Thoroughbred Makeover Scholarship Program

The ASPCA has generously funded the ASPCA Right Horse Scholarship through their 2024 Reimaging Racers grant. The scholarship will cover the costs of one stall and first discipline fee (minimum value of $405 per horse) for up to 50 eligible horses competing in the 2025 Thoroughbred Makeover.

• Eligibility: Horses adopted from ASPCA Right Horse Partner organizations and registered for the 2025 Thoroughbred Makeover.
  • Find your local ASPCA Right Horse Adoption Partner here.
  • Shop for scholarship eligible horses in the RRP Horse Listings and myrighthorse.org. ASPCA Right Horse Scholarship eligible horses will likely be listed on the RRP website starting December of 2024.
• High priority: Horses that meet the hard-to-place criteria will be prioritized to receive scholarship funding. These are horses that are former broodmares, cribbers, require rehab at time of adoption, or have career limitations.
  • If the horse is listed in the RRP Horse Listings, there will be a High Priority indicator to let shoppers know if the horse meets the criteria.
  • If the horse was not listed in the RRP Horse Listings, the adopter must instruct the adoption organization to email secretary@therrp.org before July 29 and inform the Show Secretary of the horse’s high priority status.
• Selection process: Accepted Makeover trainers must register their eligible horses and correctly name the qualifying organization that they acquired their horse from on the registration form. Horse registrations open on January 6 and close on July 29. Horses that meet the hard-to-place criteria will be prioritized and any additional scholarship funding will be awarded to eligible horses in order of when the trainer submitted the horse’s registration form. Makeover trainers will be notified as to whether their horse has been selected for scholarship funding or placed on the waitlist between July 29 and August 5. If the horse is awarded scholarship funding, the trainer will receive a discount code worth the scholarship’s value to use at Final Entry checkout.

Scholarships listings are $500, which covers an extended listing period through the horse’s entire Thoroughbred Makeover eligibility (upgraded from the typical 60 day listing) as well as the stabling and first discipline Final Entry fee (fees normally paid by Makeover trainers in August who intend to compete at the event in October). These funds are held in escrow by the Retired Racehorse Project, earmarked for the specific horse as its entry is made for the Thoroughbred Makeover.

If the scholarship horse does not make a final entry to the Thoroughbred Makeover, the funds held in escrow are converted to a donation to the Retired Racehorse Project to support its larger charitable mission. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.