In the days of paper foal registration certificates, breeders, owners, and trainers in many places would add notes or stickers to a horse's Jockey Club papers with their contact information and a request – “Please contact me if this horse is ever in need of aftercare.” Since the physical papers were, for many years, required to accompany a horse to each racetrack they were stabled at, this was a way someone from the horse's past could have peace of mind that their offer of help may travel wherever the horse went.
Now that foal papers are totally digital, we've had several questions from readers who wondered – what's the best way to accomplish this now?
The Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Connect program is designed to be a digital solution to this question. After creating an Interactive Registration account, a user can enter their contact information and then digitally attach that information to a registered horse in The Jockey Club's database.
The person responsible for managing digital certificates for horses in a stable or at a farm will see a Thoroughbred Connect logo appear on the digital version of that horse's registration papers, letting them know that someone has offered assistance to that horse through the Thoroughbred Connect system.
Thoroughbred Connect launched some years ago but has become a more crucial piece of the breed registry's aftercare efforts now that digital papers are the norm. Registered horses born in 2018 and after were issued digital certificates instead of physical papers by The Jockey Club, around the same time microchips became the standard for identification.
According to Kristin Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and administrator of the group's aftercare services, 5,524 users have signed up to use Thoroughbred Connect. A total of 11,790 horses are in the system with at least one user willing to offer them assistance, should it be needed. A total of 831 horses are currently listed in the system as “in need of aftercare,” though the list may be dated as some have birthdates in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Werner said the registry doesn't have figures on how frequently people use the system. It's designed to provide contact information, but any resulting communication takes place outside the system.
For trainers who have a horse at the track in need of aftercare, Werner said the best way to check for an offer of help depends on the form of the horse's registration certificate.
“For horses with digital certificates, the trainer or the designated certificate manager only needs to log in to their Interactive Registration account and the Thoroughbred Connect information is below the horse's certificate,” Werner said. “If the horse still has a paper certificate, they need to log in to their IR account and add the horse as a horse in need of aftercare. They will then receive an email with the contact information for anyone interested in providing aftercare for the horse.”
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.The service is free and allows people in possession of horses to list up to 10 on the website as “in my possession or supervision.”
The Jockey Club does not screen Thoroughbred Connect users and encourages people to do their due diligence when connecting with someone offering aftercare assistance to a horse. A link to the program can be found after logging into the Interactive Registration system here. A frequently-asked questions page from The Jockey Club can be found here.
The post Now That Foal Papers Are Digital, Thoroughbred Connect Can Help Horses Find Aftercare appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
