What Happens to Racehorses
When They Retire?
A racehorse’s career is often short-lived and after retirement, their lives can go in different directions depending on their success.
Life after retirement for racehorses is not all sunshine and rainbows, nor is it completely bleak. While some will suffer a dire fate, many retired racehorses will go on to have fulfilling lives.
There are many different reasons for a racehorse to enter retirement. All fertile racehorses, regardless of their rate of success, will be retired at a young age.
Unaltered racehorses that win enough races will be retired quickly, usually before 3 years of age. This helps to avoid injury and allows the owners to begin collecting their money for breeding fees.
Horses that do not perform as expected will be retired early from the racing world, if they ever make it to a track at all.