Thanks to the generosity of Maker’s Mark, charitable donations from some of the most respected names in the Thoroughbred racing industry, and the vision of Penny Chenery, the owner of the great Secretariat, dozens of retired race horses will have a home among the splendor of the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Instead of a future that may have included neglect or abuse, the horses will be adopted out to good homes where they can live out their lives.

The facility will be known as the TRF-Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center and it will be run by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, the world’s oldest and largest equine rescue operation. The Secretariat Center could have not have been possible without the cooperation, efforts and financial contributions of several individuals and organizations, but the man and woman of the hour are horse owner Mary Lou Whitney and Dr. Tony Ryan, founder of Ryanair and the principle owner of Castleton Lyons Farm