Retired Racehorse Project adds graduate classes to 2026 makeover
Graduate Classes will give Thoroughbred Makeover alumni a second shot at the ring, with five disciplines in the pilot and separate placings.
The Retired Racehorse Project is giving Thoroughbred Makeover graduates a second competitive runway, and that could change how aftercare horses are marketed long after their first turn in the ring. The new Graduate Classes will debut at the 2026 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, held Oct. 7-10 at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, with alumni of previous Makeovers eligible to come back and compete again.
That matters because the Makeover is not a side show. The RRP calls it the largest Thoroughbred retraining competition in the world for recently retired ex-racehorses, and the 2026 edition will feature 10 competitive disciplines and more than $100,000 in prize money. Applications for the event opened Jan. 5 and ran through Jan. 23, with late applications still open through the end of June, a setup that keeps the entry pipeline moving well before the fall dates.
The Graduate Classes are built for horses that already passed through the Makeover system, including horses now under new ownership and horses withdrawn before competing. In the pilot year, the classes will be offered in five of the 10 disciplines and will run alongside the traditional divisions, but with separate results and placings. That is the key detail for owners, retrainers and aftercare advocates: the horses are not just getting an alumni ribbon. They are getting another marketable stage, another set of results and another chance to be seen in front of buyers, riders and industry people who already understand what a Thoroughbred can become after the track.
Kirsten Green said trainers had been asking for graduate classes for years, but the idea gained traction after the organization’s strategic-planning process pushed the RRP to rethink graduate participation. Rayna Erasmus said the Makeover has long been known as the “happiest horse show on earth,” and the new format is designed to keep people engaged while also giving newcomers a way into that community.
The move fits a broader shift in how the RRP is presenting aftercare. Its 2026-2030 strategic plan was adopted in December 2025 after interviews, surveys and landscape assessments, with priorities that include strengthening Makeover programming, building brand identity and increasing industry-wide accountability and engagement. The organization says its mission is to place ex-racehorses in second careers by increasing demand for them in equestrian sports, and it backs that with numbers: a 94% increase in value at retirement, a $10,400 average reported Makeover graduate sale price and $41,110,400 in total trainer investment in Makeover horses since 2015.
The field has also kept growing. The RRP said 447 horses registered for the 2024 Makeover and 353 made final entry, while 405 horses were registered in 2025. Since 2015, the event has directly impacted 5,564 horses. Add Graduate Classes to that footprint, and the Makeover stops looking like a one-time showcase and starts looking more like a true second-stage circuit for Thoroughbreds that are still building value after racing.
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