Blue Horse Charities awards nearly $120,000 in grants for OTTBs

Blue Horse Charities, an organization funded by contributions from Fasig-Tipton horse auctions, announced Thursday that it has awarded grants totaling $119,700 to 30 non-profits that work to rehabilitate, retrain and adopt off-the-track Thoroughbreds.

Through the grant application process, Blue Horse Charities and its managing agent Thoroughbred Charities of America determined that 805 Thoroughbreds adopted out in 2012 were eligible for funding. Blue Horse provides grants to qualifying organizations based exclusively on the number of registered Thoroughbreds placed into adoptive homes in a given calendar year. Many of those horses go on to second careers as hunters, jumpers, eventers and pleasure horses.

“We are pleased to support charities successfully working to transition Thoroughbreds from the racetrack into a second career,” said Blue Horse Charities president Terence Collier. “We applaud their efforts and offer our grants in support of those efforts.”

Blue Horse Charities was founded in 2001 and accrues funds from buyers and sellers at Fasig-Tipton auctions, with all contributions matched equally by the sales company. To date, over $1.8 million has been granted to more than 70 charities. Blue Horse also works to educate owners about the myriad options available for Thoroughbreds at the conclusion of their racing careers.

For more information about Blue Horse Charities, visit the organization’s website.