L-R: Cathy Shircliff, Director of Community Relations for Churchill Downs, Inc; Erin Harty, executive director of Thoroughbred Charities of America; Kirsten Green, executive director of the Retired Racehorse Project; Angela Carmitchel, trainer of Big Fame. Erin Gilmore Photography

From over 280 horses came 50 finalists; from 50 finalists came 10 discipline champions. From those 10 horses, one reigned supreme as selected by the panel of judges at today’s Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America: Big Fame, trained by Angela Carmitchel, took home the top honors of Thoroughbred Makeover Champion, sponsored by Churchill Downs Inc.

Big Fame’s route to the title and a $10,000 check took her through the discipline of Eventing, in which the daughter of Mr. Big out of the Western Fame mare Adopted Fame finished fourth in preliminary competition. She also participated in the Show Jumper discipline, finishing second in preliminary rounds and landing second in the Finale as well.

Traveling from Arizona, the journey to the Thoroughbred Makeover held some unique challenges for Carmitchel and Big Fame, such as adjusting from the Arizona desert to the heavier grass footing in Kentucky on the cross-country field. Her home base in Arizona provided some assets to the training process, such as the ability to haul to Flagstaff to about 7,000’ of elevation to work on overall fitness. “Her fitness is really important, obviously, in eventing and show jumping,” detailed Carmitchel. “The whole training process has included taking her on mileage trips or taking her to different trainers – I have an amazing group of trainers in Arizona.”

The retraining process wasn’t perfect – Big Fame suffered an injury in turnout in March, and ended up laid up for about four weeks. Nevertheless, everything came together at the right time for Big Fame to be at her peak at the Thoroughbred Makeover. “She has got such a great brain, very athletic, willing, and smart,” Carmitchel added. “She’s got the work ethic of a Thoroughbred!”

Erin Gilmore Photography

Big Fame is still owned by one of her breeders, Dr. Dorothée Kieckhefer, who was able to attend the Kentucky Horse Park to watch her homebred perform during preliminary rounds. “From the very beginning, I thought she would just make a wonderful jumper or eventing horse,” she told the RRP on Wednesday. “She just has the presence for the ring, and I think she has a lot of fun! All of the trainers that had her said that she has a wonderful work ethic, but she never really raced in the top levels — she’s much better served in this area.”

Big Fame is a 2019 16.2 hand bay mare bred in California by Dr. Dorothee Kieckhefer & Leucadialand Stables, LLC. She made 13 career starts, including two wins, retiring with $29,070 in total earnings. Her last race was on August 5, 2023 at Santa Rosa.

Discipline champions:
Eventing, sponsored by Phoenix Performance Products: Big Fame, trained by Angela Carmitchel
Show Jumper, sponsored by Excel Equine: Comin’ Back, trained by Madison Barnett
Show Hunter, sponsored by Beyond the Wire: He Did It, trained by Anissa Butler
Field Hunter, sponsored by Masters of Foxhounds Association: In The Air, trained by Caitlin Brooks
Dressage, sponsored by PTHA’s Turning For Home: Flight To Paradise, trained by Kelly Ransom
Polo, sponsored by United States Polo Association: Baytown Ringer, trained by Meghan Shader
Freestyle, sponsored by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance: Pretty In Prado, trained by Monique Cameron-Hamby
Barrel Racing, sponsored by SmartPak: Not Phar Now, trained by Jessica Frederick
Competitive Trail, sponsored by Godolphin Lifetime Care: Eagle Feather, trained by Colton Thacker
Ranch Work, sponsored by MyRacehorse: Brooklyns Finest, trained by Raechel Ramsey