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New Vocations Launches 11th Annual Breeders’ Cup Pledge To Support Aftercare

New Vocations has officially launched its annual Breeders' Cup Pledge. The program is seeking owners and trainers of Breeders' Cup contenders to pledge a percentage of their Championship earnings to support its mission to rehabilitate, retrain and rehome retired racehorses. This will be the 11th year for the fundraiser, which has raised over $650,000 to date.

“The need for our services continues to grow each year,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations Thoroughbred Program Director. “This year, in particular, has been very challenging due to the obstacles presented by COVID-19. Over the last decade, we have grown this Pledge into an extremely important fundraiser and we had our most successful year yet in 2019, raising over $130,000. We hope to have another record-breaking year in 2020 and are so grateful for the generous contributions of our donors who have continued to support and value our program. The Pledge is a great way for owners and trainers to give back and support New Vocations' aftercare efforts.”

Last year, over 50 Championship contenders had owners and/or trainers who pledged a percentage of their Breeders' Cup earnings. Of those, Vino Rosso, British Idiom, Sharing, Covfefe, Uni and Bricks And Mortar were victorious in their Championship races.

This year, New Vocations hopes to grow the list of pledgers to ensure yet another successful event and help raise the much-needed funding for daily operations that ultimately help retired racehorses transition into new homes and careers.

New Vocations will continue to seek pledges from owners and trainers until Nov. 5. All Pledge information can be found here or by contacting anna@horseadoption.com or andrea@horseadoption.com.

The post New Vocations Launches 11th Annual Breeders’ Cup Pledge To Support Aftercare appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Thoroughbred Makeover Diary: Embracing the Unexpected

If the last six months have taught me anything, it’s to embrace the unexpected, to avoid becoming too attached to plans, and to continually alter my course, finding joy within the chaos. As you are aware, the Thoroughbred Makeover itself is the latest part of our journey to change. In light of COVID-19 concerns, and with a goal to give competitors the experience they hoped for, the decision was made to postpone the 2020 Makeover and run it at the same time as the 2021 Makeover.

Dr. Richard Bowman: Guardian Of Minnesota Racehorses

Prior to the intervention of Dr. Richard Bowman, the bulk of racehorses retiring from Minnesota racetracks were sent to slaughterhouses in Mexico or Canada, reports the Star Tribune.

A vet with the Minnesota Racing Commission, Bowman was first asked to help find a retiring racehorse a home in the late 1990s. Now, he gets asked for help several times each week. When he learned of how many horses needed assistance in finding homes when they could no longer race, he opened his 4,000-acre cattle ranch in North Dakota to Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses that are too injured, old, lame or slow to continue their careers as racehorses at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN.

At the ranch, which is nine hours from Canterbury Park, he focuses on rehabilitating and adopting out as many horses as he can (nearly 600 so far). The horses that are too unsound remain in his care at the ranch indefinitely—there are 35 such horses on the ranch currently. Now a 501(c)3 charity called Bowman Second Chance Thoroughbred Adoption, the program is famous for welcoming every horse in any condition, taking in the horses many others will not.

Each horse that enters Bowman's program is assessed for personality, temperament and ability. Once rehabilitated, the horses that are adoptable are paired with an adopter. Bowman's horses have been adopted out all over the United States; they do everything from hunters, jumpers, eventing, cattle work, polo ponies, dressage and other disciplines.

Bowman is one of three Minnesota Racing Commission veterinarians, along with Dr. Christy Klatt and Dr. Lynn Hovda. The trio are tasked with ensuring the horses racing at the state's tracks are sound and healthy to race; they also assist with rehoming nearly 60 racehorses each year.

Some of the horses are adopted directly from the track; those in need of temporary shelter go to Hovda's farm. Most of the horses head West to the Bowman ranch, where they settle into a less-pampered lifestyle before they are prepared for adoption. In addition to horses retiring from racing finding homes, the veterinarians team with Canterbury Park officials to pull two to three horses with ties to the state's tracks from kill pens each year. They are able to prevent these horses from being shipped to slaughterhouses outside the U.S.

Learn more about Bowman Second Chance Thoroughbred Adoption here.

Thoroughbred Makeover Diary: Mr. Park Shines, Big Plans Ahead

It's been a little while since we've updated everyone on Mr. Park and his journey to the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover! As most of you know, the Retired Racehorse Project had to push back the Makeover due to the pandemic, so he will actually be competing against the other 2020 horses in October of 2021. This was a bit of a bummer, but I deeply feel it was the most responsible choice for the competition to make. We support them 100% as we know it was a super difficult decision.