Retiring a Racehorse  

The Racing Victoria Off The Track program is dedicated to supporting and promoting retired thoroughbred racehorses. 

The versatility, athleticism, striking presence and intelligence of retired racehorses makes them ideal for a number of post-racing careers, including:

  • Equestrian (Performance disciplines including showing, dressage, show jumping, eventing, polo, polocrosse, western/sporting and others);
    Pleasure Riding;

  • Companion and Therapy Animals (Including Riding for the Disabled);

  • Working horses (Clerks of the Course, stock work and law enforcement).

The Off The Track program facilitates the placement of retired racehorses in second careers by assisting industry participants and educating the community about the post-racing options, versatility and the appropriate care and retraining required.

Racehorse Transition Assistance

Racing Victoria’s Off The Track Program is able to assist with the retraining and rehoming of your retired racehorse. Please follow the steps below to submit a request:

  1. Register as a member of the Off The Track Community - ottcommunity.com.au/register

  2. Click OTT SEARCH and then SEARCH THOROUGHBRED

  3. Type your horse’s name into the search bar (use filters if your horse is unnamed), press search and then click on the name

  4. Click Request Retraining, then fill in the Request for Retraining form, including uploading a minimum of four photos. Please click here to view examples of suitable photos of your horse.
    This form does not have to be completed in one go, you can save a draft and come back to it anytime

  5. Click Submit Request - once approved by the Off The Track team your horse’s profile will be circulated to our statewide network of RV Acknowledged Retrainers

Note: If an RV Acknowledged Retrainer is interested in retraining your horse, they will contact you directly. However, if no one commits to taking the horse on within 10 business days, it may be eligible to nominate for RV’s RESET Program - an Off The Track initiative that supports horses that have struggled to transition to a second career outside racing.

If you have any questions about submitting a request, please contact the Off The Track team via email: offthetrack@racingvictoria.net.au