GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Lone Star Park-based trainer Dallas Keen said earlier this month he was planning to bring a trio of horses to the Del Mar meet that opens Friday. But he also said was not planning on sticking around. Keen has retired from training Thoroughbreds – to work with retired Thoroughbreds. Keen, 66, won with one of his final starters, Mr. Valentino, on the final card of the Lone Star meet July 4. Now, his focus will be to work full time with his wife, Donna Keen, within their longstanding retraining and rehoming organization, Remember Me Racehorse Rescue in Burleson, Texas. The organization is accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. “I just want to make a difference with horses, especially offtrack Thoroughbreds,” Dallas Keen said. “They’re a little different than other horses. They’re high-spirited. It’s amazing how well they adapt to their second career. It’s like, ‘I can do that!’ It’s a learning deal and it’s rewarding to see that light turn on.” Keen said in an interview earlier this month that he’s looking forward to having more time to assist with the offtrack Thoroughbreds. “We’ll do some horsemanship clinics, work with the mounted patrol training some offtrack Thoroughbreds,” he said. “At our ranch we’ve got an obstacle course to teach all kind of things, desensitize [the horses] from the track.” The Keens will be working with mounted patrol units in Grand Prairie, Arlington, and other cities in Texas. “We went to [an event] in Greenville last year and did a four-day deal, rode 10 hours a day,” Keen said. “Our offtrack Thoroughbreds really shined. There were helicopters. We were shooting Tasers off of them. They really did good.” Keen was a professional bullrider before heading to the track. He won his first race as a trainer on July 27, 1986, at Louisiana Downs, according to Daily Racing Form records. Keen closes out his career with 970 wins from 6,041 starts for stable earnings of $15.9 million. Keen’s stakes winners include Valhol, who in 1999 finished first in the Arkansas Derby but was disqualified after officials ruled jockey Billy Patin was found to have had an electrical device. Valhol would go on to win four stakes races and earn $444,850. :: Bet the races with a $250 First Deposit Match + $10 Free Bet and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. Keen won graded stakes with Allen’s Oop, who won the New Orleans Handicap in 2000; Yessirgeneralsir, who won the Lone Star Park Handicap in 2004; and Inevitable, winner of the Ark-La-Tex Handicap in 1992. Other stakes winners for the horseman included Afleet Floozie, Curlin’s Journey, Elliecat, Groovy Add Vice, and Hotlantic.  Keen was Lone Star’s leading trainer during its first season of racing in 1997 and also won the title in 1998. During his career, he also spent time based in Southern California. Keen grew up in racing as the son of retired jockey and trainer Elmer "Corky" Keen. The family spent time racing in both Northern and Southern California and established Keenland Acres in Fort Collins, Colo. Corky Keen developed 50 to 60 young horses each season at the facility, while the family also raced horses in Colorado. Dallas Keen was born in Sterling, Co. “We broke babies. I grew up doing that,” Dallas Keen said. “I started exercising racehorses when I was 7, got put on the payroll when I was 9.” Dallas Keen would go on to a career in rodeo.   “I came to Texas in 1975 because I was riding bulls,” he said. Keen left that sport in 1981. Earlier that year, he suffered significant injuries during competition, recovered, and said he wanted to leave rodeo on his own terms. He closed out his career during the Snook Rodeo finals in Central Texas. “I won the rodeo finals,” Keen said. “I won the saddle championship for the year. That was my final ride. That was my retirement from bull riding.” Keen retires the same year as his brother, Dale Keen, a decorated cross-country coach for 45 years in Cameron, Texas. “He’s a legend as a coach,” Dallas Keen said. “He’s four years older than me. He’s always been involved with horses, endurance horses.” Keen said his brother, along with other family members, were at Lone Star for the final card of the meet to celebrate Keen’s retirement from training. Dallas Keen said retirement will afford him more time to care for his father, and more time to spend with Donna. “I’ve got an owner that wants to maybe do some pinhooking,” Keen said. “I might do that. I’m going to stay busy. “I’ve been all over the U.S., raced at almost every major track, and I’m tired. And I’m not real happy with the way horse racing is going right now.” Keen said he will be doing his best to give back to the game through his retraining and rehoming efforts with Remember Me Rescue. “Owners love their horses and they want to make sure they end up in a good way,” he said. “I think it’s rewarding to be able to see them go and be second-career horses. I really enjoy finding them new careers and feel like I’m contributing to horse racing.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.