January, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

After The Finish Line’s Auction Of Breeders’ Cup Hats Will Benefit Retired Racehorse Project

After the Finish Line's 7^th Annual Charity Auction of Breeders' Cup Hats starts Sunday, Jan. 8. The eBay auction lasts for one week, and is one of After the Finish Line's fundraisers that benefits its grantmaking activity. After the Finish Line's sponsor, the Georgia B. Ridder Foundation, honors the lifetime work of its founder, Georgia B. Ridder, who owned Alphabet Soup, the 1996 Breeders' Cup Classic champion. The Retired Racehorse Project has partnered with After the Finish Line, and will receive a portion of proceeds.

Bidding in the eBay auction, ebay.com/str/afterthefinishline, will start Sunday, Jan. 8, at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT.

Up for bid are 115 iconic purple Breeders' Cup hats from the 2022 World Championships at Keeneland. They are typically only available for the connections of Breeders' Cup entrants.

“This auction brings aftercare and horse racing fans together in a unique way,” said Dawn Mellen, president and founder of After the Finish Line. “Fans can bid on the official hats of their favorite racehorses to benefit off-track Thoroughbreds. This raises awareness about the importance of aftercare for the racing community. We are excited to build a bridge between racing and aftercare with this annual eBay auction.”

“I look forward to participating in this year's Breeders' Cup Hat Auction. I expect the bidding will be fierce for many of the hats,” said Michael R. Whalen, President of the Georgia B. Ridder Foundation. “Fortunately, we will have lots of choices from among the great horses that raced.”

About After the Finish Line: After the Finish Line, a 501(c)3 charitable organization, awards Monthly Grants to aftercare organizations across the United States that rehab, retrain, rehome and/or retire Off Track Thoroughbreds, Thoroughbreds in training that never raced, and Thoroughbred broodmares, stallions, and foals. Grants are awarded for surgery, veterinarian, medication, chiropractor, farrier, dental, vaccines, hay, feed, training, auction rescue, and other expenses. Since 2007, ATFL has awarded 775 grants helping approximately 5,200 Off Track Thoroughbreds. Visit, afterthefinishline.org.

About Georgia B. Ridder Foundation: The Georgia B. Ridder Foundation, based in Pasadena, California, contributes to many local charitable organizations. The Foundation carries forward the lifetime work of its founder, Georgia B. Ridder, the former first lady of California racing, the owner of Alphabet Soup, and the 1996 horse breeder of the year. They take great pride in continuing their support of thoroughbred aftercare and California-Bred horses.

About the Retired Racehorse Project: The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) is a 501(c)3 charitable organization working to increase demand for off-track Thoroughbreds in the equestrian world. In addition to producing the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, the world's largest and most lucrative retraining competition for recently retired racehorses, the organization also publishes Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine, produces the Master Class retraining clinic series, and presents programming at major horse expos.

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Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance: 2023 Accreditation Applications Now Available

The 2023 application for accreditation by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is now available on OpenWater and can be accessed through ThoroughbredAftercare.org/Accreditation.

Thoroughbred aftercare nonprofits interested in applying must complete the application by the closing date of April 1 at 6 p.m. ET. Since TAA accreditation is only granted for a specific period of time, organizations with accreditation status ending in 2022 that want to remain accredited need to re-apply.

“Going into our 11^th year of accreditation, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance looks forward to working with new applicants and returning organizations to reach the highest standard of aftercare,” said TAA Accreditation and Grants Manager, Janice Towles.

Accreditation status is determined after a complete review of five areas of an aftercare organization: operations, education, horse health care management, facility standards and services, and adoption policies and protocols. Organizations passing the application review will be subject to site inspections of all facilities housing Thoroughbreds.

Organizations that receive accreditation are eligible to receive financial grants from the TAA, but prior grants awarded are no indication of potential future awards. In 2022 the TAA awarded $3.6 million to accredited organizations as grants earmarked specifically for equine care, totaling more than $28.1 million awarded since 2012.

