The last week was all about retired racehorses at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. with 10 champions crowned on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America.

This was the second year of the format change that saw each discipline have 10 finalists instead of five, with each individual discipline having a winner without the overall show championship from previous years. This move allowed more horses to compete for the more than $135,000 up for grabs between the disciplines with preliminary competition taking place on Wednesday and Thursday before the championship rounds on Saturday.

Barrel Racing presented by Boehringer Ingelheim: White Dove

Barrel Racing champion White Dove (Erin Gilmore Photography)

White Dove was the gate-to-wire winner of the Barrel Racing discipline, laying down big runs and improving in the championship.

The mare led from the get-go when taking the lead in the preliminary competition. She never let another horse take it from her, improving her best time in the preliminary runs by more than half a second to finish her barrel racing pattern in 17.893 with Gunnar Harbison aboard. White Dove was followed by Manta Rey and Digital Sale in second and third, with those two flipping places from where they’d finished in the preliminary round.

“I’m really proud of her. She did really good, especially for getting her in June off the track. She took to training excellent. She’s really good minded and she loves her job,” Harbison said.

As a racehorse, White Dove won twice with both her wins coming just a few hours from the Kentucky Horse Park at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Running her last race in December 2025, she was retired after breezing on June 5, 2026 with $25,477 in earnings.

Competitive Trail presented by Godolphin Lifetime Care: Our Girl Flint

Ranch Work presented by Juddmonte Farms: Our Girl Flint

Competitive Trail and Ranch Work champion Our Girl Flint (Erin Gilmore Photography)

Our Girl Flint wasn’t the best racehorse, just finishing in the top three in two of her 16 starts with no wins, but the daughter of Flintshire put in a stellar performance to win the Competitive Trail.

The 5-year-old ridden by Maximiliano Castro dominated the preliminary competition when she registered a final score of 108.75. That finish was nearly 10 points ahead of Roman Empire’s 99.0. Finishing third in the preliminary round on a 91.50, the stakes-winning Classical Cat made the competition a bit closer for Our Girl Flint in the finale. The winner registered a score of 100 with Classical Cat second on a 97.50 and Roman Empire rounding out the top three.

“I’m very, very proud of her and super happy because she did way better than I thought,” Castro said. “I know she’s a great horse. She’s very willing to do what I ask every time, and she’s always trying to do her best for both of us.”

If there was still an overall champion at the competition, odds would have been on Our Girl Flint to take the award.

In addition to Competitive Trail, she also won the Ranch Work division. Just like she had in Competitive Trail, the mare led both the preliminary and championship rounds with Texas Air Force finishing second and Sweet Silver Kiss in third.

“We took her to practice with cows only one time before the Makeover, but to be fair, we have goats at the ranch so she’s seen livestock,” Castro said. “At home on the ranch, she’s willing to do anything, and we go on lots of trail rides. I’m so proud of her and how relaxed and willing she has been at both divisions.”

Our Girl Flint ended her career in Oklahoma at Remington Park a year ago with an eighth-place finish on Oct. 9, 2025. Despite never winning, she earned $22,097 during her career.

Dressage presented by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners: Twice a Dollar

Twice a Dollar didn’t spend much time on the track, only making two starts before retiring in February 2025 with no victories and $200 in earnings, but she took home a much bigger check on Saturday as the Dressage champion, trained by Elliott Timmons.

Twice a Dollar finished second in the preliminary round on a combined score of 144.0 for her two tests that round behind Midnight Twister, who won the preliminaries with a 146.75. Twice a Dollar flipped the script in the championship with the judges awarding her a 67.5 for the victory with Midnight Twister finishing second.

Eventing Presented by Bourbon Lane Retirement Fund: Al Tirah

Eventing champion Al Tirah (Erin Gilmore Photography)

Eighteen-time starter Al Tirah earned her lone victory on the racetrack in 2023 but added a second major win to her resume on Saturday in the Eventing division.

Al Tirah was a front-running winner in her racetrack victory, but at the Thoroughbred Makeover she preferred a come-from-behind style. The 6-year-old finished 10^th in the preliminary round, finishing just over half a point ahead of the 11^th-place finisher to earn her spot. But with the scores reset for the Championship round, she was ready to go.

Al Tirah laid down a round that saw her score 110.375 in the championship to finish 1.375 points ahead of second-placed Li’l Lang (who would go on to win the Show Jumper championship).

“This horse is a once-in-a-lifetime horse,” Al Tirah’s rider, Rory Catherine Parks, said. “I got her from a good friend who is actually here. I knew her at the track, and I immediately went into the barn after not being there for a while and said ‘I want this one when she’s done.’ This is a once-in-a-lifetime horse and this will be my 5* horse hopefully!”

