Taylor has served in many roles at Taylor Made Farm, including General Farm Manager, Vice President of Boarding, and Vice President of Sales. He became a partner in the organization in 1982.

“I am so grateful that the KTFMC has honored my father with such a prestigious award,” Katie Taylor Whalen, Taylor's daughter and partner in Taylor Made Sales Agency, said. “I am so blessed to have grown up with such a strong and driven mentor. My Dad has taught me and countless others to dream big, work hard, and trust in God. I have seen him work tirelessly with my uncles to grow the Taylor Made brand and witnessed his dedication to his family, friends, clients, mentees, and the horses under his care. My Dad has a servant's heart and is willing to accept and help people from all walks of life. Whether you are a billionaire or have lost it all in the grips of addiction, his willingness to accept and help is unwavering. I would not be the person I am today without my father.”

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club will be hosting its annual Dinner Dance to honor Frank Taylor at the Carrick House in Lexington on Friday, Dec. 1. A silent auction will be held with all proceeds benefitting Stable Recovery, LLC. Tickets and sponsorships for the event will be available for purchase through KTFMC's website later this month.

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Dr. Emma Adam, who specializes in equine veterinary outreach for the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center, provided an update on this year's breeding season. She discussed several issues that have been problematic for breeders this year and pointed out how farm managers can be involved in advancing research efforts addressing those concerns.

While Rotavirus was not nearly as prominent this year as it was during the outbreak in Central Kentucky in 2021, Adam said that some farms were hurt by the diarrheal disease in 2023. She explained that there is work being done this summer to test a new vaccine that would protect against the most recent strains of the virus and said that they are seeking the help of local farms as researchers are collecting blood samples from foals that developed Rotavirus this year.

“That is going to help us identify antibodies that naturally responded to the infection and [help us] move forward with the idea of producing synthetic antibodies that could potentially help us in the face of not having that vaccine to hand quite yet,” she said.

Current research efforts are also going toward addressing Nocardioform placentitis and Leptospirosis. Adam said that research is being conducted on mares that developed Nocardioform placentitis and initial results suggest that an early-warning diagnostic test may be available in the future. Meanwhile, a new serovar has been identified in North America for Leptospirosis and a number of asymptomatic horses are testing positive for the bacterial disease across Central Kentucky.

For managers that dealt with Nocardioform placentitis this year, or if they know of or suspect the presence of Leptospirosis on their farm, Adam urged horsemen to contact the Gluck Center's research team.

“This summer, if you have mares that don't have a good reason for being empty, please give us a call,” Adam said. “We would love to test them free of charge to try and see if these mares are potentially carriers of Lepto. We're only as good as the data that we get. When we get those samples into our diagnostic lab, that is the material we can use to help you not just from a practical basis of diagnosing and getting the material for us to do research on, but when we have those numbers, we can go to the grant funding agencies and say we need some money because this is 'this big' of a problem.”

Adam also shared that recent research on fescue is focused on its presence in pastures throughout the winter months. Fescue toxicity in mares is a common concern in the spring, but Adam noted that ergovaline–the alkaloid produced by fescue that causes the symptoms of fescue toxicity in mares–can be present in pastures year-round.

“In the winter, we normally think that our fescue isn't growing and that we don't have ergovaline to worry about in our pregnant mares,” she said. “That absolutely is completely and totally not the case. We had lots of farms this winter where the only thing growing was fescue and that fescue is hotter than Hades, so it has plenty of ergovaline.”

During the evening's second presentation, Dr. Maria Schnobrick of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital discussed a new service that Rood & Riddle is offering to promote the regression of endometrial cups.

Endometrial cups, which form on the uterine wall at around 35 days of gestation to promote pregnancy, secrete eCG (equine chorionic gonadotropin) and prevent the mare from normal ovulation. These cups persist until 100 to 150 days of gestation regardless of the viability of the embryo.

Schnobrick and her colleagues have made progress in developing a treatment for regressing these endometrial cups when a mare loses a pregnancy so that she can return to a normal cycle in a shorter amount of time. Schnobrick said that current treatments, like laser treatment, have inconsistent results and only about a 50% success rate. However, she has found promising results from using Settle, an immune stimulant that is used to treat endometritis.

In an experiment conducted in collaboration with Dr. Carleigh Fedorka and Dr. Mats Troedsson, 16 mares were aborted at 40 to 45 days of gestation. One week later, they received their first injection of Settle. After another week, they received a second injection. The experiment produced statistically significant results when, an average of 23 days after their first treatment, 80% of mares were cycling normally compared to 33% of mares in the control group.

Schnobrick said that this year, she had three mares that experienced pregnancy loss at 60 days and were able to get back in foal after receiving this treatment at Rood & Riddle. She noted that she has also seen positive results when treating mares that have retained endometrial cups from the previous breeding season and are not cycling regularly.

Hagyard Equine Medical Institute's Dr. Kristina Lu presented on advancements in diagnosing endometritis using N-acetylcysteine and she also discussed the benefits of pregnancy monitoring at this stage in the breeding season.

According to Lu, the current methods for diagnosing endometritis through a swab culture or a lavage of the uterus produce inefficient results. She noted that about half the time, a mare can have endometritis but test negative in a swab culture.

