Nine years ago, Empire Maker played the role of Triple Crown spoiler, capturing the Belmont Stakes as Kentucky Derby and Preakness hero Funny Cide faded to third. Empire Maker retired to stud at the end of his 3-year-old season; his first crop of foals, born in 2005, included Grade I winners Acoma, Country Star, Icon Project and Mushka, and 10 other stakes horses.

The group also included a colt named Open Space. The dark bay was a head turner even as a yearling, fetching $525,000 at the Keeneland September sale. But he never did run to his looks, failing to win in 12 starts while earning just $19,140. He was sold to Parx Racing trainer Mark Gory for just $2,000 after finishing fourth in his final career start in September of 2009.

Now, less than three years after bidding goodbye to the backstretch, Open Space is a champion show hunter. He captured the $1,000 TAKE2 Thoroughbred Hunter Classic at the Garden State Horse Show in New Jersey in May, and heads to upstate New York next week to compete in the $2,500 TAKE2 Thoroughbred Hunter Classic at the Skidmore College Saratoga Classic Horse Show, to be held at Saratoga Racecourse June 12-17.

Gory, a former show rider and instructor, is always on the look-out for Thoroughbreds who might lack the speed necessary to make it to the winner’s circle, but have what it takes to succeed in the horse show world. He saw potential in Open Space, bought him for a song, and started him on the path to his new career. After a couple of significant changes–the colt became a gelding, and he was renamed Star Street–it was time to find him a partner for the show circuit. Enter Kelly Wilson, a New England native who spent much of her childhood on horseback, and grew up to become a professional rider and trainer in New Jersey.

 “Mark brought him to me seven or eight months ago,” Wilson explained. It was love at first sight. “I didn’t expect him to be so beautiful. As soon as I saw him, I knew he was going to be something special.”

The two hit the horse show circuit this winter, collecting ribbons and trophies all around the tri-state area. “He was great,” Wilson said. “He’s still pretty green, he doesn’t really know what he is doing, but he always does what I ask him to. He always wants to do the best job he can.”

Star Street blossomed at Garden State, beating 29 rivals as he cruised over a series of fences. If he continues to perform with such flare, he could once again be worth six figures–top-class show hunter prospects often fetch upwards of $100,000. What makes him so successful at the relatively tender age of seven?

“I think he really likes to win,” Wilson said. “He didn’t win as a racehorse, so he really enjoys his new career. He has a lot of presence in the show ring. It might sound crazy, but I think he knows people are watching him, and he likes it. He wants to perform.”

The TAKE2 program, sponsored by the New York Racing Association, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. and New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, offers hunter and jumper classes restricted to registered Thoroughbreds at top-rated horse shows. It is designed to promote Thoroughbreds in the show ring, thereby creating more job openings for retired racehorses.

“I think the TAKE2 classes are fantastic,” Wilson enthused. “Thoroughbreds are just so keen, so eager. They are great horses. It’s a shame they aren’t as popular in the horse show world as they used to be. TAKE2 will give them a great opportunity for a second career, and it will help to get riders interested in them again. “

Wilson and Star Street will head to Saratoga Sunday. It will be Star Street’s first trip to the storied racetrack. His rider is confident he will shine as brightly in the show ring as sons and daughters of Empire Maker have on the oval.

“I don’t know how he will feel about seeing the racetrack again,” Wilson remarked. “The stabling is right on the main track, and we will have to walk by it on the way to the show ring. But I’m pretty sure he likes his new job better!”

TAKE2: The New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, the New York Racing Association and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. have joined forces in an endeavor to develop second career opportunities for Thoroughbreds that have been retired from racing. Dubbed TAKE2, the initiative simultaneously creates new avenues for Thoroughbreds after their racing days are over, and expands the demand for the breed in the horse show world.

As part of the TAKE2 program, NYTHA, NYRA and NYTB have co-sponsored Thoroughbred-only divisions for hunters and jumpers, at the Saratoga Springs Horse Show in May, and at the Skidmore College Saratoga Classic Horse Show, which begins next week. The AA-rated horse shows are held at Saratoga Race Course. The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association is also on board, sponsoring Thoroughbred-only classes at the AA-rated Garden State Horse Show in May, and there are a series of hunter/jumper shows in Texas offering TAKE2 classes, thanks to the Paddock Foundation, a subsidiary of the Texas Thoroughbred Association.

The Skidmore College Saratoga Classic I will be held June 12-17; Classic II is scheduled for June 20-24. There will be a total of $15,000 in TAKE2 prize money, provided by NYRA, NYTHA and NYTB, on offer. Each week, the classes, which are set for Tuesday-Thursday, will include an under saddle and two over fences classes in the Thoroughbred hunter division, two Thoroughbred-only jumper classes and the Thoroughbred Hunter Classic.

To be eligible for the TAKE2-affiliated events, Thoroughbreds must be registered with The Jockey Club, and proof of registration is required at time of entry.