Bandon, the 2025 freestyle champion. (Sarah Hartman/Gilmore/RRP photo)
2025 Thoroughbred Makeover marks ten years of the largest Thoroughbred retraining competition
Retired Racehorse Project Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 2025 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, taking place Oct. 8-11 at the Kentucky Horse Park, was presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America and celebrated its tenth anniversary at its current location and general format. The 2025 edition of the largest and most lucrative retraining competition for recently retired thoroughbreds, which debuted a new champion model that re-welcomed the top ten horses in each discipline and expanded both the prize money and payout structure, crowned ten champions and welcomed a wide turnout of spectators, including many former racing connections.
“After ten years, it was an opportune time to make some updates to freshen the Makeover experience for everyone involved,” said RRP Director Kirsten Green. “The quality of riding and horsemanship has improved over the last ten years and it felt appropriate to highlight and reward that in ten independent discipline championships featuring more horses than the previous Finals format.”
The Thoroughbred Makeover is the flagship event of the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP), a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to the increasing demand for Thoroughbreds outside of racing and was created not only to showcase the horse’s trainability and athleticism in the first year after racing, but also to inspire more riders to get involved with the breed. The event has also become a gathering place for thoroughbred enthusiasts, both in the racing and breeding industries and in equestrian sports.
Before competing in up to two of the ten equestrian disciplines during the preliminary competition, the more than 240 entered horses completed an arrival exam, which provided a measure of the basic health of the horses participating in the Makeover. Trainers took care of necessary paperwork, including vaccination records, and veterinary teams recorded vital signs, checked the horses for spots or swelling, noted body condition and assessed basic health during the walk to ensure horses could move comfortably through the Kentucky Horse Park. This year’s arrival exam was led by RRP board member and consultant veterinarian Dr. Shannon Reed, DACVS-LA, of Texas A&M, with support from veterinarians at the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. The arrival exam was supported by Health & Wellness sponsors including Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Radiology Rules, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Merck Animal Health, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and Zoetis Equine.
The preliminary competition took place on October 8 and 9, featuring barrel racing, competitive track, dressage, eventing, field hunter, polo, ranch work, show hunter, show jumper and freestyle (a free-form discipline that showcases the skills of the competitor of their choice). At the end of the preliminary competition, the top ten placed horses were invited back to Saturday’s championship rounds, where they competed on blank scores for their share of $139,000 in prize money. Special awards, sponsored by individuals and organizations to support their own goals and initiatives, were presented at Saturday evening’s Awards Party, sponsored by the University of Louisville Equine Industry Program, the McIntosh Group and the Wasabi Aftercare Fund. The provisional winners, top amateurs, juniors, teams and broodmares were also honored in the evening.
The Thoroughbred Makeover was also a shopping opportunity, with more than 70 horses offered for sale or adoption by their trainers and owners or organizations. The Makeover Marketplace, sponsored by Churchill Downs, offers visitors the unique opportunity to watch sales horses perform, test ride in a designated arena and consult with potential veterinarians on site. Additionally, a lively vendor fair, moved to an outdoor tent row on Jay Trump Drive, provided a great shopping experience for spectators and competitors alike.
Education is an important cornerstone of the RRP’s work, and Friday gave spectators and participants several opportunities to develop their knowledge: Seminars, sponsored by the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, covered the topics of pre-purchase exams and the prognosis of racing injuries for second careers. Clinics sponsored by Achieve Equine, across four disciplines, also took place on Friday, giving Makeover trainers the opportunity to end their weeks on a high and welcome back graduate horses to develop their competitive skills.
Formal dates and an updated rulebook for the 2026 Thoroughbred Makeover will be available in the coming weeks at theRRP.org.
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