History of the Secretariat Center
The Secretariat Center began as a visionary project to showcase to the world the athletic abilities and talents of the American Thoroughbred.
Thanks to the collaboration between the Kentucky Horse Park and the racing industry, Maker’s Mark issued three limited edition bottles of bourbon through the Keeneland commemorative bottle program, featuring Triple Crown winners Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed. Each bottle was signed by the horse’s owners, trainers, and jockeys. The proceeds from these bottles funded the construction of the Secretariat Center facility.
Thanks to the additional generosity of Castleton Lyons Farm, Eaton Sales, Mary Lou Whitney, her husband John Hendrickson, and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, the Center opened its doors in October of 2004.
The Center is comprised of 20 acres of paddocks, a ten-stall barn, an outdoor arena, a round pen, a Hitchcock pen, and a small cross-country course. The Center has the ability to house 10 Thoroughbreds and accommodate all in different phases of training and in turn offer them for adoption
We provide an education for former racehorses so they are able to transition into new careers as sport horses. We stand as a beacon for those interested in learning about reschooling off-the-track thoroughbreds and specifically about their assets and virtues.
Because of the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Riggio, owners of Barnes & Noble and devoted fans of Thoroughbred racing, the Center enjoys a collection of resources on training horses in its onsite training Library. We have educational opportunities from high school through college for volunteers and public groups.
Click here to learn more about the Bucephalus Training Library
Visit Us!
The Center is open by appointment only, Monday through Saturday. Visitors are welcome to book tours through Visit Horse Country, and tour the facility, watch training sessions, or use the library.
Learn More About Our Tours Here
Adoptions are a more structured process. To try a horse as a potential adoption candidate, individuals must first complete an adoption application and receive approval from the Secretariat Center adoption committee. Please see our ADOPT page for more information.
Learn More About Our Adoption Process Here
Aftercare
It is up to those of us in the industry to continue the conversation about transitioning good, valuable and sound horses into second careers. We all hold a responsibility to aid retired horses in securing productive lives after their time on the track is complete. Programs such as the Secretariat Center give retired racehorses the ability to show new owners the versatility and beauty of the Thoroughbred while also highlighting their continued usefulness.
The Secretariat Center continues to serve the equestrian industry as the gold standard in Thoroughbred rehoming and reschooling since 2004. We value transparency, integrity, and excellence and have worked to obtain accreditation for our program as well as for our trainers and staff.
Our program has been able to place horses in homes where they are teaching young children to ride, helping MS patients maintain mobility, working in therapeutic riding programs, and serving on mounted police units. Such programs strengthen the racing community and ensure a dedication to aftercare and the health of the industry as a whole.
501(C)3
As a non-profit organization, the Secretariat Center operates on donations, grants, sponsorships, and fundraising. The center works diligently each year to expand our sponsors and receive additional grant funding to aid in the transition of nearly 50 OTTBs each year. Each year the center hosts several local events in which all of the proceeds generated directly support the transition of an OTTB into their second career and forever home. The center accepts monetary and in-kind donations year-round which can be given online or dropped off at our campus. As a NPO, donations to the center are tax-deductible.
Methodology
The methodology is two-fold. First, our professional trainers take the time to individually evaluate the personality, trainability, and athleticism of each horse, then create custom training and treatment programs for these horses. In turn, adopters are screened for their aptness to provide the advanced training these equines will require and matched to potential equines based on desired competition level and personality of their next equine companion.
Our staff work directly with each adopter and equine throughout the entire process to ensure a happy, harmonious, and safe adoptive home for every one of our horses. Adopters and donors can rest assured, knowing each graduate is tracked for life following adoption ensuring that the aftercare of our graduates will be of the highest quality and these horses will have a safe home all their lives.
Learn More about our Custom Training Program Here
Accreditation
Since 2015, the Secretariat Center has proudly maintained our accreditation with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. By partnering in this industry-united initiative, the Secretariat Center and other accredited organizations are held to standards of conduct in their care, retraining, and rehoming efforts and are working diligently towards aiding every horse leaving the track to recover, recuperate, and start a new chapter.
To ensure these standards are upheld, the organizations go through an intensive accreditation process. The process includes scheduled and random onsite inspections, submission of documents detailing the 5 areas discussed above, proof of their business registration and status as a 501C3, a written euthanasia policy in accordance with the AAEP standards and must own and care for at least 5 registered Thoroughbreds.
PREVIOUS GRANTORS
We are grateful to the following previous grantors for their generous support: Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Annenberg Foundation, ASPCA, Google Ads, Thoroughbred Charities of America, KEEP Foundation, Equus Foundation, American Trucks Positive Payload Program, Kentucky Colonel Good Works Program, and Keeneland.
