Tag: OTTBs

Thoroughbred Makeover Diaries Presented By Excel Equine: The Next Generation Sees Aftercare As The Future, Not A Charity

Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, who was born and raised in Louisville, changed boxing, as well as society at large. Quarterback Johnny Unitas, who played college football at the University of Louisville, was the architect of the two-minute drill. German immigrant J. Frederick Hillerich pioneered the modern baseball bat and founded Louisville Slugger. In horse racing, there's the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs.

Two miles from Churchill Downs is the University of Louisville College of Business, and that's where horse racing can find some of the answers the sport desperately needs to keep it relevant and thriving in the 21st Century.

I was the guest speaker at the EQIN 304: Equine Marketing class that is part of the College of Business's Equine Industry Program on March 17. Although I was there to answer questions about the horse racing and aftercare industries, as well as about my broadcasting and riding, it was the students asking me the questions that I believe have the answers.

Before I even spoke to the class, I had a good feeling that I would learn as much from them as they would learn from me. University of Louisville offers the only undergraduate equine program in the world that is part of an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited business school.

Sarah Memmi, who teaches the equine marketing class and contacted me about being a guest speaker, has a sure-thing exacta box of qualifications as an assistant professor of marketing combined with a background working with horses.

During the week before I joined the class, Memmi sent me a list of questions that the students created as the basis for our discussion. The very first on the list: “How do you see the industry moving forward from outside pressures other than 'We love our horses'? How important would a national campaign be?” I could tell we were going to get right to it.

I enjoyed our discussion, but what I found even more valuable was learning about the semester projects the students were in the process of creating. Although she said she could have chosen other topics, Memmi chose aftercare as the focus of EQIN 304.

“Number one, aftercare is an important ethical issue in racing, and anyone that is going into this industry as a career needs, not only to be aware of it, but to understand it,” Memmi said. “It's also important to marketing the sport of racing.”

In the same way that the development of racehorses doesn't start when they arrive at a racetrack because breeding and raising yearlings is an integral part the sport, horse racing is starting to embrace that it also doesn't end when they leave the track.

“Aftercare is not charity; it is part of the life cycle process of a Thoroughbred,” said Jen Roytz, the executive director of the Retired Racehorse Project, who also spoke to EQIN 304. “They can't race forever, so they need to have a purpose after racing, and they need to have a value associated with that purpose, whether it's breeding, sporthorse, or recreational.”

That first question that I was presented with about moving the industry forward is something the students began to answer through their Marketing Plan Project Assignment.

Madison Jackson and Reagan Mestre thought of a “Trainer Aftercare Awareness Certification” that incorporates aftercare awareness into the licensing process for trainers at the state level.

“Many times, racehorse trainers are not aware of the ways to properly rehome a Thoroughbred after its career, nor are they aware of the vital role they play in this process,” they wrote.

Sean Collins and Davis Klein proposed “CK Aftercare” in order “to promote aftercare awareness and education in low-tier and low-income tracks within the United States.”

Alyssa Carinder, a 2021 graduate of the University of Louisville, is launching her career as Farm/Development Manager at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's sanctuary farm at Chestnut Hall in Prospect, Kentucky. At UofL, Carinder double-majored in Equine Business and Marketing and competed on the hunt seat team.
Photo courtesy of Sarah Memmi/UofL Equine Industry Program

“This issue has come to light in recent times where trainers and owners have had a 'one more race' mentality instead of retiring their horse,” they wrote, adding, “We will create an on-track presence and form personal connections with both the horseman on the track and the different local organizations that may take the horses when their racing careers are over. These personal connections will help educate horsemen on the different options and create trust with our organization.”

But because aftercare must address the range of horses coming off the track, Adrianna Lynch and Emily Charnota proposed that prominent auction houses such as Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton could create a “select sale” that would promote higher-end Thoroughbred sporthorses.

“Aftercare is really complicated and fairly new, so that means you have a lot of room to innovate,” Memmi said. “I was really impressed with the work that they did. They came up with some really interesting ideas, and looking back on it, what I'm happy with is that the future leaders in the industry are getting this ethical piece of the sport. They're into it because they care about horses. They want to do right by the horses.”

The month of May has brought many issues in horse racing into the mainstream. Trainer Bob Baffert gave enough material to the writers of Saturday Night Live to make a mockery of himself and the sport. Then, one day later, Michael Blowen of Old Friends gave enough material to the writers of CBS Sunday Morning to show how moving aftercare can be.

With Churchill Downs suspending Baffert, the city of Louisville may not be as welcoming a place to him as it once was. But, with the growth of the University of Louisville's Equine Industry Program, including the addition in the fall of a graduate program connected to an MBA, the city is welcoming some bright minds and future leaders that can revolutionize horse racing if they're given the chance.

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Thoroughbred Makeover Diaries Presented By Excel Equine: Riding Lessons About Nothing

I had my most valuable but optically boring riding lessons ever at the Super G Sporthorses farm my wife and I run in Parker, Colo., this month. I loved them, but I recognize that it was in the same way that George Costanza in Seinfeld loved pitching TV executives to create a show about “nothing” in the episode “The Pitch.”

To the outside observer, or at least those unfamiliar in the nuances of dressage, the lessons I did on my OTTBs Grand Moony (barn name Moo, show name Sorority Girl) and The Gray Man (barn name Uno, show name Rocketman) would have looked like they were “about nothing.” All we did was walk and trot on the flat at a time in our evolution that I've been jumping bigger on each horse.

