What Is an OTTB? Retired Racehorses and the 2026 Thoroughbred Makeover

What is an OTTB? The short answer

What is an OTTB? It's an off-track Thoroughbred: a Thoroughbred that trained or raced at the track and has moved on to a new life, from show jumping to trail rides to grazing as another horse's pasture buddy. It isn't a separate breed, just a label for where the horse came from, and because racing records are public you can usually look up exactly what that horse did.

This fall is a great time to meet them. The Thoroughbred Makeover, billed as the world's largest retraining competition for recently retired racehorses, runs Oct. 7–10, 2026 at the Kentucky Horse Park, and the Hokkaido round of Japan's Retired Racehorse Cup on Sept. 26 has ex-racers trending on X.

Why retired racehorses are in the spotlight this fall

• The 2026 Thoroughbred Makeover (Oct. 7–10, Lexington, Kentucky). The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) has run it since 2013, and it bills itself as the largest Thoroughbred retraining competition in the world. Trainers compete across 10 disciplines for at least $135,000 in guaranteed prize money. There's no longer an overall Makeover Champion: since 2025, the top 10 retiring racehorses in each discipline return on Saturday for separate Discipline Championships, where each champion earns $5,000 and prize money is paid through 10th place. In 2025, 290 horses competed.
• Only "fresh" horses qualify. A Makeover horse must be Jockey Club–registered and microchipped, must have raced or posted a published workout on or after July 1, 2024, and could have no more than 15 retraining rides before Dec. 1, 2025.
• This year's ambassador. On Sept. 21 the RRP named Wally K the winner of its 2026 Bill Kraatz Thoroughbred Makeover Ambassador Award. Before he ever reached the starting gate, he had pastern surgery and later a sesamoid fracture. He has since won championships in competitive trail and ranch riding and completed mounted police training, and he returns in October for the Makeover's first-ever Graduate Classes.
• Japan's Retired Racehorse Cup (Sept. 26, Hokkaido round). Racing site netkeiba posted that the ex-racers Silver Sonic and You Can Smile are entered in show jumping, and the post drew more than 3,000 likes.
• Australia's Off The Track Carnival, run by Racing Victoria at Boneo Park (Sept. 11–13), put ex-racehorses into dressage, combined training, show jumping and show horse classes.
• The Jockey Club's reminder. On Sept. 19 the breed registry posted that a Thoroughbred's next chapter can be sport, a companion role, retirement or sanctuary, not only competition.

Second careers for an off-track Thoroughbred

Thoroughbreds are bred to gallop, but that athleticism travels well. They compete in eventing, show jumping and dressage all the way up to the Olympics, and they're one of the most common polo breeds in the United States.

The Makeover's 10 disciplines are a handy map of realistic second careers:

The 10th discipline, Freestyle, is a free-form class where trainers show off skills of their choice. Beyond the show ring, plenty of OTTBs become trail and pleasure horses for riders who just want a good partner.

The Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.), which held its first event in 2012, rewards registered Thoroughbreds in other sports. Through 2024, more than 89,000 eligible Thoroughbreds had taken part at more than 12,000 shows and events. Our disciplines guide explains what each sport involves.

Why some retirees become companion horses (and that's a good ending)

Not every ex-racer should go back to work under saddle, and that's not a failure. Racing is hard on young legs, and a horse with an old injury or a sore back may be perfectly comfortable in a field but not with a rider on top.

Two real examples from this month:

• New Vocations listed Ace of Swords, a 2021 Thoroughbred in Ocala, Florida, as a non-riding pasture companion because he did not stay sound in training.
• Unbridled Spirits Thoroughbred Retirement Ranch shared a senior resident, Rock My Socks, being greeted by a friend and said a safe, patient life like that is what aftercare means.

A companion horse is a pasture buddy. Horses are herd animals, so a calm companion can make life easier for a lone horse, and you can learn why in our behavior guide.

Just don't expect a companion to be cheap. It still needs hay, hoof care, dental care, vaccines and a vet on call, so the basic monthly bills stay much the same even though nobody rides. Sanctuary retirement, a permanent home for life, is the other good ending, and The Jockey Club's post counts it as real aftercare.