Lu's research efforts have gone toward using N-acetylcysteine to help break up mucus and free bacteria from the endometrium in order to better test for the presence of infection. In one experiment, 59 mares were diagnosed for endometritis. Using a lavage diagnostic test, 81% tested negative. But when the same mares were tested after receiving acetylcysteine, only 27% tested negative.

Lu also discussed the importance of pregnancy monitoring and the benefits of compiling a list of “problematic mares” ahead of next year's breeding season.

She explained that placental abnormalities from this year's foaling could be one of the strongest indicators for potential issues ahead of next year's foaling season. A mare could have a normal foaling, but a slight issue with her placenta–like evidence of subtle ascending placentitis or if the cervical star did not rupture regularly–could prove to cause problems down the road.

“This mare is raising her hand saying, 'The next pregnancy, I might not be normal,'” Lu explained. “So this mare might go on your list. She's definitely one that is worth watching in the future.”

Also during Tuesday's KTFMC meeting, information was presented on the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation's Irish National Stud Scholarship. Learn more here. Also, Godolphin USA's Charities Manager Katie LaMonica discussed this year's Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards. Nominations for those awards are open now through July 16 and can be accessed here.

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FanDuel/TVG host and reporter Scott Hazelton moderated the discussion, as the trainers, who all have GI Kentucky Derby and/or GI Kentucky Oaks contenders in their stables, shared stories about their beginnings and how it all led to where they are today.

“I was born in South Dakota and when I was a little kid, I either wanted to be a cowboy or I thought I'd probably work on a ranch. When I was 14, I wound up getting a job with the Asmussens at their place in South Dakota and it just went from there,” said Mott. “I worked with horses throughout the summers and bought my first horse when I was 15 years old and got lucky, winning the South Dakota Futurity with him. It was $3,800 to the winner and I thought I was the richest guy in South Dakota.”

After spending six years working for trainers Bob Irwin and later Jack Van Berg, Mott opened his public stable in 1978.

“I've had some good clients that have raced in some great places and I've had a lot of help along the way,” said Mott. “It's wonderful to be able to work with really good horses and as you're able to graduate into something that allows you to do that, you meet a lot of great people along the way. It's all the way from the grooms and hotwalkers to some of the most interesting people you meet as owners.”

When asked about how all of his experiences have culminated to where he is now, Mott glanced at the trainers sitting beside him and replied, “I learned a lot from everybody I worked for but I still keep watching. I try to learn from these guys that are sitting beside me. I watch what they do and I try to make myself better. With these guys nipping at my heels every day, I've got to work harder than I've ever worked in my life, but they make me better. The better the competition is, the better you are.”

Pletcher recalled a childhood spent going to the track with his father, longtime trainer Jake Pletcher, and shared the story of his first racehorse, a $700 yearling colt by Bold Cape, who was a spur-of-the-moment acquisition after a fellow trainer offered the horse to his father and an 8-year-old Pletcher offered to take him instead.

“[My dad] said 'Go look at the horse. If the horse is correct, you can have him.' I went back and I looked at him, I mean this horse could barely see over the webbing, but he was correct, so I called him and said, 'He's correct, but he's pretty small.' And he said, 'Alright, go ahead and take him,'” said Pletcher.

After training him with his father for two years, the colt named Rambunctiously won on debut at Oaklawn as a 3-year-old in 1981.

“I ran him back two weeks later and he won, but he got claimed, which I thought was the worst thing that could happen. But as it turned out, financially, it was a good thing,” said Pletcher.

As he grew up, he spent time hot walking and grooming for California trainer Henry Moreno, and later spent a summer working with Charlie Whittingham and eventually found his place with D. Wayne Lukas.

“One thing they had in common was that they were great caretakers. They always paid extra attention to the details of how their horses were taken care of,” said Pletcher.

After working six years as an assistant to Lukas, Pletcher decided to go out on his own in the fall of 1995.

“The guy that encouraged me to do it was Mike Ryan. He had a few clients and he said he could send me some horses if I ever decided to. I started off at Hialeah Park with seven horses and was pretty fortunate. We were able to win a few races and expand from there.”

For Walsh, born in County Cork, Ireland, horses were a passion from the very beginning. After jockey school, college, working on various stud farms and spending a few summers working for different trainers, he ended up working at Sheikh Mohammed's Kildangan Stud. That's where his story began with Godolphin, as he traveled with them to Dubai before coming to the states.

“At one point, actually, I was supposed to come work for Bill. I don't know if Bill ever realized that or not, but it never materialized over a visa or something like that, but that's going back a long time,” said Walsh. “But I loved it over here and I thought it was a place where I'd probably have more opportunity than I would have in Europe.”

When asked if there was one horse in particular that stood out early on in his career, Walsh shared the story of Cary Street (Smarty Jones), who was a 4-year-old when Walsh claimed him for $10,000 out of a race in mid-February of 2013. Though it initially appeared that Cary Street hadn't been worth the investment, he eventually improved under Walsh's training and went on to win the GII Las Vegas Marathon S. at Santa Anita Park and the GIII Greenwood Cup S. at Parx in 2014.

