Pocket Aces Racing LLC (PAR) is pleased to announce the formation of a partnership between our stable and The Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center (MMSC). After an extensive review of aftercare organizations, we feel the MMSC is best suited to meet the needs of our retired horses. Pocket Aces Racing LLC pledges to donate a percentage of the entire stable’s annual earnings, along with matching funds from the PAR management team, to MMSC. In turn, MMSC has agreed to reschool and place any of our retired racehorses in need of those services. We feel strongly that this new partnership will, first and foremost, greatly benefit our retired racehorses, as well as provide PAR members with the peace of mind that their current and future runners will be well cared for long after their racing careers have ended.
We intend to work closely with MMSC to not only improve the lives of PAR runners but the betterment of the breed and the industry as well. To those ends MMSC (which is largely a volunteer-based organization) has expressed great interest in having PAR members actively participate in the care of horses located at their Kentucky Horse Park facility. Many of our members have expressed interest in a more “hands on” experience with horses and this could provide an excellent outlet for those partners. And don’t worry, there are jobs for the least experienced of us all the way up to members who have spent their entire lives working with horses.
Several other factors led us to partner with MMSC. Those include their commitment to rehabilitating the public image of thoroughbred horse racing. The care, education, and placement of retired racehorses will always be their primary focus; however, they also want to spread the word that there are responsible thoroughbred owners out there. It is difficult to build a significant fan/customer base for the sport when the industry is portrayed in such a negative light to the public at-large. MMSC wants to be proactive in presenting thoroughbred ownership in a positive, and truthful, way and we’re excited to be a part of that initiative.
We were also impressed with MMSC’s proactive, “out of the box”, approach to marketing and training. They are not simply waiting for adopters to come to them, they are reaching out to the non-racing sport horse community and making them aware of the benefits of adopting from MMSC. In addition, MMSC does an excellent job of anticipating what disciplines are in the highest demand and training horses in those disciplines, assuming it is a good fit for the individual. We feel like these approaches will optimize our retirees’ likelihood of finding a great home once their racing careers are over.
Finally, the MMSC tracks each adopted horse for its lifetime. Adopters are required to submit an annual update on the horse which includes pictures, current location, status, training successes or accomplishments and injuries or illnesses. If the adopted horses are sold or transferred, the subsequent own must sign a transfer of adoption contract.
We could not be more excited about this new partnership. We look forward to watching the after-racing careers of our future retirees for years to come. You can get more information on the Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center HERE.
