Rising star Courtney sticks to Thoroughbred aftercare roots

Having grown up riding, Acacia Courtney switched her priority to dancing high-level ballet, at least until she was 16 or 17 years old.

“It seems like life always brings you back to horses,” she said.

Take last month for instance.

Courtney, now 26, began May competing in the Miss USA 2019 pageant, representing Connecticut, before working the Preakness Stakes in her role as an analyst and paddock reporter. After the second leg of the Triple Crown, while attending Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic sale of 2-year-olds, she received a call regarding yet another equine venture.

Racing for Home, a 501(c)(3) Courtney started with her mother to house, rehabilitate and retrain off-the-track Thoroughbreds, had a prime candidate.

“We caught him just in time,” Courtney said of Ocala Jim, a 9-year-old gelding who retired in 2017 after 33 career starts primarily in the claiming ranks.

Appearing abused and malnourished, the son of E Dubai was found at auction in Pennsylvania, where he was likely to be sold for slaughter. Courtney, who runs Racing for Home with her mother, Sherrie, teamed up with former owner Zilla Racing to bail out Ocala Jim.

Zilla Racing wasn’t the final owner of record for Ocala Jim, but arrangements were made when a partner in both Zilla and Funky Munky Stable, another of his past campaigners, was eager to retire the horse when he dropped to the lowest claiming ranks.

All was well until Piazza stopped receiving occasional updates — photos and videos of Ocala Jim enjoying his new life. This, Piazza now says, is a case of doing everything right to retire a horse sound, only to have something still go wrong.

The wife of what's a now-former partner died, and there were medical bills that left him unable to pay for the horse’s upkeep. Racing for Home and Zilla Racing ended up splitting the $970 fee to rescue Ocala Jim.

“I know that the circuit that happens with the kill pens is not something you’d like to support,” Courtney said. “However, this is a horse they had been looking for. We were asked to help, and the only other alternative was to, for lack or a better phrase, let the horse die.”

Piazza, whose group has worked with Racing for Home in the past, said the sudden sight of a frail-looking Ocala Jim on social media led to swift judgment.

“Someone posted to Twitter that we dropped the ball, or we should be screening our owners,” he said. “You can only screen so much unless you’re going to travel to the place and do a periodic checkup. We’ve always done as much as possible within reason.

“…It’s really sad to see so much hostility on Twitter when people don’t know the facts.”

Sherrie Courtney, meanwhile, has taken to sharing frequent updates since Ocala Jim has entered quarantine before his full introduction at Racing for Home.

“You just see the constant warmth that they give these horses,” Piazza said.

What started with a filly from her home track, Suffolk Downs, has led to more than 25 horses passing through the Racing for Home program. Ocala Jim is the ninth in current care by a team of volunteers, with help from discounts from farriers and vets. Racing for Home also relies on donations.

The Courtneys will adopt out horses, but only with an “air tight” contract ensuring those they will receive proper care. Acacia Courtney said efforts are also underway for Racing for Home to become accredited through the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, which requires lofty standards.

“The goal is to really give some of these horses a second chance,” she said. “Some are very high-risk horses that came from the kill pen. Some are horses that never raced. They were training as 2-year-olds or 3-year-olds and the trainer reaches out saying this horse won’t make it to the racetrack. And some of them have been older horses that had successful racing careers.

“…Ten years ago when we started, we had a hard time finding a barn that would take an off-track Thoroughbred. Aftercare’s become a much bigger conversation.”

To contribute to Courtney's aftercare efforts, visit RacingforHomeINC.com.