By KRISTEN KOVATCH BENTLEY Managing Director of the Retired Racehorse Project
The ads aren’t hard to find. They pop up in every horse shopping group on Facebook: in search of next equine partner, willing to look in the following locations for horses with desired discipline experience, vices that will or will not be tolerated, maintenance that will or will not be tolerated, desired height or color, budget.
And then, in the last line, there it is: “no Thoroughbreds.”
Why do so many overlook the ultimate athlete, bred right here on American soil?
“They’re Not As Capable As a Purpose-Bred Horse”
Okay, fair – not every single Thoroughbred is going to be an Idle Dice, a Gem Twist, a Touch of Class, a Keen, a Winsome Adante, a Molokai… I could keep going, but I’m sure the point’s landed. There are plenty of historic Thoroughbreds at the pinnacle in their respective arenas to reference any time the argument is made that the breed simply isn’t capable of reaching the same levels of athletic performance as their purpose-bred cousins. Consider that plenty of warmbloods won’t ever reach these levels either.
And that’s at the highest levels – once you get down to the levels where the majority of us are competing, the sheer raw talent of the animal on which you’re sitting becomes a lot less critical, rendering the argument largely irrelevant that Thoroughbreds, bred to race, are less capable than a purpose-bred horse (even if it were true). Discerning horse shoppers are looking for quality of movement, a scopey jump, overall rideability – qualities that will vary wildly from individual horse to individual horse, rather than breed to breed.
It’s also worth noting that a Thoroughbred is a Thoroughbred, and it can’t be anything else – The Jockey Club is a closed stud book. A warmblood, however, can contain Thoroughbred blood… sometimes, a lot of Thoroughbred blood. The benefits of breeding “blood” into warmbloods are widely known, adding refinement, speed, and stamina. If we want to go back to another household name, take a look at Master Imp, long hailed as one of the top sires in eventing as well as show jumping – 100% Thoroughbred.
Stallion legacies in sport can be difficult to fully realize until they’re nearly over; it takes years to produce a horse to the upper levels. The next great Thoroughbred stallion legacy may be developing right now and we won’t know for a decade or more: Malibu Moon is a great example, a now-deceased industry-shaping sire of Thoroughbred racehorses whose influence as a potentially great sire of eventers is still unfolding. He sired three starters in the Lexington CCI4*-S in 2025; only the great Holstein stallion Diarado sired more horses across both the 4* and 5* that year.
“They’re Not Sound After All That Racing”
If you’re not a close follower of horse racing, it would admittedly be easy to assume that the sport cripples its equine athletes; it’s usually only the bad news that trickles out of racing press into the mainstream media. According to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), the racing-related fatality rate since 2009 has been on a general decline, and reached historic lows in 2024 at tracks subject to HISA rules. While harder to track with data, awareness is increasing in the racing industry that retiring horses sound, before they incur a major injury, is the greatest possible way to set a horse up for a successful transition to a new career.
Some horses do retire with injury; with proper rehabilitation, many can go on to competitive second careers with no limitations. Some horses may retire with old injuries that they went back and raced on successfully; others may retire with cold set blemishes and full soundness. And plenty retire blemish-free, sound and ready to go. There’s an individual horse for any level of risk tolerance.
Can a Thoroughbred hold up to the rigors of sport? Consider a “warhorse,” or a Thoroughbred with over 50 starts – there are plenty of them out there, still running sound, and there’s not much you can throw at them in a new discipline that’s likely to be more physically taxing. Worried that a horse with that many starts won’t have anything left for your discipline of choice? Maybe you should shop one of the many horses that retired with less than 10 starts when a career at the highest levels of racing didn’t look like it would pan out. Not interested in a horse that did any racing at all? Take a look at the started but unraced population, the perfect blank slate ready to be finished (or sometimes even started) the way you want.
While Thoroughbreds might have developed a reputation for needing maintenance in the wake of a racing career that could have left them with blemishes or old injuries, the reality is that the majority of sport horses, in order to feel their best and remain at the top of their game, need some level of maintenance (as do their riders!). This fact holds true across the board, regardless of breed.
“But They’re Too Tricky To Transition”
Not every equestrian is cut out to transition a Thoroughbred right off the track – this argument is rooted in some level of truth; that initial year or so of transition is a critical period that can either set a horse up for success in a career beyond racing, or set him back and create a lot of physical, mental and emotional baggage in the horse for the next owner to have to work through.
As is becoming a theme in this article, individual horses will handle this transition differently – some will step easily right into a new daily schedule, new stabling pattern, long days or nights of turnout, and new ways of using their bodies, like they were born to it. Others may present more of a challenge, requiring structured time off to adjust their bodies and brains to a brand-new lifestyle. Working with professionals that have Thoroughbred experience can be very helpful in this process, from trainers to barn management to vets and farriers. Programs such as the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover can provide some helpful structure and a goal for the first year of transition, including a ready-made community of fellow equestrians on the same journey.
It’s worth noting that a green Thoroughbred is not necessarily the same thing as a green horse in general. Thoroughbreds are typically handled extensively from an early age, especially if they went through a bloodstock sale; they’re exposed to big, busy environments that rival any chaotic schooling ring. They’ll still be green to the standards of your discipline of choice, but they’re fairly worldly as far as what they’ve experienced.
Sourcing a Thoroughbred thoughtfully can also help ensure that the transition goes smoothly. An adoption organization or reseller may have already conquered that tricky first 30 to 60 days, helping horses adjust to the different lifestyle in a private barn and restarting them under saddle, assessing their abilities and introducing basic new skills for equestrian life. This might be a more appealing option for equestrians who want to partner with a Thoroughbred but aren’t confident in their skillset working with a horse sourced directly off the track via a listing agent.
There comes a point where a Thoroughbred ex-racehorse is… just another horse. Consider looking at Thoroughbreds who are established in their careers beyond racing. I’m willing to bet you’ve already seen many of them and might not have realized you were watching a Thoroughbred canter around the show ring! With expanding competitive opportunities in various Thoroughbred leagues and incentive programs, partnering with an experienced horse can come with a lot of doors already opened. Upperville just announced a Thoroughbred hunter derby for later this year. Look into programs like TAKE2, the Thoroughbred Incentive Program, and if you’re in the mid-Atlantic, the brand-new East Coast Thoroughbred League.
The Bottom Line
Horses, just like the people who love them and partner with them, are individuals. Don’t let something as simple as the breed keep you from finding the right match!