“That was our $10,000 horse. I don't think any horse will ever do what he did for me at the time. He just kind of got us going and that was the best $10,000 I ever spent,” said Walsh.

He also reflected on the climb he's made in career, from working at Kildangan and now training stateside for Godolphin.

“I think it was really pivotal because you got to be around good horses. That's always helped me along the way. From when I was working at Kildangan, you were around these super well-bred yearlings, and when we went to Dubai, it was like a 'who's who' of European breeding,” said Walsh. “I always wanted to be around nice horses and it kind of set the bar to try and progress and be better all the time.”

For Cox, who grew up in South Louisville just blocks away from Churchill Downs, horse racing has been a constant for the entirety of his life.

“I liked two or three things: horse racing, Kentucky basketball and baseball. I wasn't very good at baseball. I thought I was going to be a guard for the University of Kentucky, but based on conformation and talent, that was very short-lived,” said Cox. “I fell in love with horse racing at a very early age. My dad would take me to the track and I'd bring that program home and I'd read everything. It's what I wanted to do and I just worked my way up, starting at the bottom.”

Making his way up through the ranks, from rubbing horses to becoming a foreman and later working as an assistant trainer to Dallas Stewart, Cox went out on his own in 2004.

“It was a long, grilling road but it was well worth it. I'm very proud of what our team has accomplished,” said Cox. “You have to get up and do it every day, you have to continue to work. It's demanding, it's a lot of hours, but it's very rewarding.”

KTFMC President Gerry Duffy with Boyd Browning | Sara Gordon

Hazelton asked the trainers how the sport has evolved in their eyes and if there were any changes they'd like to see in the industry going forward, which led to a discussion about uniformity and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA).

“I think we're going down the right track with a lot of things, in terms of uniform medication rules and anti-doping, so I think those are all positive things. To have everybody on pretty much the same playing field would be great,” said Cox.

“I think the biggest changes we're seeing now are with HISA, the federal intervention. I think the biggest thing I thought it would bring to the table would be uniformity. I was all for uniform medication rules, uniform penalties, so you could go state to state. You don't want to stub your toe and make an honest mistake just because you're not aware of the rules,” said Mott. “I think right now with HISA, it's caused more confusion than uniformity, but hopefully, once things get ironed out maybe we will come to that point where we do have uniform rules from New York to California.”

“One of my biggest issues right now is just the uncertainty [of] where we stand. We're 18 days out from the Kentucky Derby and we don't know if the HISA rules are going to be in effect May 1 or if it's going to be the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission,” said Pletcher. “We saw the implementation of HISA for three or four racing days, then back to each state's rules. I think everybody wants to play by the rules, but even leading up to when HISA went into effect, what seemed to be proper withdrawal times for very standard medications like bute literally changed from 48 hours, from 72 hours to 96 hours.

“Initially it was supposed to have been put together to make everything unified, but now it seems like there's some stuff that is not very agreeable at all. They've gotten rid of a lot of therapeutic stuff, restricted us on a lot of things that are really just for the benefit of the horses. They've kind of restricted us from being horsemen. We're all trying to be horsemen here and do what's beneficial for the horses and it seems like they're wanting to get in our way of that.”

The trainers switched gears, wrapping up the panel with a discussion of their prospects set for the first weekend in May at Churchill Downs, along with new 2-year-olds that have been shipping in to begin their seasons.

“We're looking forward to the Oaks with Pretty Mischievous [Into Mischief], but we've got to try to beat these guys as well,” said Walsh. “We've got a nice team of turf fillies this year, some yet to start this year, but it seems like we have a good team put together.”

Cox spoke about his three colts that are Derby bound, including Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}), Verifying (Justify) and Angel of Empire (Classic Empire), along with potential starter Jace's Road (Quality Road), who currently sits in the 21st spot and could make it into the starting gate if any of the top 20 scratch.

“We obviously have a few more works before race day but I'm very happy with all three. We've got a group of fillies as well, The Alys Look [Connect] and Botanical [Medaglia d'Oro]. It's going to be a big week and hopefully a big weekend,” said Cox.

Mott, who trains Derby contender Rocket Can (Into Mischief) admitted he didn't have any surprises yet to be unveiled in his barn, but looking at the stable overall, he was proud of what this group has accomplished so far this year.

“Most of them have run and the good ones have shown up and we've done really well with them. We're hopefully getting a few of those back to the races, including a couple in Derby week,” said Mott. “We're like everybody else, we're already looking at the 2-year-olds. The future is always the excitement in this business.”

Pletcher delved into the remarkable evolution of champion Forte (Violence), who leads his group of Derby contenders.

“It was interesting that he was one of the first 2-year-olds we got in last year, he came in March 25, and he's just a really intelligent colt. He caught onto everything really well, really quickly and he's done everything right,” said Pletcher. “It's great to come here with a group that likes to win. We all know how hard this race is to win.”

The evening was also highlighted by an awards presentation, where Dr. Emma Adam, Shannon Arvin and Boyd Browning were awarded as honorary members, and James Brady became just the fifth person to be honored as a KTFMC Life Member.

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Many of the nearly 250 people attending the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club's (KTFMC) monthly meeting, held Tuesday evening at the Keeneland sales pavilion, were unfamiliar with the unregulated and untaxed gaming machines known as “gray machines.”

