For the past four years, I have been working on a series of videos showcasing the beauty of the Thoroughbred at all stages of life. Click here to read the first three posts in the series, The First Two Years, The Racing Years, and The Breeding Years. I have recently published the fourth and final video in the series, covering the retirement years. The video is shot at 120fps to give it a cinematic quality. To accompany the video, in this post, I will be sharing some photos I have taken of horses in their second careers and retirement. Keep reading to watch the video at the end of the post!
Thoroughbreds retire from racing on average at four to five years old and live on average to be 25 to 30, so much of their life is spent off the track. Off the track Thoroughbreds can be suited to many types of second careers. First, though, they must be retrained. New Vocations retrains and rehomes retired Thoroughbreds.
Amanda Vance, New Vocation’s Gansevoort, NY Facility Manager (located at North Country Horses), gives Soaring Star a kiss.
Kate Stephenson rides Eucharist at the Ganevoort location.
Alyssa Mania jumps Soaring Star.
Some Thoroughbreds enjoy a second career as a lesson or show horse, delighting riders of all ages.
A young rider is led on Ensign Approved at a schooling show at North Country Horses.
A young rider exits the area after showing Flashy Fuse at the schooling show.
A rider shows Diva at the schooling show.
New York Thoroughbred Aftercare Day at Saratoga Race Course showcases the many second careers horses can have as well as local aftercare organizations.
One of the highlights of Aftercare Day is the presentation of the Down Broadway Retired Racehorse of the Year Award, voted on by fans each year. My Boy Tate, the 2024 recipient, got some kisses from one of his owners, David Lyon, as Richard Schosberg, president of Take the Lead, a retirement program sponsored by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, holds him.
Mel’s Baby Sister, a former trainee of Melanie Giddings (second from left), was the 2025 recipient o the award.
Last Slew (left) and Bielefeld were retrained as Revolutionary War reenactment horses following their retirement from racing.
Kendra Richardson rides Dangerous Edge, who went through the ReRun Thoroughbred Adoption program.
Thoroughbreds can even make great polo ponies!
Retired Thoroughbreds can find their way back to the track as outrider or lead ponies.
2022 Kentucky Derby alum Barber Road is now a pony for trainer John Ortiz, seen here riding him at Keeneland.
Travers alum Looking a Bikinis, now known as Rocky, is a pony for trainer Bill Mott, seen here riding him alongside 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty at Saratoga.
Denise Manigault leads Discreet Encounter, now known as Lucky, a pony at Saratoga who is shown to visitors on backstretch tours.
Some Thoroughbreds can be retrained as therapy horses. Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga and ACTT Naturally unlock the healing power of horses in their respective programs.
Fantastic Shirl is one of the therapy horses at Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Day Trading also resides at Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga.
Kid Blast, another member of the Therapeutic Horses herd, greeted visitors to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga in 2022.
ACTT Naturally’s Hearts in Harmony equine assisted learning programs in Cambridge, NY are a series of experiential processes that employ the non verbal communication between horse and human. Founder Valerie Buck, seen here giving Fuhrious Warrior a kiss, brings decades of horsemanship experience to the program.
Three Lions, aka Budder, another member of the ACTT Naturally herd, gets some love from a friend.
Sometimes a Thoroughbred doesn’t make it to the races as expected. Tydus never had his day in the limelight, but he enjoys life as a personal horse for his owner Annie.
Many retired stallions and broodmares remain on the farms where they once stood to enjoy their golden years.
Hall of Fame inductee Rachel Alexandra enjoys retirement at Stonestreet Farm in Lexington, KY, where she greets her adoring public on farm tours.
Fellow Hall of Famer inductee Zenyatta enjoys her retirement at Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, KY.
Breed-shaping stallion Distorted Humor enjoyed his retirement at WinStar Farm in Versailles from 2021 until his passing in 2025.
Mineshaft is enjoying his golden years at Lane’s End Farm after being pensioned in 2025.
Hall of Fame inductee Tiznow spends retirement at WinStar Farm.
