His name was Promised Road; he was then 9, and an undistinguished campaigner whose career ended with a sixth-place finish in a $3,500 claiming race.
Early in the TRF's history, its founder and chairman of the board, Monique S. Koehler, negotiated an agreement with the State of New York Department of Correctional Services.
In exchange for land use and labor at the state's Wallkill Correctional Facility, the TRF would design, staff and maintain a vocational training program in equine care and management for inmates.
Upon the completion of their sentences, many former inmates who have worked with the horses have gone on to become productive citizens and have been quick to give credit to the TRF program.
The TRF also reminds people that the "reality is a Thoroughbred industry made up largely of owners with only modest resources and current economics that dictate that among all owners, no matter how responsible and well-intended, only a relatively few are capable of maintaining even a single Thoroughbred once it is unable to earn its keep on the track."