The charity was founded in March 2006 by Graham Oldfield and Sue Collins with a nucleus of horses including the late much-loved Moorcroft Boy.

The aims and objectives of The Racehorse Sanctuary are the rescue, rehabilitation, retraining and rehoming of thoroughbred horses, particularly ex-racehorses, on a lifetime basis; providing long-term care for animals that are not suitable for rehoming; raising awareness of the career opportunities available to ex-racehorses; and providing advice to owners on the care ex-racehorses, particularly those with racing-related issues and to address the problems of older animals. The charity seeks to implement welfare policies widely recognised as setting the highest industry standards. For otherwise sound horses, who cannot be ridden, including former brood-mares, we have worked to identify and fulfil demand for companion horses. We have trialled the use of foster homes as part of the process of finding long term homes for our horses. Our work to rehabilitate ex-racehorses facing challenging issues has been recognised by the support we have received to establish The Peter O’Sullevan High Dependency Unit, opened in 2017 by Patron Jilly Cooper. The small percentage of our horses, who cannot be rehomed but are capable of a good quality of life in our care are given Sanctuary at our working base: The Stable Yard @ Mulsey Farm in West Sussex. This facility has been the subject of extensively refurbishment thanks to a generous benefactor.