Dressage

For some thoroughbreds at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, it had been mere months since their last race.

Now, as the ex-racehorses trotted onto the track, they were asked by riders not to run like the wind, but do something entirely different — circle barrels, leap hurdles or prance precisely in dressage, an Olympic equestrian sport.

The horses at the second annual Thoroughbred Makeover: A Marketplace & National Symposium resisted the urge to take off when they heard the boom of an announcer's voice. Instead, they followed riders' commands, drawing applause from...