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Second Stride Farm: A place for thoroughbreds after the last race
By Tom Adkinson
April 26, 2024
These two “halfway house” thoroughbreds were the welcoming committee for a recent tour group at Second Stride. Image by Tom Adkinson
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PROSPECT, Ky. – Every spring, even people who never have been to a horse track hear about the Triple Crown – the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes – and the highly trained three-year-old thoroughbred horses that race for accolades and perhaps even lasting fame.
Thoroughbreds’ racing careers usually last only two or three years. A career lasting five years is extraordinary. However, their lifespans are 20 to 25 years.
So, what happens to these gifted athletes after they have run their last race? Owners keep some, some stallions retire to stud service, some mares become brood stock and some lucky ones go to what you might call halfway houses to find new careers in lives after running counterclockwise around oval tracks.
The tranquility of pasture time seems to suit this pair of Second Stride residents quite well. Image by Tom Adkinson
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One of those halfway houses is Second Stride at Chorleywood Farm in Prospect, Ky., just northeast of Louisville. It is simultaneously 25 miles and light years away from Churchill Downs, where its owner, Bill Carstanjen, is the CEO.
The atmosphere at Second Stride is calm, communal and comforting. The horses that pass through here are undergoing dramatic life changes. Indeed, they are hitting their second strides.
“Horses are as individual as people, and they need specialized care when they come to us,” said Anne Steinboch, community relations manager for Second Stride, as she led a small group of visitors with minimal knowledge of horses of any kind, much less retired racehorses.
Anne Steinboch, community relations manager for Second Stride, visits with the only permanent resident at the rehabilitation center. Image by Tom Adkinson
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Steinback explained that part of the horses’ transition to new lives is recognizing that they were raised individually, don’t necessarily relate well to other horses and had only one purpose – to race.
“Yes, part of their rehabilitation is teaching them to turn right,” she said with a smile when asked by one of her inquisitive visitors.
The time in residence for every horse is different, but there is one goal – adoption. Carefully vetted adopters seek Second Stride horses for various purposes, including general riding, trail riding, dressage or simple companionship.
A sign outside each horse’s stall provides feeding and exercise instruction for caregivers to provide. Image by Tom Adkinson
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A young tour participant gets to visit with a retired racehorse in a stable stall at Second Stride. Image by Tom Adkinson
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“They make great ranch horses. They are wonderful when they have a job to do,” Steinboch said, noting that Second Stride horses have found homes throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Second Stride can accommodate 35 to 40 horses at any one time and works with approximately 150 a year. Since 2005, it has placed more than 1,600 racehorses with new owners. She said Second Stride is one of eight similar facilities in Kentucky and 88 in the country.
If thoroughbreds could dream, they would dream about being immortalized in bronze at Churchill Downs the way Barbabo was after winning the 2006 Kentucky Derby. Image by Tom Adkinson
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When you visit Second Stride, you see its exercise and show arena, stable and pastures, and it’s possible to get close to individual horses. In the stable, signs by each stall indicate the exercise times and diet for the occupants.
If the timing is right, Steinboch or another guide will let you handfeed one of the horses that may be just as curious about you as you are about him or her.
Trip-planning resources: SecondStride.org and GoToLouisville.com
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