FAQS

"The Thoroughbred, America's Horse"

Frequently Asked Questions

There are quite a few questions I regularly get and it occurred to me that we should have a page addressing them. In addition I'd like a chance to explain some of the support we offer people who are looking for an off track thoroughbred. Please contact me with any questions or issues you think I should add to this page.

How does this work?

Leighton Farm and now Thoroughbred Placement and Rescue, Inc. a 501(c)(3) non profit works directly with race trainers and owners to help them place or sell their retiring racehorses. Available horses are separated on three pages. On Track, Off Track and Looking For a Home. Horses on the On Track page are still located at a racetrack or training center. The decision to retire them has just been made. Many times they are not training any longer. On Track horses must be let down before beginning their new career. Refer to the Retraining Guide for more information on that. Off Track Horses are located on a farm. Some have only been rested and have not started retraining. Others are in various stages of retraining from hacking about to competing and everything in between.

Looking for a Home horses are available for adoption to a good home. They can be located on a farm or at the track. Some have injuries or imperfections that make it necessary to give them away and others are just in need of a home quickly. With training fees at the track averaging $100 per day plus expenses, its no mystery why a trainer would choose to give a horse away rather than sell it for a few thousand dollars. I connect you directly with the owner or trainer and the two of you then work out the details.

The trainers or owners with horses that are being sold are asked to donate 10% of the sale price to TPR, Inc. This money goes to helping to fund this program. The horses on the Looking for a Home page are in essence free to a good home. We do not charge an adoption fee at this time. The goal is to make this as easy and smooth a process as possible. 80% of the horses placed are free to a good home and we do ask that you make a $150 donation to TPR, Inc. if you get a horse through the site. This money will help cover expenses. Otherwise the program can't continue.

Some trainers or owners check the references on potential adopters themselves. Most of the time we are charged with that task. We have developed an application and process to do this. We want to keep this simple and easy so it's not difficult to get qualified. Just fill out the application and submit it. We provide it in two formats, Word and Adobe. Click here to download Adobe, it's free. We will contact you with the outcome and if qualified you will receive a Confirmation number signifying you have completed the application and been approved.

How do I become a qualified adopter?

1. Fill out the adoption reference request form fully. We provide it in two formats, Word and Adobe. Click here to download Adobe, it's free. If neither of these work for you, contact Bernadette@goodhorse.org and she will provide the form in another format.

2. Email the form to bernadette@goodhorse.org

Once you are approved you will receive a confirmation number from us in 10 business days (or less). This is the number that you include in inquiries about horses. If you do not hear anything beyond 10 business days, please check back.

I'm qualified, now what?

Once you are qualified you can receive contact information on horses that interest you. When inquiring regarding a specific horse, provide your confirmation ID in the subject or body of your email and please include the name of the horse.

Why must I requalify?

We may requalify you if it's been over two years or more. For example, if you adopted a horse through us in 2009, we would potentially ask you to requalify in 2011. Why? Circumstances and people change over time and for the welfare of the horses we need to ensure that they are still getting an amazing home.

Why wasn't I qualified?

1. Cases of animal abuse against you
2. Form was not filled out fully (no contact information, bad telephone numbers, etc)
3. References did not return our phone calls or emails
4. References did not provide corroborating information

What do I do once I see a horse on the site that I am interested in?

Contact TPR, Inc. by email and include the name of the horse you are interested in. Email is the best way because of the volume of inquiries we get. Phone conversations take longer, so many times it's impossible to return all of them. Every person who contacts TPR is very important and we do all we can to accommodate them. Please bear in mind we have an overwhelming amount of work and not enough volunteers to handle it all.

We connect you with the owner or trainer of the horse and you will work directly with them. You are encouraged to have a vet do at least a basic ppe on the horse. This will help determine if the horse is suitable for your needs. At the track, vets are present all morning and it is relatively easy and inexpensive to do this. There is a list of vets on my site under the Resources button. While I do require full disclosure from trainers on any horses on my site, I also know that trainers can miss things. That's why the structure of claiming races exists. Simply so one trainer can claim a horse and improve on it when he finds things another trainer has missed. If you think you've been deceived by a trainer, contact us immediately. Trainers and owners are told if they are not truthful, they are barred from using the TPR site permanently. It is very important that the trainers and owners we work with treat the people who get horses from us with respect.

What if the horse I've gotten is not working out?

First, contact TPR or contact the owner or trainer. We have many trainers or owners who will take the horse back. Ask them about this when you are inquiring about the horse. We will also put the horse on the site and rehome him for you. Just contact us and let us know your needs. We want to help. Please understand that if the horse came off the backstretch the trainer cannot take the horse back unless he has access to a farm. Stalls are only assigned to horses that are there to race. It is against the rules to stable a horse at the track that is not going to race. The trainer could lose his stalls for doing so. Leighton Farm will take the horse and rehome him if there is space, but most of the time we have a wait list of 30 horses or more waiting to get in.

What if a trainer or owner is not returning my calls or email?

Contact TPR immediately. We make it clear to anyone posting a horse on the site that they must return calls in a timely manner. Everyone gets busy and many trainers and owners are not ready for the volume of calls they are about to get. That said, we expect them to make an effort to keep up and when we get complaints, we contact them immediately. Sometimes even tracking them down at the racetrack in the morning. It's frustrating to see a horse you are interested in and not be acknowledged.

Where is Leighton Farm located?

Leighton Farm is located in southern Maryland, about 30 minutes from Annapolis and 30 minutes from D.C. The address is 13130 Molly Berry Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.