By Susan Kayne
For Capital Region Independent Media
As the world celebrates the dawn of 2025 with champagne and fireworks, a quiet ceremony of a different kind unfolds at Unbridled Sanctuary.
Here, 50 Thoroughbred horses, averaging 20 years of age, collectively mark 1,000 years of life – and survival. Today, like every Jan. 1 since the tradition began in Newmarket, England, in 1833, and was later adopted by the North American Jockey Club, these noble creatures will all become one year older, regardless of their actual birth dates. In Thoroughbred racing, the agreed-upon universal birth date speaks volumes about how these magnificent beings have been commodified for commerce.
The tradition of aging all Thoroughbreds on Jan. 1 wasn’t born from biological understanding or respect for natural cycles. It was created for convenience in racing cards and breeding schedules – a stark reminder that in the racing industry, efficiency often trumps individuality. But at Unbridled, every horse is an individual with a story, a personality, and a right to live out their natural lifespan with dignity.
Among the sanctuary’s residents are former stakes winners, six- and seven-figure sale horses, stakes-producing broodmares, and horses whose racing careers ended before they truly began. Their names echo their once-promised glory: Beauty, born on Jan. 4, 1998, now 27; Angie, born Feb. 14, 2011, now 14; Posey, foaled March 17, 2001, turning 24; Max, a March 1996 foal marking his 29th year. These aren’t just names and numbers – they represent lives that gave all that was asked of them. They generated millions of dollars and were discarded. But now, they are treasured simply for their inherent worth.
The math of Thoroughbred breeding tells a sobering story. Each year, approximately 18,000 Thoroughbreds are born in North America. With a natural lifespan of 30 years, that creates a staggering responsibility: 540,000 years of life requiring care, commitment and compassion. Yet the industry’s spotlight rarely shines past age five or six – when many horses are still growing into their full potential.
At Unbridled, the daily rhythm of care never changes, whether a horse once earned millions on the track or never saw a starting gate. Each of the 50 residents requires roughly $12,000 annually for basic care – grain, hay, veterinary attention, dental work, hoof care, and essential supplements. It’s the same cost their former connections paid when these horses were in training, but now without the promise of purse money or breeding fees to offset the expense.
The sanctuary stands as a living rebuke to those who turn their backs when their horses’ earning days are done. Among the 50 souls sheltered here are horses whose connections include Hall of Fame trainers, celebrated jockeys, and industry-leading breeders and owners – people who, when informed of their former horses’ dire situations, chose to look away.
But for every story of abandonment, there’s a story of salvation, often from ordinary people who recognized an extraordinary truth: these horses deserve to live.
Consider the daily reality at Unbridled. Every morning, caregivers and volunteers distribute 150 pounds of grain across 50 carefully measured portions. They stack and distribute 75 bales of hay weekly, maintain 100 acres of fence line, clean 50 water troughs, and monitor each horse’s unique medical needs. This isn’t glamorous work – it’s sacred work.
These horses, who once generated millions in betting handles, prize money, sales proceeds, and breeding fees, now teach us a different kind of value. They demonstrate the depth of equine intelligence, the complexity of their social relationships, and their remarkable capacity for emotional connection. They show us what it means to heal, to trust again, and to find joy in simply being alive.
The racing industry’s economic model depends on what economists call “externalities” – costs that are passed on to others. In this case, the true cost of breeding and racing thousands of Thoroughbreds each year is borne by sanctuaries, rescue organizations, and individuals who step forward when these horses are discarded. It’s a system that privatizes profits and socializes responsibility.
Yet the heroes of this story aren’t those whose names appear in racing forms or breeding journals. The real champions are the supporters who make monthly donations to feed a retired gelding, the volunteers who show up in freezing weather to break ice in water troughs, and the veterinarians who provide services at reduced rates because they believe every horse deserves care.
As we mark another New Year and another universal birthday in the Thoroughbred world, it’s time to redefine what makes a true horseman or horsewoman. Perhaps it’s not the number of Grade 1 wins or the size of one’s breeding operation. Perhaps it’s the willingness to see each horse as a living being worthy of lifelong care and commitment.
The thousand years of life housed at Unbridled represent both a triumph and a challenge. It’s a triumph of compassion over commerce, of long-term commitment over short-term gain. But it’s also a challenge to an industry that must reckon with the lives it creates. Every foal born represents a three-decade commitment – not just a potential few years of racing or breeding.
For 50 of the horses at Unbridled, Jan. 1, 2025, isn’t just another arbitrary birthday. It’s a celebration of survival, a testament to the power of compassion, and a reminder that every life has value beyond its utility. As we raise our glasses to the New Year, let’s remember these equine elders and the thousands like them who deserve our care and commitment – not just for their racing and breeding days, but for all their days.
In the end, the true measure of our humanity isn’t in how we treat champions in their glory, but in how we care for the vulnerable when the grandstands are empty, the cameras are gone, and the horse has nothing left to give. At Unbridled, every day is a reminder that some victories aren’t counted in purse money or recorded in record books – they’re measured in the steady breath of a content horse, safe at last, with decades of life ahead.
Susan Kayne is the founder and president of Unbridled Sanctuary, an equine rescue on the border of Albany County and Greenville.