By Dick Jerardi
There are multiple significant race days each year at Parx – Pennsylvania Derby Day, Smarty Jones Day, Pennsylvania’s Day at the Races. But the most important day is the PTHA’s Turning for Home Day, when the nation’s model Racehorse Retirement Program, now in its 16th year, is celebrated with the motto: Rehab, Retrain, Rehome, Relove.
The 10th annual TFH Day was on Labor Day when judging by the parking lots and the picnic grove, one of the year’s biggest crowds was at the track. Danielle Montgomery, in her 11th year as program administrator, was thrilled by the crowd as it gave her and her team an opportunity to explain what TFH does to some fans that did not know about it.
“Today is also about letting the fans know (about TFH),” Montgomery said. “Some of them don’t know about it. We just want the fans to know these horses have a safe place to go when they are done racing.”
Turning for Home was the brainchild of former PTHA executive director Mike Ballezzi. His vision came to life in 2008 and, since then, approximately 4,250 horses from Parx have been successfully retired, found second homes and, in many cases, second careers.
Jeff Matty took over for Ballezzi in 2022 and has made TFH one of the absolute centerpieces of his tenure.
“I think (TFH Day) means everything, how we care for these animals not only while they’re racing, but after retirement,” Matty said.
Once an owner turns over a horse to TFH, Montgomery and her team go through a several step process to find that horse a forever home.
The horses first go to one of 22 Partner Farms, 10 in Pennsylvania, five in New Jersey and others up and down the east coast. Four of the farms had representatives at the track on TFH Day. The farms acclimate the horses to a different environment than the race track while rehabilitating horses that need it and retraining them for a second less strenuous career in one of many horse-related disciplines.
“This whole day is to celebrate the partner farms,” Montgomery said. “The horses get to eat some green grass, they get 60 days, 90 days, sometimes it takes a year to get them to where you’re comfortable transitioning them to that next life. And then it’s like you’re like the parents on the first day of school and letting them go off into the big wide world again. There’s a lot that goes into it and we’re blessed to have good partnerships and good people that can do it that we can trust.”
Once ready, horses are placed for adoption (applications are at turningforhome.org) and the partner farms will make contact looking for the best match. TFH monitors the retirees from the moment they leave the track to the partner farms to the adopters and beyond with regular updates.
“Today is the day on the calendar where we specifically honor Turning for Home and appreciate Turning for Home and promote Turning for Home, but here at Parx I think it’s safe to say that every day is Turning for Home Day,” Matty said. “Our owners that lead horses over with their trainers every single day, they help fund our program. Without them, we are not here.”
The TFH funding mechanism is what has made TFH sustainable for these 16 years. There are three main revenue streams: every time a horse runs, TFH gets $100 from that horse’s owner starting fee. Parx Racing and Parx Casino give a yearly contribution. There are fundraisers throughout the year, including a golf tournament each spring.
In a typical year, approximately 300 horses are retired from Parx. As TFH has evolved and been streamlined, the dozens of retired horse success stories became hundreds and now thousands. Which is exactly why Turning for Home Day remains the most important day on the calendar at Parx.
