New Vocations’ Lexington facility is located on a portion of historic Mereworth Farm, which was established in 1924 and was once one of the leading Thoroughbred breeding and racing farms in Central Kentucky,
30 Years of New Beginnings Photos by Equisport Photos/Courtesy New Vocations
by Erica Larson From a single Ohio horse farm, New Vocations has grown into the largest racehorse adoption organization in the country, serving more than 500 horses each year. Here’s how they got there and where they’re going. When Dot Morgan brought her first retired racehorse home from the track in 1992, she had no idea her pet project would become a nationally recognized charity. She didn’t know it would become the largest organization of its type in the United States. And she certainly didn’t think it would allow her to work alongside her two daughters every day. But things have a funny way of working out when passion and the desire to do good are driving forces. What started with a few horses on a small farm in Laura, Ohio, has developed into New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program, the oldest and largest retired racehorse adoption agency in the nation, which has found new homes and purposes for more than 7,500 Thoroughbreds
and Standardbreds over its 30-year tenure.
In the Beginning Morgan’s journey into transitioning horses from the track to second careers began in the early 1990s. “In 1990, I learned about the fate of retired racehorses and other unwanted horses in this country: 500,000 horses were being slaughtered each year,” she says. “I’d been in the horse business my entire life; I was around people that had been in the horse business their entire lives and we didn’t know where these horses were going. I was appalled because, at the same time, I had a 4-H club of 15 kids that were just passionate about horses, and they would have given their right arm to have one of these horses to develop into a really nice riding horse.” She decided she couldn’t stand by idly, and instead, took her first step into bridging the gap between the track and pleasure or sport homes for retiring racehorses. “It was my own personal mission,” she recalls. “I had no desire to turn
50 OHIO EQUESTRIAN DIRECTORY 2022
Dot Morgan (right) founded New Vocations in 1992 from her family’s farm in Laura, Ohio, and still serves as the charity’s executive director today. Her daughters, Anna (left) and Winnie (center), joined the effort and currently serve as the Thoroughbred program director and Standardbred program director, respectively. it into a charity; it was the farthest thing from my mind. I just wanted to serve some horses. I’m married to a fifth-generation harness horse trainer. Horses were my life and my passion. So, I ran a little ad in the back of The Blood-Horse that said, ‘Please, don’t let your horse go to slaughter. Contact me, I’ve got good
homes. I’ll help find a home for your horse.’” The first person to respond to the ad—trainer Diane Alexander, who worked for four-time Eclipse Award-winning owner John Franks— sent four retiring Thoroughbreds to Morgan, all the way from Louisiana, for rehoming. (“I didn’t realize the
