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Gulfstream Park With…Raina Gunderson
10/20/2024
Video
Has Transitioned Nearly 400 Retired Thoroughbreds to New Homes and Careers
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Raina Gunderson calls it a dream job. Then she quickly corrects herself.
“It’s not a job because I love it.”
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Gunderson, who oversees the Gulfstream Park Thoroughbred Transition program, has rehomed nearly 400 retired Thoroughbreds since 2000. An accomplished equestrienne and former horsemen’s liaison who spent nearly two decades as an exercise rider, Gunderson works closely with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance to make sure retired Thoroughbreds excel at second careers and find forever homes.
“They’re the smartest horses,” she says. “They have so much heart, they give everything, and they can do absolutely anything. They have so much to give – therapy, polo, horsemanship, police horses, hunters, jumpers. And the closest to my heart are the horses that can go into equine assisted therapy programs, working with veterans, children, incarcerated individuals that need to be helped.
“And some just want to be pets.”
Stacie Clark Rogers, operations consultant for Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, said: “Raina’s long-term experience at the racetrack as well as her commitment to aftercare is why Raina is so perfect for this position. We are fortunate to have Raina to help horses who need placement be safely triaged to appropriate TAA accredited organizations. The success of the Gulfstream Park Thoroughbred placement program is a testament to her hard work and dedication to the sport and the horses.”
Gunderson, the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association’s 2022 “Person of Distinction,” is up at daybreak and works seven days a week. “Everyone wants to do the right thing,” she said. “Everyone works together. They can’t help you enough.”