The risk these gray machines pose to historical horse racing (HHR) gaming and the state's horse racing industry as a whole were the main topic of the meeting that included a discussion and Q and A session of Central Kentucky legislators. In a panel moderated by the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP)'s executive director Will Glasscock, Senator Amanda Mays Bledsoe (Republican, Lexington), Representative Matt Koch (Republican, Paris), Senator Damon Thayer (Republican, Georgetown) and Senator Reginald Thomas (Democrat, Lexington, minority caucus chair) shared their opposition toward the expansion of gray machines in Kentucky.

“We have not forgotten what the legislature did for us in 2021,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin recalled of the passing of SB 120, which continued the operation of HHR gaming, in her opening comments for the meeting. “We have to pay attention to what goes on in Frankfort. We can't just live in our own little world.”

The lawmakers on the panel introduced the growing issue of gray machines, which resemble slot machines but do not qualify as a legalized form of gaming in Kentucky as there is no oversight to their use. These machines, which are marketed as games of skill, are typically located in establishments such as gas stations, convenience stores and bars.

“They are illegal casino games,” explained Sen. Thayer, the Senate Majority Floor Leader. “The proprietors have a business model where they come into a state where there's a gray area in the law, they pay a lawyer to get a friendly opinion that says, 'Yeah, they're really legal.' And then they come in and try to get integrated in local communities.”

The meeting's legislators noted how there is currently no exact count of how many machines are in Kentucky because the machines are not required to be registered or tracked, but it is believed that there are already thousands in use and that their numbers are growing in every county across the Commonwealth.

Rep. Koch explained how the expansion of gray machines poses a major threat to the horse racing industry. While the majority of the revenue from these machines go to out-of-state gaming companies, revenue from HHR goes to support the state's signature industry: horse racing. He said that if gray machines remain, they could cripple the industry and decimate the jobs within it.

“It's going to end HHR. I don't think that's the type of gambling that Kentucky wants to see,” said Rep. Koch.

The panelists explained how these gray machines could also affect the communities they reside in, particularly when it comes to their impact on youth. Since the machines are unregulated, the lack of supervision creates the opportunity for minors to participate.

“You don't want to introduce [teenagers] to gaming at that age. That invites other sorts of bad actions. Keep them away from gaming and illegal activities, because one illegal activity begets another,” said Sen. Thomas.

Thayer said that other states are also working to confront the issues of gray machines. In Virginia, they have been the focus of 150 lawsuits, and in Pennsylvania, they were initially legalized but are now facing issues concerning a legal and regulatory gray area.

During the Q and A, attendees asked for further details regarding where gray machines come from and the entities behind them.

Legislators described how Pace-O-Matic and Prominent Technologies first brought the machines to Kentucky in 2021. The issue of their existence in the state was brought to the floor last year, where the legislature nearly outlawed them, but the House and Senate ultimately could not agree on the bill, so the effort fell short.

Representative Killian Timoney, the sponsor of last year's bill, was present at Tuesday's meeting and said that he will be filing similar legislation this week. Once submitted, it could take up to two to three weeks for a decision to be made as it moves through the legislative system.

The panel emphasized that now is the time for industry participants to reach out to their senators and representatives to help sway votes towards banning the use of gray machines in Kentucky.

“If you want to preserve this industry and see it continue to grow, you need to be ready to reach out,” said Rep. Thayer. “If it doesn't happen now, it will be harder next year as [gray machines] continue to expand like a bad virus.”

Glasscock shared details about the upcoming KEEP Day at the Capitol, set for this Thursday, Feb. 23, which provides members of Kentucky's equine industry and community an opportunity to share with legislators in Frankfort the importance of horses to their districts and to the state's economy. (Click here for more).

“We are on the ropes with this one,” said Rep. Timoney. “I don't know if you all can afford to not send someone to KEEP Day. The horse industry needs to be well-represented on Thursday. It's a signature industry and we need to protect it.

Koch further encouraged industry members to keep the conversation going with their representatives and senators–not only in their districts but across the entire state–concerning the importance of HHR, its impact on racing, breeding and sales and its overall significance to the state's economy.

“We need to spread a positive message of HHR. We're two years into this and it's doing great things for Kentucky. [We need to] reinforce to legislators not to strip that away.”

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LEXINGTON, KY-The Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club (KTFMC) held its first meeting of the year on Tuesday at Keeneland. The event was conducted jointly with the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners (KAEP) and the over 200 in attendance represented both organizations. Members of the Godolphin Flying Start and Kentucky Equine Management Internship programs were also on hand.

Recent changes and trends in the equine veterinary field were a focal point of the evening, along with topics including equine litigation and liability, navigating equine veterinary practice changes and the equine veterinarian shortage.

KTFMC President Gerry Duffy said their board brought up the issue of the equine veterinary shortage as a potential topic for their monthly meeting and from there, they partnered with the KAEP knowing that the subject would be relevant to both organizations.

“We know that the vet-farm manager relationship is so important and we have been hearing statistics about how they're struggling to get equine practitioners and of the ones they get, there's a high degree of partition,” Duffy explained. “We thought it would be a good topic to discuss at the meeting and when we got talking to the KAEP, they were having a meeting focused on equine veterinary litigation and liability so we thought, why not bring the two together?”

