by Victoria Howard<\/p>\n
Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz once said, \u201cThere\u2019s no place like home,\u201d and this issue\u2019s superstar Dot Morgan couldn\u2019t agree more.<\/p>\n
Born and raised in Fern Creek, KY, Morgan grew up doing the things most children dream of, riding her pony with friends, racing through the fields, swimming in ponds and quarries, night fishing, and camping out in the barn.<\/p>\n
Having the freedom to be a kid, unlike it is today, Morgan said, \u201cI grew up half wild and loved every minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
After 49 years living in the Buckeye State of Ohio, Morgan recently moved back home to the Bluegrass State of Kentucky.<\/p>\n
When Morgan was 14, her father became interested in the versatile, amazing standardbred horse, but her dad didn\u2019t purchase the horse to race, his goal was buying a few mares to breed, then sell the yearlings in hope of generating money to put his four children through college.<\/p>\n
He never owned more than three mares at a time, which usually translated into two yearlings. Although this is a dream that rarely pans out, it worked for the father of four, as he managed to make enough money to put all his children through college.<\/p>\n
\u201cI graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in Agriculture,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cI loved the land, horses and all aspects of farming. Hall of Fame farm manager, Francis McKenzie tutored me through a farm management course where each student had to create a profitable business plan for a local farm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was assigned to a farm near Almahurst where Mr. McKenzie was the manager. He helped me devise a plan for a standardbred breeding operation, utilizing beef cattle to follow the horses in the pasture rotation. I got an \u2018A\u2019 in the course and Mr. McKenzie who had little formal education, was especially proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before that, McKenzie had helped Morgan land a summer job working at Louisville Downs as a groom for Indiana Hall of Fame trainer Ora Dunkin.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack then, there were very few women on the backstretch \u2014 just a handful of trainers\u2019 wives \u2014 because the track was hardly considered a \u2018safe\u2019 or \u2018proper\u2019 place for a lady to work. However, it was the perfect place for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that time little did I know that this would be the foundation of the path my life would take.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe horsemen at Louisville Downs were one big happy family who looked out for one another. They took me under their wing and showed me the ropes and I loved it so much that besides working all day, I paddocked horses at night whenever I could. I never wanted to leave. I was incredulous that I was getting paid to do something I loved so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Louisville Downs is where Morgan met her husband of 54 years, Charley.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny because I made a vow to myself that I would never date anyone from the backstretch because I thought they were all gypsies, and I wanted no part of that,\u201d she said. \u201cMy dream was to have a farm and family, and I couldn\u2019t see that happening with the lifestyle of constantly moving between racetracks.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy good intentions only lasted so long. The summer I met Charley; I had graduated from grooming to working in the spit box. His horses kept winning so he spent a lot of time in the spit box visiting with me.<\/p>\n
I was surprised to learn his values and goals were much like mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dot said she sensed something good about Charley that she hadn\u2019t seen in the other boys she had dated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat led me to agree to go over to the state fair between double header race cards one Saturday,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was it, very innocuous, no hand holding, just friends and he asked me to marry him the next day! I told him he was crazy. \u2018Do not bring it up again!\u2019 and meant it. Yet, somehow, his innate goodness won me over, and I kept dating him. We got married nine months later, and yes, I\u2019ve never regretted it.<\/p>\n
The Morgans went off to seek their fortune on the East Coast, racing at Roosevelt, Liberty Bell and Brandywine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe money was good, and the horses did well, but the culture was too cold and hostile for our Midwestern values,\u201d Dot said. \u201cAfter three years we came back to Ohio, bought a farm, and raised our two daughters, Winnie and Anna, like we were raised: in the country, in the church and always with horses.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharley trained and raced from the Miami County Fairgrounds where his family had been stabled for five generations. He concentrated on developing and selling horses so he could be home most nights.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ran the farm, bred the mares, raised the foals, managed the turnouts, and of course, raise the girls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dot said her girls did all the things Midwestern farm girls get to do: be active in church, school, and 4-H. They also helped on the farm and occasionally paddocked for their dad when they weren\u2019t showing their horses.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth were gifted equestrians,\u201d Dot said. \u201cWinnie won a National Championship in Western Horsemanship at age 18, and Anna won a World Championship in Saddleseat Equitation at 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Winnie went off to college and Anna entered high school, I had time on my hands and started pondering what to do with the rest of my life. I literally got down on my face and asked God for direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few weeks later, Dot encountered a dealer picking up horses at the fairgrounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked him if the horses were broken down and lame,\u201d she said. \u201cHe said \u2018No, but they are crazy. By the time I get to the sale, two or three have fallen down in the trailer and the other horses walking on them. Who would ever want such a horse!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the fall of 1991 and Dot\u2019s first introduction to the horse slaughter market and the place where many retired racehorses were quietly going.<\/p>\n
\u201cI researched the issue and was mortified to learn that 350,000 horses a year are being slaughtered in the U.S., packed into 55-gallon drums and shipped overseas for human consumption.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a 4-H advisor with a dozen skilled riders that would have been thrilled to have a chance to develop one of these retired athletes into a riding horse. Yet, because no one was standing in the gap to represent them, the horses were being slaughtered.<\/p>\n
\u201cGranted, the Standardbred Retirement Foundation and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation were in existence, but their focus was providing lifetime sanctuary for the horses, not adopting them out. That certainly helps the ones when space is available, but it wasn\u2019t a sustainable option for the hundreds leaving the tracks each year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dot said she knew what she had to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cI created New Vocations in 1992 to be an advocate for both standardbreds and thoroughbreds by providing rehabilitation, transitional training, and qualified homes that would continue their education so each had a skill and therefore a future,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was the first significant racehorse adoption program in the country and according to the ASPCA, New Vocations continues to lead the nation as the gold standard of equine adoption charities.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, I am still actively involved with New Vocations, but my daughters Winnie and Anna do the heavy lifting as the respective standardbred and thoroughbred program directors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2024, New Vocations served 600 horses from 75 different tracks with 480 rehomed to 35 states, while 120 remained in rehabilitation or training. By the end of 2025 the program will have found homes for over 10,000 retired racehorses.\u201d<\/p>\n
NOTE:\u00a0Anyone with questions about sending a horse to New Vocations can email<\/p>\n