SAN DIEGO -- A local group of volunteers is helping racehorses injured at Del Mar after they are forced to retire from the tracks.

At last year's Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar, Afleet Eagle took everyone by surprise, winning more than $100,000 in a day.

However, the horse injured himself, and like many injured horses this usually means an end to their careers.

A nonprofit group in San Marcos called TROTT, which stands for "Training Racehorses Off The Track," is providing hope for Afleet Eagle and other injured horses.

At TROTT, a team made up solely of volunteers help ex-racehorses recover from their injuries and then train them to taken on new careers back in the show circuit or to be adopted.

As many as 37,000 racehorses retire from racetracks across North America every year, with 2,000 racehorses in California alone.

"If someone like TROTT isn't there, they can disappear to some auction somewhere, end up starving in a pasture, racing on an injury in another state," said a TROTT volunteer.

Bonnie Adams, director of TROTT, will work with race trainers at the Del Mar Races during the eight-week event. She wants to make sure they know her organization exists and is ready to help.

"We take them straight from the track so they never have any trauma in their life," said Adams.

It costs about $300 a month to care and house injured horses from four months to a year.

Since TROTT is a volunteer group, they hope the horses' owners and trainers will pay for the costs so their horses have a home after they leave the track.

For more information about TROTT, visit TROTTUSA.org.