A 'Q and A' session on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) was also conducted with HISA's Director of Equine Safety and Welfare Dr. Jennifer Durenberger and HISA Representative Marc Guilfoil, bringing forth a host of questions on the new responsibilities that those overseeing horses outside of the racetrack would take on if and when HISA comes into authority.

Evolving Landscape of Equine Insurance Coverage

Equine attorney Mike Casey of Casey Bailey & Maines, PLLC, based in Lexington, was the first speaker to the podium, leading a discussion on the evolving landscape of equine insurance coverage and the particulars of filing a claim under those policies.

Casey emphasized the importance of the relationship between vets and farm managers, particularly when it comes to how the vets document interactions with their patients and handle subsequent care when called out to the farms. This is all information that is not only necessary for those directly connected to the horse, but also required when it comes to instances of filing a claim, such as equine mortality, with an insurance agency.

Common issues that arise involve how often the vet visits the patient, varying whether the visits are routine or for a specific health issue, which correlates with the problematic pressure to prescribe medication without examining the patient first.

“It is critically important to make sure when you're administering medications that you have that temporal visit with the horse,” said Casey.

He also touched on the growing issue of using medication on a horse that it was not originally prescribed to.

“I probably see that more today, in the last two or three years, than the last 10 years before.”

All of these issues were weighed against what the insurance company would be looking for when handling a claim, which always leads back to the importance of maintaining precise, updated documentation. Medical records must include enough detail that anyone checking on the horse should be able to know exactly what their health status is, what treatments they have received in the past and how things should be handled for that particular patient going forward.

“Farm managers need to call the vet and make sure they see the horse the next day. It'll hopefully avoid a catastrophic outcome and it is in compliance with regulations that we know will have heightened scrutiny as we go to HISA, or as KAEP redrafts regulations,” said Casey.

When dealing with mortality insurance claims, farm managers should take the time to read through the entire policy in order to understand what is expected of them when dealing with the insurance company. In that same vein, all communication with the designated representative of the insurance company should also be documented, to avoid any issues when filing a claim down the road.

Casey explained why understanding any negating factors, such as instances of failure to provide improper care, is crucial. His example touched on use of a medication on a horse that it was not prescribed to, which could fall under the realm of an “intentional act” of improper care. In most cases, “proper care” is defined after the fact.

“We want to be able to connect the prescription to the horse, to the vet's visit, to prevent application of the unauthorized medication claim,” he said.

Communication and proper documentation are the key points when it comes to vets and farm managers abiding by regulations, maintaining the proper care for the horses in their charge, and ensuring that in the case of any insurance claims filed, everything is presented properly to guarantee a seamless process.

According to Casey, there is no such thing as too much communication, using the example of emailing the insurance agency a summary of the vet's visit for annual vaccinations to prove his point. Farm managers must also understand that a vet isn't going to report directly to the insurance agency in the case of a claim, so they must maintain their own day-to-day records as well.

“We've got to establish a dialogue for this industry, [when it comes to] what is reasonable, proper and the routine method of doing business. It is important that insurers play a role in this,” said Casey. “It's too easy to use the sins of others in the industry to say, 'That's why we have a heightened medication claim.'”

As he concluded his presentation, Casey reiterated the importance of ensuring all treatment decisions and medications are being administered based on the physical examination of that horse.

KTFMC President Gerry Duffy with former president John Williams | KTFMC

Equine Practitioners Discuss Vet Shortage

While most meeting attendees were aware of the equine veterinary shortage, the statistics shared by Hagyard's Dr. Luke Fallon were staggering.

Fallon said that according to a recent survey conducted by the American Association of Equine Practitioners, by 2030, equine medicine will need over 5,000 veterinarians to meet the growth in demand. Currently there are approximately 3,650 practicing equine veterinarians in America.

Additionally, of the 3,300 veterinary graduates each year from U.S. schools, only 1.3% will enter the equine profession directly. While 4.5% will enter an internship program, 50% will leave the equine profession within five years.

“If you do the math, the shortage of equine veterinarians is already here,” Fallon said. “Why are equine vets leaving the profession? Burnout is one of the key factors. It is a demanding job with long hours and low starting salaries compared to small animal jobs, which often include a signing bonus as high as $200,000 for new graduates.”

Fallon explained that many young students enter veterinary school with the dream of becoming an equine practitioner, but turn to small animal medicine because it is a more logical step financially. He said that equine veterinarians usually start at between a third and half of the initial salary of a small animal veterinarian.

Fellow Hagyard veterinarian Rhonda Rathgeber joined the conversation to discuss a few of the new initiatives Hagyard is working on to encourage veterinary students to consider a career in the equine industry.

Hagyard has enhanced their recruitment efforts by hosting student weekends to show how their facility operates and share details about their externship program. Although the initiative has been hurt in recent years due to the pandemic, it has led to increased numbers in their externship program.

“We are up to 150 externs this season, so if your veterinarian has an extern or a student with them, please be patient,” Rathgeber advised. “We've done a lot of work to get them to come and see what it's really like.”

