Wasabi Aftercare Fund Joins Second Stride as a Stall Sponsor
Second Stride, one of the country’s leading Thoroughbred retraining and adoption organizations, announced this week that Wasabi Aftercare Fund is the newest member of their stall sponsorship program.
By sponsoring a stall, Wasabi Aftercare Fund will play a role in the care, retraining, and adoption of Thoroughbreds that pass through Second Stride’s barn. In 2025, that included two Wasabi-connected horses and will surely include more in the future.
“We worked with Second Stride last year to rehome two retired broodmares, and found it to be a terrific experience,” said Wasabi Aftercare Fund executive director Michele Kuegler. “As such, we wanted to find a way to continue to support their program.”
Wasabi Aftercare Fund was created to assist any graduate of Wasabi Ventures Stables with their aftercare placement. Depending on the horse’s location and suitability for equestrian sports, that can include facilitating placement with a TAA-accredited aftercare program or an approved private individual with experience in retraining off-track Thoroughbreds. Any horse bred or raced by Wasabi Ventures Stables is eligible for assistance.
“While horses that have worn our silks or carried our name as their breeder go on to race all over the country, Wasabi Ventures Stables has its permanent training and breeding base here in Kentucky, so we felt it appropriate to foster a collaborative relationship with a program here in the Bluegrass,” said Kuegler. “Kim and her team at Second Stride have been a tremendous resource for us, and we look forward to working together more in the future on behalf of our horses and others that pass through their facility.”
Located in Prospect, Kentucky, near Louisville, Second Stride has transitioned more than 2,100 Thoroughbreds from racing to new careers as show horses, lesson horses, therapy mounts, beloved family pets, and more. While the majority of the horses that Second Stride takes in for retraining are retiring racehorses, they also accept young unraced horses and retiring broodmares, so long as they have the physical capacity to transition to a career after racing.
One of the first horses to pass through the Wasabi Aftercare Fund-sponsored stall is Gold Strike, dam of 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike.
“We’re honored to have Wasabi Aftercare Fund as a stall sponsor. By creating an aftercare fund, Wasabi Ventures Stables has set a gold standard, ensuring lifelong care for their horses. We’re happy to receive horses from Wasabi in the future and look forward to our continued partnership,” stated Kim Smith, Founder of Second Stride.
Learn more about Second Stride at www.secondstride.org.
Wasabi Aftercare Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that focuses on the safe and secure retirement of Thoroughbreds that were bred and/or raced by Wasabi Ventures Stables. As of May 2026, Wasabi Aftercare Fund has assisted in the retirement of fifty-one current and former Wasabi Ventures Stables horses.