Program Spotlight: Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program

Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program is run out of the Purple Haze barn on the Finger Lakes Race Track grounds. (Photos courtesy of Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program)
In 2004, Finger Lakes Race Track management and horsemen knew they had to take action after finding former Finger Lakes runners in less-than-desirable homes. Soon after, Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program was opened and the rest is history.
With the help of a grant from New York state and donor Wanda Polisseni, Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program was able to build a barn on the track’s grounds. The 16-stall barn was named Purple Haze after Polisseni’s daughter and has housed more than 800 horses who ran or trained at Finger Lakes during their career that the program adopted out since it began.
THE PURPLE HAZE AISLE

The adoption program prefers that intact males are gelded before they start their new life in the program due to their lack of proper space for a newly gelded horse. However, if needed, the program will pay to get their new resident gelded.
“We prefer that the owner geld them because it’s such a small barn. It’s only 16 horses, so to put somebody in there that has just been gelded is not easy,” said Kim DeLong, president of Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program. “Sometimes we’ll keep them on the backside of the racetrack for a couple weeks and if the owner can’t have the horse gelded then we’ll do it.”
Horses go through a vet check before entering the program so Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program knows about potential problems the horse may have. The program also has some grants that will take care of medical or dental problems that may arise while the horse is in its care.
The amount of time it takes for a horse to move through the program is dependent on each horse’s situation. Some horses are adopted out in a matter of days if one of their fans finds out that they have joined the program and has a suitable home while others can be in the program for over a year.
During their time in the program, the horses go through an unofficial evaluation where Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program’s riders try to figure out what the horse may be best at. The program is open to all options for each horse’s career from eventing to western events, working with the individual horse to figure out where he or she is most happy.
FIFTY SENSE, WHO MADE 118 STARTS, GETTING READY FOR HIS FIRST TRAIL RIDE

Unlike some other programs, Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program doesn’t have a distance limit on how far away adopters can come from. Its horses have gone to homes as far away as Florida and Colorado after being approved to adopt the horse. Adoption applications take about a week to get approved with the program checking all references given, including a reference from a veterinarian.
“We ask for a veterinarian reference. We need pictures of where the horse will be stabled and if the facility is within about a 50-mile radius of our facility, one of our board members will go and check it out. Also, we follow the horses for a year after they have been adopted and we ask for three, six, nine and 12 month reports before the horse is considered totally their horse.”
The quarterly reports include photos without the horse wearing a blanket so the program can make sure the horse is healthy at each stage. Horses can be sold after the year period with the only restriction being that the horse cannot race again. Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program does ask that owners call the program if they cannot take care of the horse for any reason so the program can have the option of taking the horse back.
Since the program started, DeLong has seen the popularity of off-the-track Thoroughbreds increase due to their willingness to work and adaptability to new careers.
“We’re seeing more eventing people looking for [off-the-track Thoroughbreds] and they want them for their stamina. They take well to the retraining to do eventing and hunter/jumper events,” she said. “They don’t want to just hang out … There are very few of them who want to hang out, they want to work, they want to do something after their careers are over at racing and this is the perfect transition.”
For those who want to buy a Thoroughbred straight from the track, DeLong recommends that they take a trainer experienced with off-the-track Thoroughbreds with them to make sure the horse is a good match. She also recommends that the horses get at least three months off before going into training for their new discipline so they can wind down from their racing careers.
TARDIS, A NEWCOMER TO THE PROGRAM, LAST RACED IN DECEMBER 2014

The program is always open to taking in volunteers to do many different tasks, including working in the barn, which is a good way for those interested in buying a Thoroughbred off the track to learn more about the breed. DeLong said the program is also willing to help those thinking about starting their own aftercare program learn everything they need to do to be successful in the program.
“Anybody that wants to start [an aftercare program], we’re more than willing to help them with advice on how to start their program,” DeLong said. “We’ve been through it and we know its not easy and we really didn’t have anybody to help us so we’re more than willing to help anybody that wants to start one.”
Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program was recently awarded accreditation by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, an approval that DeLong is happy to have.
“That is just the best thing that’s happened to us,” she said. “It was a very paper intense application plus the on-site evaluation was very thorough too and this has given us a leg up towards being able to get grants easier. Now we have the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance accreditation and we can say ‘we’re accredited. You know, these people have thoroughly checked us out and approved us’ so we’re really thrilled about it.”
But even with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance accreditation, the program is still taking donations and volunteers. Both things help the program move smoothly and make it so they can help more off-the-track Thoroughbreds in need.
“We’re always looking for volunteers, either at the barn or for fundraisers,” DeLong said. “Donations of any kind, monetary, supplies, even toilet paper will help us out. We have two paid, full time employees and that’s it, the rest of the program runs on volunteers. So volunteers we’re very, very appreciative of.”
To learn more about the Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program, you can click here.
If you know of a Thoroughbred Aftercare program that you think should be covered in America’s Best Racing’s Aftercare Program Spotlight, email Melissa Bauer-Herzog (mbauer-herzog@jockeyclub.com) with the program’s name and website.