The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Board of Directors recently approved an initiative designed to increase funding for the Beyond The Wire aftercare program.
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, pending review from the Maryland Racing Commission, there will be an assessment of 1.5 percent on the price of a claimed horse at Maryland racetracks. For example, the new owner or ownership group that claims a horse for $10,000 would pay a $150 assessment that would be used to support racehorses accepted by Beyond The Wire.
The program is similar to one in New York, where in 2019 the New York THA and New York Racing Association instituted a mandatory 1.5 percent aftercare assessment on claimed horses. The Maryland program will be “opt out,” meaning the 1.5 percent assessment will be charged unless an owner or ownership group signs an opt-out form that will be available in the MTHA office in the Laurel Park grandstand.
In a related matter, Beyond The Wire is offering opportunities to sponsor a retired racehorse for the holiday season and beyond. Occasionally, horses have medical problems or even more rare, behavioral problems, that make it very difficult for them to be adopted. Sometimes, it is in the best interest of the horse to live out their days at one of our Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited facilities.
[Story Continues Below]
If you love horses, have a connection to a particular horse, love racing, are an animal lover or just want to do something that makes you feel good, please consider “sponsoring” one of our beautiful Thoroughbreds this holiday season. The list of sponsor horses can be found here. Please include the name of the horse with your PayPal donation at the top of the PayPal page.
Current sponsor opportunities include hay for a week ($25), shoes for a month ($125), X-rays for a checkup ($250), one month of board ($300), or any other amount.
What inspires someone to fight for those who can't fight for themselves?
In the case of corrections officer Heidi Richards, she jokes that she has “selective hearing” when it comes to the word “No.” It took the horsewoman five long years to convince the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to implement an equine program at the Pleasant Valley State Prison, but Richards simply refused to give up.
“I kept on seeing inmates come back to prison,” Richards explained. “I fought so hard because I kept on seeing these kids come back. They were 20, 25, 30 years old and it's their second, third, fourth time coming back to prison. And I'm like, 'Why are you guys coming back to prison?' And they're like, 'Because you guys don't teach us anything.'”
Eight years later, Richards has founded a program that has seen zero of its graduates return to prison.
“About every three to four months I run their numbers, and when I don't see them returning to prison, that means everything,” Richards said. “Because it means every bit of hard work, every hour I donated to that program has paid off.”
A relative newcomer to the correctional system, Richards made the move from a position at Harris Ranch when her daughter was three years old. She wanted a job with more regular hours, and thought she might spend five years at the 40-hours-a-week gig.
Instead, Richards found she enjoyed the challenge.
Ten years in, Richards heard about the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Second Chances program, which offers inmates the opportunity to learn how to work with horses, and decided to capitalize on her own horse experience to bring the program to California.
The TRF backed her right away, but the initial challenge was in convincing the Pleasant Valley warden to allow Richards to implement the program. After five years of wading through the red tape, the next challenge was in applying for the CDCR's Integrative Programming Grants. Only 52 grants were awarded throughout the entire state of California, and though Richards' was approved, it didn't include enough funding to pay for a project manager to put the whole program together.
“They were like, 'Well, it looks like we can't do it,'” Richard recalled. “And I was like, 'Oh, no, well, we can. We'll do this. It's going to happen.'”
Richards logged over 700 volunteer hours building the program from scratch.
“A lot of people helped me when I was a kid; people in the horse industry gave me horses, gave me tack, gave me lessons for free,” Richards said. “There were people who took me up to endurance races when I was like, 'I don't know what the heck I'm doing, but I want to go do this race.' I had a lot of people volunteer their time to me and never charged me.
“I always said if I ever got the chance I wanted to give back too, so that's what I did.”
The program includes five of the TRF's herd of retired racehorses. The inmates, in groups of 15 at a time, care for the horses and take college-level classes in anatomy, injury treatment, nutrition, and other aspects of the care of horses. West Hills College pays the instructional fees, which opens the door to possible careers as farriers, veterinary assistants and caretakers.
“By doing this, this pulls them and this gives them something, an option to get out of the gang lifestyle,” said Richards. “It's something they've never even dreamed about, never even knew about, because most of the students I have in my class have never even touched a horse.”
Richards' efforts earned her the 2020 Correctional Officer of the Year Award from the CDCR. The award honors a person who serves as a positive role model and fosters an environment that supports a balance between professional development, professional job performance, and personal wellness.
Today, Richards is preparing to open similar programs at two more California prisons.
“I remember thinking, 'Maybe I could make a difference,'” she said. “When I got the first horse on the grounds, I was like, 'Okay, I did it.' And then to see my first class graduate and these guys go home, and not come back, that just means everything.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Wednesday a bill prohibiting the slaughter of racehorses and racehorse breeding stock for a commercial purpose; requiring that all racehorses competing in the state, as well as all horses used for breeding purposes, be microchipped; requiring that the state's Thoroughbred and Standardbred breeding funds set aside money for aftercare programs and put all funds raised through fines relating to be used to support aftercare; amending the tax law to allow individuals and corporations to contribute to aftercare facilities; and mandating a public education campaign highlighting the prohibitions and penalties outlined in the bill, as well as contribution opportunities. Blood-Horse first reported Hochul's signing of the legislation.
The bill was passed in June by the New York State Assembly, a month before previous New York Governor Andrew Cuomo–who at the time was expected to sign it–resigned.
Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. of Queens and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow are co-sponsors of the bill, and it has been met with widespread support from various industry stakeholders, as well as equine safety advocates.
The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation will open the doors of the historic house at TRF Sanctuary at Chestnut Hall this December with a Holiday Designer Show House to benefit the organization's herd of nearly 500 retired racehorses.
The historic farmhouse will be grandly decorated inside and out with exquisite decor in rooms designed by Cherry House Furniture, K.P. Designs, Living Spaces by Lyn, Debhelin Designs, Little Mount Lavender, Abbey Custom Interiors, Jason Jennings Designs and All Lit Up. This event has been spearheaded by volunteer Elizabeth Rosenberg and is being staffed by volunteers and friends of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.
The event will run from Friday, Dec. 3 through Dec. 11 and the house will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily except on Sunday when the hours are 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and can be purchased at www.trfinc.org or can be purchased for $25 at the door.
The TRF Sanctuary Farm at Chestnut Hall, located on 25 picturesque acres in Prospect, Kentucky, opened in April of 2021 and is home to 11 retired Thoroughbred racehorses. The farm has hosted numerous events since opening and has welcomed thousands of visitors through tours with Visit Horse Country.
About TRF: Founded in 1983, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation is a national organization devoted to saving Thoroughbred horses no longer able to compete at the racetrack from possible neglect, abuse, and slaughter. As the oldest Thoroughbred rescue in the country, the TRF provides lifelong sanctuary to retired Thoroughbreds throughout their lifetime.
Best known for its pioneering TRF Second Chances program, the organization provides incarcerated individuals with life-changing vocational training through its accredited equine care and stable management program. At eight correctional facilities across the US, including one juvenile justice facility, this program offers second careers to its horses and a second chance at life for program graduates upon release from prison. The TRF Second Chances Program at the Wallkill Correctional Facility provides a home for 40 retired Thoroughbred racehorses and has been changing the lives of returning citizens for nearly forty years.