Fans sometimes get a chance to meet their favorite retired Thoroughbred at a farm or racetrack.
Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Side met fans at Old Friends at Cabin Creek Farm in Greenfield, NY in 2015…
…and at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, where he lived until his passing in 2023.
Multiple Grade I winner Point Given also spent his later years at Kentucky Horse Park, until his passing in 2023.
Fans got to meet Longshot Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird at the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY in 2024.
Sanctuaries such as Old Friends in Georgetown, KY and its satellite farm, Old Friends at Cabin Creek, offer Thoroughbreds the chance to just be a horse.
Silver Charm, who resides at the Kentucky Farm, is the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner and the last living winner of a Triple Crown race from the 20th century.
Touch Gold’s Belmont Stakes victory in 1997 spoiled Silver Charm’s Triple Crown bid. He spent 10 years at Old Friends until his passing in 2025.
Big Brown is another Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner residing at Old Friends.
I’ll Have Another is the third Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner at the Kentucky Farm.
Hall of Famer Lava Man has been a favorite with fans since coming to the farm in 2022. He is seen here with Old Friends founder Michael Blowen.
Multiple graded stakes winners Little Mike and Game on Dude have collectively earned roughly $10 million.
Not every horse on the farm is a Hall of Fame inductee or a millionaire. Bold and Bossy is a mare with an incredible story. In 2021, she dropped her rider at Ellis Park in Kentucky and got loose on a highway for 30 minutes. Then, that night, she survived a barn fire. Her story has made her a fan favorite, and now she wins over new fans at the farm.
Will’s Way, who resided at Cabin Creek until his passing in 2020, won both the Travers and the Whitney at Saratoga. His Beyer Speed Figure of 126 in his Whitney win is the fourth highest ever recorded.
Two-time Whitney winner Commentator, who passed away in 2025, was one of the most accomplished New York-breds of all time, taking home New York Horse of the Year honors twice and banking over $2 million in earnings.
Commentator’s passing left a hole in the hearts of volunteers and visitors alike. Shortly thereafter, Diversify joined the herd. The 13-year-old has quite a bit in common with Commentator: He is a fellow New York-bred, he won the Whitney, he was New York Horse of the Year, and he even won the Commentator Stakes to boot. If there was ever a horse to carry on Commentator’s legacy, it’s Diversify.
A Shin Forward, who raced entirely in Japan and once in Hong Kong, is the third-highest earning New York-bred of all time, with earnings of $3.4 million.
Be Bullish was a fixture of the NYRA circuit in the early 2010s. Retiring with earnings of over $1 million, he still gets many fans visiting him at Cabin Creek. He is seen here getting a kiss from farm owner and manager JoAnn Pepper.
Just as at the Kentucky farm, the mission of Old Friends and Old Friends at Cabin Creek is to provide dignified retirement to all Thoroughbreds, regardless of how they performed on the track. Red Down South (left) had a modest career, but he was a best friend to the late Zippy Chippy. Zippy never won a single race, despite running 100 times. His penchant for being a lovable loser made him one of the most popular horses on the farm. When Zippy passed away in 2022, it made world news. Today, visitors love meeting Red and his new friend Bold Illusion and hearing about Zippy’s many antics on and off the track.
Valiant Crusader, who passed away earlier this year, never won a race himself, but he won over many hearts during his brief time at Cabin Creek. A son of Crusader Sword, he occupied the same paddock as his sire did many years before.
Preakness alum King Congie had a modest career on the track, but a career-ending injury forced him into retirement. After being rehomed several times, he was saved from being sold to slaughter in 2016 and retired to Cabin Creek by his original owners, West Point Thoroughbreds. It’s a very happy ending to a precarious situation, but it also highlights the importance of sanctuaries like these.
Finally, here is the final video in the series. Click here to watch it.
And with that, the series is complete. I hope you have enjoyed watching it as much as I have enjoyed creating it.
To see more of my equine photography be sure to follow me on X, Instagram and Facebook. All photos and videos in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.
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