Sometimes, when I walk onto the backstretch here at Century Mile and look around at “all the pretty Thoroughbreds,” I feel a bit like I’m Alice, trying to figure out how I landed in Wonderland.  How did I get here, from there?

Lindsay and Real Grace. (Courtesy of Lindsay Turcotte)

I could trace it back a lot of years, to a horse named Singapore Gold in 2004, and then to Polysbanner in 2005. To a cold, teary day in January 2011 when I made hard decisions, let Poly go to greener pastures, and declared “no more OTTBs.” To August 2011, when I fell head over heels for Paddys Road, aka Rascal, and made a liar out of myself. To another cold morning, this time in April 2020, sitting in his pen, in tears as I fought to accept that after everything we tried, including surgery, my best bud really did have to retire. 

I was smart enough, that time, to not declare “no more OTTBs.” I mean, why make a liar out of myself twice? Instead, I set off to find good connections in Alberta’s racing industry, hoping to get a line on a horse that was athletic, sound, and ready for a new job. It was harder than you’d think: Alberta didn’t have anyone formally working to spread the word about retiring horses from the industry that were ready for new careers. It was easy to see what was available in Manitoba via the well-run Final Furlong, but when the odd horse would trickle across my Facebook feed from Alberta it was often impossible to get good enough pictures, or jog video, to assess. And amid COVID, there was no option to go look at the horse in person.

One day, I messaged a friend of a friend on Facebook, a long time racetracker. “Why doesn’t Alberta have a listing service?” Her response was that she didn’t know, and that we needed one. I didn’t hesitate, just shot back, “Who do I talk to about how to get back there and start this?” 

After the Wire was born.

Starting a listing service when you’re a total stranger to all but maybe three horsemen in the industry is no small feat. But I always believed in treating people with respect, never judging without first understanding, and I always, always had a strong aversion to the “rescue” mentality that often creeps up where retiring racehorses are concerned. I wanted the horses listed to be viewed by the after-market as true sport prospects, desirable animals worth buying and retraining for a new career. My goal was to present horses with respect and integrity, and let the service and page sell itself. I just needed the horsemen to meet me and give me a chance.

The public introduction to After the Wire led to an invite to the closed-to-the-public (due to COVID) Canadian Derby preview. And it was that morning that Real Grace galloped past me for the first time.

Canadian Derby win. (Coady Photography)

His incredible hindleg and beautiful way of going turned my head in a big way. His story tugged my heart. Real Grace had been purchased as an unraced 3-year-old out of the OBS Winter in training sale by Winnipeg trainer Shelley Brown. He started three times in the States before shipping to Brown’s home track in Winnipeg, where he promptly won the Derby Trial Stakes. He followed that with a fifth in the Manitoba Derby before shipping to Century Mile to finish second in our first Derby Prep, the Count Lathum, and then fourth in the Arctic Laur Handicap.  

Somewhere around the running of the Arctic Laur, Shelley received a devastating cancer diagnosis. While she received treatment back in Manitoba, Real Grace stayed in Alberta and prepared for the Canadian Derby. And on Sept. 27, 2020, he loaded into the gate as the 18.40-1 long shot, with an apprentice in the irons, broke in the lead and refused to give it up for the full mile and a quarter.

It was my first time experiencing the magic of a gritty win. And his fight and perseverance in that race renewed Shelley’s fight for life – she’s still with us today. 

Clearly, I needed to set my sights lower when it came to horse shopping, but also clearly, I needed to work with these amazing animals and learn more about the industry from the inside. 

So, I did the only logical thing: I got a groom’s license, and set to helping out. I’d walk anything! Still will. For hours. Legwork?  I’m in there like a dirty shirt. If there’s something to learn, I want to learn it. Yes, I might be certifiable.

And horse sales? Well, After the Wire took off in ways I never even dreamed of.  

Over the three years that followed, I’ve learned so much, from so many people on the backstretch. I’ve loved almost every minute of it. I’ve been inspired, educated, heartbroken, and everything in between. I’ve gained a huge passion for aftercare, for creating a community around the horses I get to help network to new careers, and I’ve learned how much the horsemen love seeing the horses they trained in racing thrive in new partnerships. I’ve fallen in love with far too many horses, and I’ve made friends. Luckily for me, one of those friends is Shelley Brown. 

In 2021, when I was helping her out and fussing on Real Grace, she told me he would likely sell him to sport when he retired. I begged for dibs with the Thoroughbred Makeover in mind. In 2023, a message popped up on my phone: they wanted to retire him; was I still interested?

Retraining with the Makeover in mind. (Courtesy of Lindsay Turcotte )

The last thing I needed was another horse. But it was Real Grace! The horse I had my sights set on for three years! So, I did what any self-respecting horsewoman would do: I bought the horse.  

Turns out, I absolutely needed this horse. From the second I swung a leg over his back, I was home. He is my perfect match, and I am the luckiest girl in the world.

And if you had told me, that cold April morning in 2020, that retiring my best pal would lead me to sitting here in 2024, blogging on America’s Best Racing, well, I’d probably have laughed my way to the nuthouse. 

And yet, here I am. It took a series of events and a veritable village, but here we are. The door slammed shut on Rascal’s sport career, a window opened, I crawled through, fell down the rabbit hole into a wonderland of Thoroughbreds, and here I am.

My hope is to not only share the trials and tribulations of a lowly amateur trying to do justice to an amazing horse on our makeover journey, but also to encourage dialogue on aftercare and be a bridge that connects the racing community with the sport community. We are stronger together, and we are all in it for the same reason: love of the Thoroughbred.

The Jockey Club supports many aftercare initiatives including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the only accrediting body in aftercare, and Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers. View all of the initiatives supported by The Jockey Club.