The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) announced Feb. 7 that 578 trainers have been accepted to compete for their share of $100,000 in prize money at the 2017 Thoroughbred Makeover, taking place Oct. 5-8 at the Kentucky Horse Park, in Lexington.

The trainers approved to compete this year, 65 of whom expect to bring two horses, include some of the most highly respected in their disciplines.

Trainers were approved based on evidence of ability to effectively introduce an off-track Thoroughbred with no experience outside racing to one or two of the ten Thoroughbred Makeover disciplines, demonstrating that horse’s talent and trainability. Skills and experience were evaluated based on applications that included competition highlights, references, and video links. Trainers are approved based on their skills in a primary discipline, but can compete in up to two of ten offered, depending on aptitude shown during the training process.

“We were overwhelmed, not only by the number of applications, but also by the quality,” said Steuart Pittman, RRP president. “The performances on the first weekend of October could be more awe-inspiring than what we saw last year, and the selection of carefully chosen, well-started Thoroughbred sport horses for sale will be vast. People should pencil this weekend in on their calendars now