Unmarked Bills, a half-brother to two Kentucky Derby starters, was a moderately-successful racehorse in his own right while never reaching an elite level. A week before this year’s Kentucky Derby, he’ll get his own chance for a turn in the spotlight in his second career as he starts at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, North America’s premier eventing competition. Unmarked Bills is one of 11 Thoroughbreds set to compete at Land Rover, which begins Thursday at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. In eventing, horse and rider teams compete in three distinct phases, with a score based on penalty points following them through the competition. The lowest score wins. A dressage test, set for either Thursday or Friday at Land Rover, demonstrates the communication and cooperation between horse and rider, and the balance, rhythm, and suppleness of the horse. Cross-country on Saturday, featuring solid obstacles and natural obstacles such as water over several miles of varied terrain, tests the horse’s courage and stamina. And stadium jumping on Sunday examines technical skills of the horse and rider, as well as providing a final fitness challenge at the end of the competition. The difficulty and prestige level of events is rated on a “star” system from one to five by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international governing body of equestrian sport. Five-star events are considered on par with the Olympics, and merely completing an event at the level is considered a major accomplishment. The Land Rover is the only five-star event in the western hemisphere, and one of only six worldwide. Unmarked Bills, a 10-year-old gelding by Posse, is out of the Red Ransom mare Kelli’s Ransom, making him a half-brother to millionaire Regal Ransom, winner of the 2009 U.A.E. Derby and Super Derby in a season in which he finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby; and Devil May Care, a three-time Grade 1-winning filly who finished 10th in the 2010 Kentucky Derby. Unmarked Bills won 3 of 24 starts while racing from 2011 to 2014, and at one point held the course record for 1 1/16 miles on the turf at Meadowlands. Then event rider Chris Talley encountered him. “[Eventer] Kate Samuels contacted me and said there’s this horse and his owners want to find him a second career after racing and they’d like to put him a in sales program,” Talley told Practical Horseman. “I went and looked at him in a round pen and he was quite high-spirited and I think tried to kick me three times, but there was something about him that I really liked. . . . We formed a syndicate and through that I was able to buy him from his owners, who are still part of his syndicate, which has been great.” Less than a year after his final start, Unmarked Bills was competing at the preliminary level, considered the first upper level in eventing. The gelding completed three three-star events in 2017 and earned the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s reserve champion young horse award. His 2018 season included top 10 finishes in a pair of four-star events. Both he and Talley will be taking on the Kentucky event for the first time. “He’s always had this bravery about him that nobody can really understand,” Talley told Practical Horseman. “ . . . When you get out there on cross country, he has this fire about him. He’s taken me to my first [two-star], and advanced, and three-star, and now going on with the new levels. . . . He’s given me a great deal of confidence and he’s been very special.” Also competing at the Land Rover event will be Canada’s Jessica Phoenix, a longtime off-track Thoroughbred advocate who has ridden former racehorses at the Olympics, World Equestrian Games, and Pan American Games. Her partner for this event is Bogue Sound, a winning Crafty Shaw gelding. The other Thoroughbreds currently slated to compete are Cecelia (registered as Constock; unraced) with Daniela Moguel of Mexico; Indy 500 (registered as My Gifted Indyanna; unraced) with Andrea Baxter of the U.S.; Jak My Style (unregistered) with Buck Davidson of the U.S.; Johnny Royale (registered as Chivas Royale; unplaced) with Joe Meyer of New Zealand; Paddy the Caddy (unraced) with Erin Sylvester of the U.S.; Tactical Maneuver (registered as Shykee’s Thunder; unplaced) with Ashley Johnson of the U.S.; Tight Lines (placed) with Will Coleman of the U.S.; and Willingapark Clifford (registered as Sidespin; unraced) with Hazel Shannon of Australia.