The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) announced today the launch of two fundraising initiatives supporting the 2024 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, Presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America. The Make the Makeover and Fund-a-Need campaigns are now open, allowing supporters two unique ways to make direct contributions in support of the event.

The Make the Makeover campaign is a trainer-driven fundraiser, allowing supporters to make a donation to the RRP pledged in the name of a participating Makeover trainer. All trainers who raise $1,000 or more will have their entry fees refunded (or applied to a 2025 application). The Fund-a-Need campaign is a renewal of the RRP’s annual Makeover fundraiser and works as entry-level sponsorship, allowing supporters to contribute to the cost of producing the Thoroughbred Makeover at a basic level of recognition at the event.

Both fundraising initiatives will offset the costs of producing the Thoroughbred Makeover, which, as the largest national retraining competition for recently-retired racehorses, takes a significant amount of funding as well as the time and energy of RRP staff and contractors. In addition to the event itself, the RRP provides ongoing support for participating trainers, including educational opportunities to enrich their Makeover experience and give them the tools they need to ensure a successful transition for their horses into second careers. The RRP also invests considerable resources in creating educational content for the general public as well as services designed to aid in the transition of more Thoroughbreds to careers beyond racing.

“The RRP prides itself on not only inspiring the transition of thousands of former racehorses into second careers through the Thoroughbred Makeover, but on providing education and service far beyond the event itself,” said RRP executive director Kirsten Green. “Each year, there are more demands on our resources than we can meet, and we can see how much more work there is to be done to better serve the Thoroughbred and its industries. These fundraising initiatives will allow individuals, businesses and organizations unique ways to support the Thoroughbred Makeover, which will allow us to utilize resources for additional programs throughout the year to expand our work.”

To support the Make the Makeover campaign, please click here. To support Fund-a-Need, please click here. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for the Thoroughbred Makeover: please contact Megan Garlich at mgarlich@therrp.org.