Off the Track and Into the Ribbons: The 2026 Thoroughbred Makeover Crowns Its Champions

The past week belonged to horses whose racing days are behind them, as the 2026 Thoroughbred Makeover named its winners. Each of these Thoroughbreds once left a starting gate for a living and has since been brought along, patiently, into a new discipline. The honors recognize that retraining, and the riders and owners who saw a second calling in a horse the track was finished with. For anyone in hunt country or a polo string who has ever admired a good former racehorse at work, it is the week of the year that proves the point.

With reporting from America's Best Racing.