Looking Back at Twelve Years of Galloping Out

The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association created Galloping Out in cooperation with the Chicago-area tracks. The program is a 50l(c)(3) Not-For-Profit Illinois corporation, which began in April 2010 with ITHA Board Member Nate Ruffolo as the founding President.

Galloping Out soon became the Illinois answer to the question: "What happens to the horses when they are done racing?"

The mission statement of Galloping Out reads: "to provide for the retirement, rehabilitation, retraining, and eventual re-homing of Chicago based thoroughbred race horses".

As 2022 draws to a close we are proud to celebrate some of the milestones that Galloping Out has reached since the beginning of the organization.

One of our biggest accomplishments has been achieving accreditation from the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in 2018. This assures both horsemen and donors that Gal­ loping Out meets the highest standards of care, transparency, and integrity when rehoming our beloved Chicago horses.

Galloping Out started with three horses in the program. A gelding named Papa was our first to be adopted out. We are nearing 300 adoptions - a number we should hit in the Spring. We are proud of all the horses that have passed through our program. We have produced champion show horses, polo horses, trail horses, and most important family members.

Galloping Out has accepted unraced horses, "war horses" (50 or more starts) and everything in between. Among those fan favorites with more than 50 starts are Bold Days (89 starts), Death Valley (55 starts), Eben Zabeel (68 starts), Exactness (83 starts), Free Fighter (77 starts), Georgie My Boy (63 starts), Hapman (89 starts), McHenry (59 starts), Mongol Bull (60 starts), Purplegreenandgold (68 starts), Scooter Roach (88 starts), Snapphok (55 starts), The Alcova Kid (55 starts), What Do You Mean (55 starts), and WW Distinction (90 starts) and I've probably missed a couple.

Galloping Out is now in the fortunate position to occasionally "fix" horses. Thanks to a grant, we now have a set aside veterinary fund that we can sometimes partner with owners and split the cost of surgery when necessary. In 2022 we were able to utilize this fund to operate on four horses, speeding their recovery, and making them more adoptable in the long run.

Galloping Out is grateful for the support that we receive from horsemen, Hawthorne Race Course, and fans. We are looking forward to resuming in-person events in 2023.