10/05/2026
This post is a message to all race trainers, racing owners, syndicates and private owners — please be extremely careful who your horses are rehomed through and where they ultimately end up. Once these horses leave the yard, they are incredibly vulnerable and easily fall into the wrong hands. False identities, forged passports and dishonest dealers are still very much a reality.
One horse who has recently come to us is one of those vulnerable horses who fell through the cracks. Jimmy, recently came into our care here at CRR, and his story is exactly why traceability and responsible rehoming matter so much.
After leaving racing and coming over to England, Jimmy was given a fake name, fake passport, fake date of birth and fake breeding details. He ended up in the hands, that other individuals have described, as one of the dodgiest dealers imaginable, who even dyed over the white marks on his legs.
A family purchased him last year purely out of pity because he was so emaciated. Since then, he has slowly gained condition, although he still has a way to go before reaching an ideal weight. After tracing his microchip details, his true identity was finally uncovered.
A few weeks ago, the family contacted us asking if we could take him on. He had originally been bought for an older lady to ride, based entirely on the false information they had been given. Thankfully, they recognised that Jimmy needed far more support and a far more suitable future.
He will now stay with us for however long it takes to get him healthy, assessed properly and eventually matched with the right second career home.
There are many reputable retrainers and aftercare homes out there who genuinely care about these horses and their futures. Proper traceability and responsible rehoming are absolutely vital to protecting them.
We are seeing cases like Jimmy all too often nowadays, so If the future of your ex-racehorse is important to you please do get in touch with us or other reputable racehorse retrainers, as collectively we are always willing to help any horse that we can.
Every horse deserves a safe, secure and accountable future after racing.
