TRF adds veterinary and industry expertise to board with new appointments

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation did not just add two names to a board roster on May 21. It added two people whose day jobs touch the exact pressures that decide whether retired racehorses get a useful second act, with Dr. Megan Knoell bringing veterinary depth and Donald Little III bringing commercial Thoroughbred industry experience.

That matters because TRF says it was founded in 1983 and is the oldest and largest Thoroughbred rescue in the United States, while its aftercare profile says most horses in its care remain with the foundation for 15 to 20 years. For an organization with that kind of timeline, board appointments are not ceremonial. They shape how seriously TRF can be judged on retraining, placement, fundraising and the standards it sets for lifetime care.

Knoell arrives with a profile built for the long tail of aftercare. She founded Knoellwood Equine and focuses on general medicine, geriatrics and sports medicine, with additional certification in acupuncture and equine spinal medical manipulation. Knoellwood Equine says she grew up in Goshen, New York, graduated from Goshen Central High School, earned a Bachelor of Environmental Science from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Her credentials are listed as DVM, CVA and CVMMP, which puts real weight behind the kind of aging-horse care TRF needs as careers turn into decades of management.

Little brings a different kind of leverage. He is vice president of sales at Centennial Farms, and the farm says he has been part of the family business since birth. His grandfather founded the partnership, while his father, Donald V. Little, Jr., has served as president and co-owner since 1990. Centennial Farms says Little graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in economics and has worked across sports, technology, marketing and sales, including with the Boston Bruins.

That mix matters for a nonprofit that lives and dies on credibility with horsepeople, donors and the broader public. Little also serves on the advisory board of the Belmont Child Care Association, and that family link runs deeper still: the association named Donald V. Little, Jr. president of its board in March 2026 after he had served on the board since 2016 and as vice president since 2019.

Maggie Sweet said TRF was thrilled to welcome Knoell and Little, and the point is hard to miss. If TRF wants this move to mean something on the ground, the numbers now have to follow the names: how many horses are retrained, how many are placed, how long they stay in care and whether welfare standards keep pace with the sport’s scrutiny.