The first months off the track: let-down, feed and health

A racehorse's life runs on a strict routine: big grain meals, lots of stall time and daily gallops. Moving to a quieter life is a big change, so many new owners start with a let-down period of turnout and simple handling before real retraining begins.

Feeding: forage first, changes slow

A nutrition guide in The Horse breaks the switch into three phases:

1. Roughly the first month: shift from grain toward hay gradually, by no more than 1–2 pounds a day, over two weeks or longer.
2. Month one to six or more: a forage-based diet of at least 1.5–2% of body weight a day, split into several meals, with no single grain meal bigger than 0.5% of body weight.
3. Settled: the horse holds a healthy weight and is ready to train. Some turn into easy keepers.

These are general guidelines, so work out your horse's actual ration with your vet or an equine nutritionist. Our nutrition guide covers forage basics.

Health points to raise with your vet

• Gastric ulcers: The Horse notes that up to 90% of racehorses have them. Picky eating, weight loss or a sour attitude are reasons to call your vet.
• Hindgut trouble: A July 2026 RRP article lists repeated mild colic, manure changes or diarrhea, weight loss, a poor topline and mood changes as possible signs, and says recovery can take months. Let your vet find the cause.
• Old injuries: ask for the horse's full history and plan a vet exam before you commit.
• Hooves and teeth: book the farrier and equine dentist early, because a new job and new footing change what the horse needs.

Know the basics of colic in our health basics guide. And about that "spooky Thoroughbred" stereotype: a Sept. 9 RRP article argues "spooky" is usually a symptom of pain, missing skills or confusion, not a personality. Rule out discomfort first, then build trust with calm groundwork.

How to adopt a retired racehorse or buy one

Retired racehorse adoption and buying both work; what matters is matching the horse to your skills. Here's the order that keeps people and horses safe:

1. Be honest about your level. Beginners should look for a horse already restarted by a professional, such as an aftercare graduate or a Makeover horse, not one straight off the track. New to horses? Start at Get Started.
2. Find reputable sellers. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance accredits 86 organizations with about 175 facilities across North America, and its directory is the best starting point. The RRP also runs horse listings and the Makeover Marketplace, where sales require no-slaughter and resale-notification clauses. CANTER USA's volunteer affiliates also help retiring racehorses move into new careers.
3. Look up the record. Many OTTBs carry an ID tattoo inside the upper lip, and newer horses are microchipped, so you can match the horse to its racing history.
4. Get a vet exam that fits the job you have in mind, whether that's jumping or trail riding.
5. Read the contract. Good programs include a return or resale-notice clause and a promise that the horse will never go to slaughter.
6. Budget for year one: let-down time, trainer help and baseline vet, farrier and dental visits.

What an OTTB costs

Prices come from RRP data. The purchase price is the smallest part of owning any horse; care costs continue every month.

What to watch next and what to do

• Sept. 26: Japan's Retired Racehorse Cup in Hokkaido. Watch netkeiba and X to see how Silver Sonic and You Can Smile handle the jumps.
• Oct. 7–8: Thoroughbred Makeover 2026 preliminary competition in all 10 disciplines.
• Oct. 9: no Makeover classes; instead there are clinics and a ticketed charity polo match.
• Oct. 10: the Discipline Championships, where the top 10 horses in each discipline start again from a clean slate and each discipline crowns its own champion (there's no overall Makeover Champion anymore), followed by the Competitor Awards Party at 5 p.m.

Watching in person is easy on the wallet: the RRP says preliminary competition, the championships, the vendor fair, the Makeover Marketplace and parking are all free, and the Competitor Awards Party needs no ticket. The exception is Friday's charity polo match, where tickets are required and sold per vehicle for tailgating.

Thinking about an OTTB? Use this checklist:

• Watch Makeover classes in the sport you love and notice which horses stay relaxed.
• Ride several Thoroughbreds before you choose one.
• Line up a trainer, vet and farrier before the horse arrives.
• If you want to help but don't need to ride, ask an aftercare group about a companion horse.