Hagyard has also increased their outreach through college visits. Last year, they visited a third of the veterinary colleges in the country. Additional recruitment efforts include a podcast, their participation in the annual Opportunities in Equine Practice Seminar hosted by Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and also hosting their own undergraduate seminars for pre-vet students.

Jim Heird, PhD, rounded out the session to discuss one promising step toward overcoming the shortage. Heird is a member of the advisory council for Lincoln Memorial University's Equine Veterinary Education Program (EVEP), which provides an accelerated, six-and-a-half year path to a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Students go through the undergraduate program at LMU and as long as they maintain a 3.35 GPA, they are automatically accepted into the school's veterinary program.

The EVEP places an emphasis on their students developing hands-on horsemanship skills. Students will work on-farm summer internships during their undergraduate years and then will intern at clinics during their summers in the veterinary program.

Heird said that LMU produces more equine veterinarians than any other school in the country.

“When I think about my career, I don't know of anything that I've done that has as much impact on the future of this industry than this program could have,” he said. “That's why I'm so passionate about it.”

HISA's Director of Equine Safety and Welfare Dr. Jennifer Durenberger and HISA Representative Marc Guilfoil

Concerns for Consignors and Managers Brought to Light During HISA Q and A

The evening concluded with a focus on HISA, where attendees were given the opportunity to ask Durenberger and Guilfoil questions. Pertinent to those in attendance, many questions focused on the regulations for those dealing with horses covered under HISA, outside of the track, such as consignors at the sales or farm managers handling lay-ups at the farm.

Though HISA has already released handbooks for racetracks, racetrack maintenance, regulatory veterinarians, attending veterinarians and trainers, Durenberger did say that handbooks for groups such as farm managers, consignors and off-track vets were in the works.

In the meantime, she emphasized that it would be the responsible party's job to update any records related to a “covered horse” in the HISA online portal, as those records would not be required until the horse returned to the racetrack. In those cases, the responsible party would more than likely be the trainer.

Further concern was expressed for clarifying who the responsible party would be, depending on different situations when the horse is not at the track, and specifying the time requirements for submitting any updates to a horse's medical record. Durenberger assured those asking these questions that further details would be provided, in hopes of clearing up any misunderstanding.

For almost 100 years, the KTFMC has helped build community and camaraderie among farm managers while also working to find solutions for challenges that these managers face. Their current officers are President Gerry Duffy (Godolphin), Vice President Adrian Wallace (Coolmore), Treasurer Charles Hynes (Coolmore), Secretary Molly Harris (Shawhan Place) and Sergeant-At-Arms B.G. “Scooter” Hughes (Hughes Racing Stable). The club boasts over 500 members and hosts a number of annual charitable fundraisers including a golf scramble, a trail ride, a 5k run, and more. For more information on the KTFMC or to apply for membership, visit www.ktfmc.org or email info@ktfmc.org

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“I am thrilled to hear Matthew has won this prestigious award,” said Teddy Kuster, co-owner of Shawhan Place and the 1986 KTFMC Farm Manager of the Year. “The club has meant a lot to Matt's entire family and all of us at Shawhan Place. Matt is a wonderful individual who wears many hats. He's a farm manager working in the trenches and has given back to his community by serving on several boards. He serves as State Representative for 72nd District (Bourbon, Nicholas, and Fleming County) and was instrumental in passing HHR for the industry… Even more important than raising horses, Matthew raises the next generation of young horsemen and women. He is a mentor to many and regularly hosts interns from both KEMI and the University of Kentucky.”

A graduate of both the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Horseshoeing School, Koch is also a former United States Marine captain and served his country in Afghanistan and Kosovo. In 2006, Koch and Kuster formed Shawhan Place, which now breeds about 100 mares a year.

Among the boards Koch has served on are Kentucky Equine Management Internship (KEMI), the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association (CBA), and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA). He has previously been the president, vice-president, director, and treasurer of the KTFMC.

Koch is a second-generation KTFMC Farm Manager of the Year, as his late father, Gus Koch, was awarded the title in 2004. The pair join B.G. Hughes and Scooter Hughes as the only father/son recipients of the award. Koch currently resides in Bourbon County with his wife, Kristen, and their three children Taylor, Jack, and Nate.

The KTFMC will be hosting its annual dinner dance to honor Koch at The Carrick House in Lexington Dec. 2. A silent auction will be held with all proceeds benefitting The Horse Farm Workers' Educational Assistance Fund. Tickets and sponsorships for the event will be available for purchase at ktfmc.org later this month.

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Team entries sold out June 7. There will be a first, second, and third place team winner for both courses and an overall champion team decided by a one-hole playoff between the first-place team from each course. Lunch will be provided, and a barbecue dinner will follow the golf scramble.

“It's going to be another great turnout at the Challenge Cup Golf Scramble,” said KTFMC President and Taylor Made Vice President of Boarding & General Farm Manager, Logan Payne. “We're thrilled to welcome the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and Kentucky Equine Management Internship once again as our beneficiaries. Join us for a beautiful day on the links for two important causes.”

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A panel of five industry participants and educators was on hand to give their perspective on the history of the issue and how the situation has worsened over time. They also spoke on projects currently in the works that have potential to bring in skilled labor and shared their thoughts on the best methods for effectively recruiting a new generation of workers.

