TAA Reaching New Heights in 2016

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance receiving a check at Pimlico in 2015. (Photo by Jim McCue)
Formed in February 2012, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) has made large strides in a fairly short amount of time in the Thoroughbred industry.
Last fall, the organization re-accredited 56 organizations and recently sent out applications for its spring accreditation process. While those applications aren’t due until April 15, TAA Operations Consultant Stacie Clark Rogers said the TAA has already received quite a few applications from new applicants. 
The new applicants come on the heels of a banner year for the TAA that featured a strong start to 2015 and included growing the program’s staff and partnerships.
“We’ve really developed a solid team here at the [TAA],” Clark Rogers said. “We are able to be supportive to the organizations and reach out to the partnerships that we have and work closely with them to do the right thing in the industry.”
Those partnerships include one with Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) that donated $28,410 to the TAA in November. The donation came from a collaboration between Churchill and HBPA member owners in which the owners would put $5 into a fund for every start their horses made at the track, with Churchill Downs matching the contributions.
Some other donations to the organization came in the form of $50,000 from Bob and Jill Baffert after American Pharoah won the Triple Crown and a partnership with Papa John’s around the Breeders’ Cup.
To end the year, it was announced the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event had named the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance its official charity for the 2016 event. As the official charity, TAA receives a variety of the proceeds from the event, including a $10,000 donation as well as a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales from a Hunter Hayes concert on Saturday night and a 5K run that takes place the week of the event.
MULTIPLE OFF-TRACK THOROUGHBREDS COMPETE AT ROLEX EACH YEAR

Photo by Melissa Bauer-Herzog
In addition to the donations made throughout the year, the annual support from the industry held steady in 2015, and Clark Rogers said that it was reported that TAA-supported organizations saw an upswing in adoptions and the popularity of Thoroughbreds in the show ring.
“Industry support is holding fairly good, but I think we always can do more,” she said. “There’s room for more participation and more partnerships. I think the TAA has proven itself in that it has a strong accreditation foundation that has supported organizations and helped them increase their adoptions, increase their awareness, get horses out there. There’s more adoptions going on, there’s a more positive look at the Thoroughbreds for after racing, whether it’s for show horses or weekend warriors or eventers. We are definitely seeing that the general equine population is getting involved again with the Thoroughbred.”
This year, TAA has already gotten support from many inside the industry from the normal backing from farms and tracks around the country.
It was announced in late February that TAA is the recipient of part of the ticket sales for the Fillies and Lilies Party held after the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. That will be followed two weeks later by Preakness festivities supporting the TAA. Those events include the Sagamore Racing-sponsored Preakness Pre-Party hosted by the Maryland Jockey Club and America’s Best Racing that will include a charity raffle at the event benefiting the TAA.
“Sagamore Racing is both proud and extremely excited the TAA has been designated as our event beneficiary,” Sagamore President Hunter Rankin said. “Because of their innovative approach, ABR brings a new audience to the sport.  Their audience, along with all fans of the Thoroughbred industry, need to be aware of the great work the TAA performs every day.”
The New York Racing Association (NYRA) also started a program where owners whose horses run at NYRA tracks donate $5 per start to the TAA, with NYRA matching each of those contributions.  
“It’s about giving back to the horses and supporting their aftercare long after they have exited the stage,” NYRA’s Senior Vice President for Racing Operations, Martin Panza, said at the time. “These athletes have given so much to our sport and provided joy and excitement for fans in New York and beyond. In that spirit, we continue to support the good work of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on behalf of our retired athletes.”
Those are only a few of the happenings in an exciting first two months of the year, and the TAA is looking to achieve many more goals it has set for the year.
“[One of our goals is] to keep growing and to keep pushing more awareness out there about the TAA and to get more sustainable funding,” Clark Rogers said. “That’s really important. We don’t want to always have ourselves looked at as a charity. We’re trying to fulfill the whole circle for horse racing, and as an industry we have to be aware that after racing they can’t be an afterthought.”
To learn more about the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, how to donate to the organization or to send suggestions, you can visit their new website at www.ThoroughbredAftercare.org.