A familiar name was aboard third-place finisher Runnin’ Ray, a Grade 3-placed racehorse with retired jockey Rosie Napravnik riding.

Field Hunter presented by Masters of Foxhounds Association: Set Point

A winner in Ireland and England, the veteran Set Point added a Field Hunter win to his extensive resume to go along with an accomplished career on the track.

With Shelly Talk aboard, Set Point led the way in both the individual test and the mock hunt in the preliminary round to score a 241.667 – more than four points higher than the runner-up Grand Aspen to show he was a serious threat in the championship. He lived up to that promise when laying down a round that saw him score 118.833, over a point more than runner up Major Offensive with Hard Rye Guy in third.

“I am beyond excited. I am so thrilled with this horse. Dreams do come true,” Talk said.

Set Point raced for parts of six years, starting his career in flat races in England before moving to Ireland to win as a steeplechaser. He came to the United States in late 2024 where he finished fourth in a pair of United States jumping stakes races as well before retiring in early 2025 with a record of four wins and three additional top three finishes in 28 starts for $73,690 in earnings.

Freestyle presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance: River in Egypt

Freestyle champion River in Egypt (Erin Gilmore Photography)

The Freestyle event at the Thoroughbred Makeover provides horses a chance to show off skills that may not fit in the other disciplines offered, with River in Egypt’s skills taking home the championship.

He was another all-the-way winner with a 116.625 scored in the preliminary to have only Lady McSparkles within 16 points of him after the scores were tallied. In the championship round, it was a closer affair with Sweet Silver Kiss finishing second and 2 ½ points behind him with El Hermano rounding out the top three. Competitive Trail third-place finisher Classical Cat also made a splash here with a fifth-place finish.

River in Egypt won two of his eight starts, including breaking his maiden under the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs, for $62,018 in earnings.

“Since being partnered with River, he’s made all my dreams come true,” trainer Lauren Slavin said. “He steps up to every challenge, and I couldn’t be more proud of every new adventure we take on together.”

Polo presented by United States Polo Association: Red Regret

The Polo division brought together seven horses but, in the end, Red Regret and Robert Pizarro came out on top.

The pair finished mid-pack, 10 points behind the leader, in the preliminary round but Red Regret came out swinging in the championship. While her pattern didn’t get the highest scores of the individual test, she scored the highest points with both judges in the Chukker to end the day on a 169.250. Earthling was second with a 165.500 and preliminary round winner Fantastic Forest was third.

“This horse is really special to me. I’ve always played polo and made some horses for fun, but this is the first horse I’ve bought all on my own without the help of my family,” Pizarro said. “She’s an amazing horse: super talented, athletic. I’m just really happy for the horse.”

Red Regret won her debut in May 2025 and retired with a record of one win in three starts for $7,850.

Show Hunter supported by Phoenix Performance Products: My Sobriety

Show Hunter champion My Sobriety (Erin Gilmore Photography)

The Lauren Silverstein-trained My Sobriety never raced but registered two workouts at Tampa Bay at the end of last year before his racing connections called it a day. That choice led to the gelding winning the Show Hunter division at this year’s Thoroughbred Makeover.

My Sobriety put in a huge performance in the preliminary round with both judges making him their No. 1 pick for an overall total 18.75 points higher than the second-place horse. The point spread wasn’t as wide in the championship, but My Sobriety still won by nearly four points with a score of 124 over Abject’s 120.25 with Red Line Overdrive finishing third.

“I bought a Thoroughbred from a guy the year before, so when he called me up to say that he had another one asking if I wanted him, I said, ‘Yup!’ ” Silverstein said. “I went and picked him up, and he has literally been a unicorn every day since.”

Show Jumper presented by WinStar Farm: Li’l Lang

Li’l Lang finished second in the Eventing division but took home a win with a Show Jumper victory.

Entered by the Santistevan Sport Horses Club Team at Colorado State University, Li’l Lang finished fifth in the Preliminary competition with Grade 2-placed stakes winner South Bend leading the way. In the Championship, however, Li’l Lang blew the field away when scoring a 171.125 – nearly 17 points higher than Runnin’ Ray in second with South Bend finishing third.

Li’l Lang was also the highest earner of all the Championship winners with $141,943 earned on the track. In all, the gelding won three of his 16 starts with four other top-three finishes and all of his wins coming at New York tracks. Now 5 years old, Li’l Lang’s last start was nearly a year ago when he finished seventh in an allowance on Oct. 14, 2025, at Finger Lakes.

The 2027 Thoroughbred Makeover is scheduled for Oct. 13-16. To learn more about the program, visit https://therrp.org/.