internships, welcomes volunteers, and regularly hosts tours and demonstrations.

“The Secretariat Center does everything right,” says former jockey, event rider and horse trainer Rosie Napravnik, “from horse care, to the horses’ new skills, to the staff’s amazing ability to find homes for them. The Secretariat Center is all about excellence, honesty, and the horse!”