“We had a board meeting and discussed what would be relevant for this meeting and this is a topic that pertains to every farm right now,” KTFMC President Courtney Schneider said. “You hope that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but it's an issue that needs to be addressed and we need to be educated about what we can do to bring in new people and keep them in the industry.”

“Our goal for the club is to refocus on issues that are important for farm managers–be it health and disease, operational issues or the bigger challenge of labor,” KTFMC Treasurer Gerry Duffy said. “It's an issue affecting every farm and everyone you talk to. Some people are in a desperate situation. Not only are you changing how you do things due to the absence of help, but it's putting an extra burden on the people you do have. It's not sustainable and we need to really get in front of the issue to try and solve it.”

Fasig-Tipton

Chris Baker was the first member of the panel to speak. The Chief Operating Officer of Three Chimneys Farm briefed the audience on the state of the issue when he first joined the industry through an entry-level position as a groom in 1986.

“It was a different time with 50,000 foals on the ground, the market was strong and input and labor costs were relatively low,” he said. “But even at that time, when labor was more abundant than it is today, I can still remember lamenting about finding the next group of people coming up to do this. The problem of identifying, recruiting and retaining a workforce isn't a new one, but it was less of an issue then.”

According to Baker, the connection with the horse–or lack thereof–is a main cause for today's limited employee pool and poor job retention.

“Finding help seemed easier [in 1986] and I think some of that was because we were less removed from an agrarian society. When you look now at the composition of the workforce, with a lot of Latinos, many of the people who have immigrated here are less removed from or are coming from an agrarian society. I think that's a big part of it–the connection with the horse. Without that, it can be hard to make sense of what you have to do and the sacrifices that need to be made in order to have a career in this industry.”

Baker emphasized that in order to recruit a strong, skilled workforce, finding the right person to fit the job is crucial.

“If you're going to come to work in the Thoroughbred industry, you probably have a different realistic financial ceiling than if you were going into medicine or finance,” he explained. “So why do you come to the horse business? It all comes back to the horse. I think if we can put the horse first in all we do, make people aware and make that focus on the horse as part of your recruiting, you're going to get the kind of people you want who are doing it for the right reasons.”

He continued, “We need to focus on a fair wage, a good work environment where people and horses are treated with respect, because that's part of making people feel like they're a part of something special, and then we need to train, develop and encourage so there is infrastructure in place for people to grow.”

Frank Taylor, Vice President of Taylor Made Farm, also shared his experiences as an employer. Taylor Made has several programs that Taylor said have been key to keeping their operation fully staffed.

This year, Taylor Made has started a pilot program called the Taylor Made School of Horsemanship. Created in partnership with Shepherd's House, a transitional residential drug addiction treatment center in Lexington, the program set a goal to bring in five trainees every 90 days. The workers spend their days on the farm and then return to the Shepherd's House every evening, where in addition to food and housing, they are also provided with counseling services.

“We have one barn set up where they are all working together and we also have a director there, someone who is good at teaching,” Taylor said. “I think it could be huge in the future. It's such a win for everybody. Obviously it's a win for society, it's a win for the horse business and a win for Taylor Made, and if we can give these people second-chance employment and help them get on their feet, I think we can do a lot of great stuff.”

While the project is still in the beginning stages, Taylor said he envisions future expansion.

“When you give these people a second chance and they are fully recovered, they become an example for everybody else,” he said. “For people dealing with addiction, one of the things that keeps them going is helping other people. So our hope is that we grow this and help a lot of people, who in turn help a lot of other people. We want to take this, get it perfected and show it to other farms. This has a lot of potential and we could envision 50 to 60 people a year graduating from this program and going out into the industry.”

Taylor said that his farm has also been a part of the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers program for four years.

“This program has been a godsend,” he said. “The thing about these guys is they're coming in and they're grateful and they love what they're doing. They can do two times as much work as the average person, maybe three.”

The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) Foundation and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Workforce Center has joined forces to launch the Equine Workforce Initiative in an effort to address the shortage of equine workers on a state level. Laurie Mays, another member of the panel, serves as the initiative's Equine Talent Pipeline Project Manager.

“We are in year three of this initiative,” she said. “We bring employers together and give them a safe space to discuss their struggles in terms of workforce development. We look at things like what skills go along with specific positions and how many people an employer might need in these positions.”

One problem her team has encountered, Mays said, is that accurate research on employment in the equine industry is difficult to pinpoint quantitatively due to the broad scope of data the state agency has to offer on employment in agriculture as a whole.

“One of the things we're doing is trying to get hard data for the needs of the industry,” Mays said. “This information and data can feed into our state's statistical agency so we can have a better idea of what our true needs are. This gives us a better way to talk to training programs when we can show them the actual number of positions we need to fill.”

The program at Blackburn Correctional Complex currently has seven graduates working in the industry. | EquiSport Photos

The Equine Workforce Initiative is in the process of developing several other programs that could prove to be valuable resources for employers. In partnership with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and the Blackburn Correctional Complex in Lexington, Mays and her team are working to create meaningful connections between inmates who have undergone training on the farm and potential employers so that graduates of the program have a job as soon as the time comes.

