Keeneland and Stable Recovery, a program that offers recovering addicts training to find employment in the Thoroughbred industry, are teaming to launch a “maintenance cohort” to provide specialized job training at the racetrack. It is the first program of its kind at a racetrack to work alongside Stable Recovery and the Taylor Made School of Horsemanship.
Stable Recovery is a live-in program involving recovery tools such as 12-step meetings and additional support groups. The program also teaches horsemanship and employable skills for work within the industry. More than 100 individuals have graduated from Stable Recovery, the brainchild of Taylor Made Farm’s Frank Taylor. The program and Taylor were honored with the Special Eclipse Award for service to the Thoroughbred industry in January.
The maintenance cohort at Keeneland, which will welcome its first class of eight in August, will be a specialized extension of the existing program. Along with additional horsemanship and stable management training, the program will include training in track maintenance and safety procedures and professional development focused on the unique demands of Keeneland. The track will provide on-site housing for the full-time employment cohort.
“We are deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to align with an institution as iconic and respected as Keeneland,” Stable Recovery CEO Christian Countzler said in a press release. “This collaboration is a powerful statement about the value of redemption, the healing bond between horses and humans, and the shared belief that everyone deserves a second chance. Keeneland’s support gives our men not only purpose and employment, but dignity and hope. We couldn’t ask for a better partner in this mission.”
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