Any organization interested in applying for TAA accreditation must fulfill the following five minimum requirements:

Organization must have a current status as a 501(c)(3) federal not-for-profit (U.S.) or must be a registered charity within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
Organization must have been in operation for at least three years. The TAA will confirm operation information, including with the secretary of state or provincial business registry.
At time of application, organization must either (1) currently exclusively own and provide care for a minimum of 5 registered Thoroughbreds, or (2) currently exclusively own and provide care for at least 3-4 registered Thoroughbreds AND must have exclusively owned and provided care for at least 10 registered Thoroughbreds over the previous 12 months. Registered Thoroughbreds leased by the organization or owned by third parties at the same facility should not be included.
Organization must have a written euthanasia policy consistent with the American Association of Equine Practitioners.
Organization, or a principal of the organization or individual directly related to the organization, shall not have any current legal proceedings pending against them which adversely impact the aftercare operations, the organization's standards of care, or the 501(c)(3) status of the organization.

For more information on the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance accreditation process, please visit ThoroughbredAftercare.org.

About the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance

Based in Lexington, KY, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that accredits, inspects, and awards grants to approved aftercare organizations to retrain, retire, and rehome Thoroughbreds using industry-wide funding. Along with continued funding from its original partners Breeders' Cup, The Jockey Club, and Keeneland Association, the TAA is supported by owners, trainers, breeders, racetracks, aftercare professionals, and other industry members. Since inception in 2012, the TAA has granted more than $28.1 million to accredited aftercare organizations. Currently 81 aftercare organizations comprised of approximately 180 facilities across North America have been granted accreditation. To learn more about the TAA, visit ThoroughbredAftercare.org.

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Letter To The Editor: Don’t Abstain From The Steeplechase Eclipse Awards Vote

Bloodstock editor Joe Nevills' decision to abstain from voting in the Champion Steeplechase Horse category of the Eclipse Awards has elicited a spirited response from both readers and members of social media. Here is a letter from one such reader in defense of filling out the boxes in that category.

You can read the original “Making Claims” commentary here.

If you'd like to submit a letter to the editor in response to any of the news, features, or commentary you see on our website, you can send it to info at paulickreport.com. Please include your city and state and a contact email in case we have any follow-up questions.

Dear Editor,

I am a fan of your publication. I would like to respectfully pass a few comments on Mr. Nevills' article regarding the Eclipse Awards. It is a well thought out and well-researched opinion. However, it abruptly shuts down the steeplechase category prefaced with indications that he will get harassed for his abstinence and that he doesn't care.

I am not writing to heckle or harass anyone but I would like to offer a reason as to why he would be. Steeplechase could very well be considered the original “second career” for the Thoroughbred. Long before any of the various Thoroughbred Makeovers, if your horse wasn't getting the job done on the flat, you sent it jumping. It's still racing. It's still run for real money at real racetracks under their regulations. The difference is that it is a sport made up of what could be considered “the castoffs.”

That is what makes it important.

Those involved are not necessary working with the best of the breed, or the large budgets or even the large numbers of horses. The “Eric Reed” scenario happens with regularity in steeplechasing.

So, when you aren't voting because “they hand out the trophy whether I vote in a category or not” you are trivializing the people who might otherwise never be mentioned in Eclipse Award hype. It matters to them. It's the same night and the same award on the same stage as the famous owners, trainers and jockeys. It is a very big deal because a horse that was probably considered to be mediocre at best is now an Eclipse finalist.

So, I would say (respectfully) that perhaps the horses that you “have no professional ties or obligations to” could get thirty minutes of your research time to acknowledge that they are good enough to be counted.

– Kate Dalton
Camden, S.C.

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Racing Hall of Fame Trainer Allen Jerkens: The Chief

Allen Jerkens took out his trainer’s license as soon as he turned 21, and he only waited that long because his father forbid him to do so any sooner. He enjoyed solid success almost from the very beginning and won his first stakes race in 1955 with a horse named War Command, whom Jerkens had claimed for $8,000. Seven years later, he agreed to become the private trainer for Jack Dreyfus Jr.’s Hobeau Farm. Though Hobeau Farm didn’t always deal in the most fashionable of pedigrees, it did provide Jerkens with volume. And Jerkens certainly had a knack for getting the most out of his horses.