“As of yesterday, we've placed seven people in Lexington at farms and vet clinics and it's going very well,” May reported. “We've heard great feedback from the employers who have hired them. We're going to look at doing an educational tour for employers to meet the instructors and the gentlemen, see the facility and learn more about what they learn.”

Savannah Robin serves as the internship coordinator for the University of Kentucky's Equine Program. She joined the panel to speak on the growing population of higher-education graduates seeking a career in the equine industry.

Robin shared that seven institutions in Kentucky offer an equine program. At the University of Kentucky, 300 students are in the program at any given time and on average, 89% come from out of state.Each student is required to complete an internship in order to obtain their degree at UK, and Robin said that on average, 21% of these internships focus on horse and farm management. However, only 9% of the UK Equine Program's alumni base currently works in that same field.

“We need to figure out how to tap into that 21% and help retain them within an industry than can provide them with leadership experiences,” Robin said.

Katie LaMonica, the Charities Manager for Godolphin, closed out the panel by reminding the audience about the upcoming Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards.

“We are heading into the sixth year of the TIEA Awards,” she said. “If we're looking for ways to reward and recognize our staff, this is a great way to do it. This year, all seven award categories have a sponsor. Our nominations are now open and we also have a new award. The Support Service Award is for your maintenance crew, gate grew, night watch team, farriers-people who don't necessarily work on the end of the shank, but they keep you going.”

The audience present at the meeting consisted of a diverse group of both well-established and up-and-coming industry participants, with UK Equine students and Kentucky Equine Management Internship (KEMI) members on hand. During the 'Q and A' session at the end of the meeting, much discussion was brought forth on the topic of work-life balance and the incoming generation's emphasis on the subject.

“Millennials and Gen Zers get beat up sometimes in terms of their work ethic, but the values of their generation won't disappoint you in what they can bring to the workforce,” Robin said. “These students need different things. They need different things than what I needed when I graduated. They're looking at work-life balance early on so that they don't burn out and can go on a long time within a career and be sustainable within that career.”

Baker and Taylor agreed that better working conditions and increased job flexibility are areas they could see evolving in the future, but said that participation in the Thoroughbred industry would always require hard work and sacrifice.

Baker said, “Do we need to adapt and provide opportunities to broaden the people that come to this business for a career? Yes. But on some level, I think the people that do the best, go the furthest and accomplish the most are those that embrace the lifestyle and the sacrifices that come with it in their personal life.”

“It is a lifestyle and it's not a job,” Taylor echoed. “If you're getting in the horse business and you want to be successful, it has to be a lifestyle. If you're going to get in this business, you better love it and be dedicated to it.”

“It's a matter of figuring out a way to make our industry available to the incoming generation who, quite rightly, doesn't want to work seven days a week,” Duffy said in conclusion. “We have competition from other industries who are paying more and making variable work times and conditions available to people, but behind that there's some great work going on here and some great initiatives. We have to keep the conversation going. We're here to get a discussion going and not necessarily present the answers, but just to get the industry talking and collaborating. As an industry, we need to come together and try to solve our issues together.”

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Cline grew up in Versailles as the son of a farm manager and attended the University of Kentucky. He worked on the racetrack with Hall of Fame trainer Mack Miller, then returned to the Versailles area to manage Big Sink Farm. Farish originally hired Cline to oversee broodmares, foals, yearlings, barn construction, and pasture management at Lane’s End, but the farm soon grew into an industry leader with both major sales and stallion divisions.

Under Cline’s tenure, Lane’s End has bred, raised, sold, or raced hundreds of top horses for both the farm itself and for clients. Lane’s End stallions have sired over 285 Grade I winners and the farm has been the leading sales consignor 26 times, with over 380 black-type winners among their alumni. The legendary A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew), one of the world’s great stallions as well as 1992 Horse of the Year and a member of the Hall of Fame, is most closely associated with the farm, as the late stallion was co-bred by Farish, sold by Lane’s End, and then returned to the farm to stand his entire stud career.

In addition to his work with Lane’s End, Cline has mentored a number of people in the horse industry, including several who went on to manage other top farms. He has also been a strong supporter of the Kentucky Equine Management Internship (KEMI) program, which provides opportunities for students to learn horsemanship skills and begin their careers in breeding and racing.

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Recently, KTFMC President Donnie Snellings interviewed Dr. Luke Fallon of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. The two discussed the history of rotavirus and research being conducted to help prevent the disease in the future. Rotavirus causes severe diarrhea in foals.

Dr. Fallon noted that the disease has shifted from affecting foals that are about two weeks old to those that are between 60 and 90 days old. Dr. Fallon estimated that about 5 to 10 percent of foals on a farm may be affected by the virus. Though most foals are readily treated at home, some do become so dehydrated that their electrolytes become imbalanced; these foals need to go to an equine hospital for care.

Dr. Fallon discussed the current rotavirus vaccine, which has been in use since the 1980s, and noted that scientists at Gluck Equine Research Center and veterinarians at Hagyard are working with Zoetis, the company that owns the patent on the vaccine, to see if it is possible to update the existing vaccine or create a new one that will protect more horses.

Watch the video below.

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