I can almost hear you saying, like the TV executive character Russell Dalrymple did on Seinfeld, “Nothing? What does that mean?”

George responds, “Nothing happens on the show. It's just like life. You eat. You go shopping. You read. You eat.”

George eventually walks out. “This is the show, and we're not going to change it,” he insists, although the TV executives don't actually care.

However, the joke is actually on the TV executives. In real life, the whole brilliant series of Seinfeld, one of the most influential in television history, is critically regarded as an entire sitcom about “nothing.”

It was April 14, and I started that Wednesday in a somewhat foul mood with a lot of work and distractions. At midday, I needed a break and decided to ride my horses.

Since the start of the year, I've embraced the importance of emphasizing a strong riding foundation by focusing on dressage and not just trying to up the jumps or the excitement. I've also learned to appreciate the moments whose significance I don't understand at the time and that “Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are OTTBs.”

With that in mind, my wife and trainer Ashley guided me through walking and trotting on Moo and Uno. Optically, those gaits seem like the “nothing” part of riding. You don't even see them in two of the three phases in eventing, as riders canter, gallop, and jump on cross country and in stadium jumping, rarely ever breaking to the trot or walk.

Because the walk and trot also happen to be the hardest to master, Ashley was really using this opportunity to introduce a whole new theory to implement into my riding during these lessons.

Up until this point in my five-and-a-half-year journey going from broadcasting horses to riding them, I had evolved from “hold on” to “backseat driver.” By the former, I mean that I would sit on a lesson horse and get a feel for what it's like to ride a horse at the different gaits and then over my first jumps. By the latter, I mean that I would try to influence what the horse did.

However, in neither of these situations was I actually the one in control. It takes years just to develop balance on and adaptation to the variety of movements that a 1,000-pound animal with a mind of its own is capable of, especially a Thoroughbred.

Moo and the author in the midst of an exhilarating cross country round at Spring Gulch

Now that I've started to get the feel for riding horses and the ability to follow their movements, Ashley felt I was in position to begin to raise my game to being the “leader.”

“You want to be like a friendly dictator,” she said. “You influence and support every movement. Is the horse doing what you want in that moment? If they are, you don't just give it away but continue to tell them to maintain it.”

The first steps toward leading that Ashley insisted I maintain were establishing contact with the outside rein, then bringing the horse up to the contact through my legs and hips, then maintaining a frame and not letting them fall onto the contact.

It was a lot to manage, and that's why we worked the entire time at the walk and trot. It's kind of like how much genius went into the one of the greatest TV shows of all time that ultimately critics agree was about “nothing.”

The upshot of all this focus on the two gaits that I don't even use on cross country and in show jumping was that those phases got better.

Four days after these lessons, I went cross country schooling at the Spring Gulch Equestrian Area. At the end of last year, Moo and I moved up to the novice height of 2-feet-11, and she and I have appreciated the bigger jumps and faster pace. That Sunday at Spring Gulch, I started staring at some of the training level jumps that have a maximum height of 3-feet-3.

“You're going to do them,” Ashley said, sensing how intently I was studying them.

And we did. There's still room to improve my rhythm and form for me to be proficient at the higher level, but what I'm most proud of is that my focus on the basics is what actually made this opportunity to grow possible.

Then, one week later on April 24, Moo and I had an exhilarating cross country round during our first show of the year at the Spring Gulch Combined Test.

 

We were competing at novice, and we blazed around the course with no issues. We even had to slow down fairly significantly at the end of the course to avoid incurring speed faults. There are still aspects of my form that I can improve, and those will come by going back to basics.

I also reaped the benefits from the focus on foundation when schooling Uno on cross country at Spring Gulch on April 26. He won't even be four years old until May 3, but he took a number of beginner novice jumps, the first United States Eventing Association recognized level at 2-feet-7, with eagerness. He felt proud of himself afterward. Before this, the times I jumped Uno were often marred by micromanagement on my part. This time, I was there to support and nurture his talent, and it showed through in spades. I did “nothing,” and that made all the difference.

 

Those moments are amazing and are why the hard work and heartaches that come with riding horses is worth it. But afterward, it's important to get back to real life. “You eat. You read. You go shopping.” No TV show did it better, and no approach to riding is better than the one that emphasizes how significant what seems like “nothing” can be.

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IFAR: Why The Term ‘Retraining’ May Not Be Best For OTTBs

The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) kicked off its 2021 virtual conference on Tuesday with a panel of international racing leaders discussing the importance of Thoroughbred aftercare to the health of the sport.

Irish trainer Jessica Harrington, American trainers Graham and Anita Motion, Aga Khan Stud racing manager Nemone Routh and former British eventing team coach Yogi Breisner gathered to offer their thoughts on the state of aftercare and its interaction with other equestrian sports.

A few key takeaways:

  • Breisner, who has worked with many former racehorses, believes a language shift is in order when discussing off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs). Often, the process of transitioning a horse from the track to another discipline is framed as “retraining,” but Breisner points out that conveys an implication that the horse's earlier training was somehow wrong.”Actually most racehorses I've taken don't need much true retraining,” he said. “They've already learned a lot.”
  • Routh said that aftercare in France, where the Aga Khan Stud is based, now receives financial support from France Galop, racing's regulatory body there. Previously it had been dependent on charitable donations, but Routh said after a certain point that was no longer sustainable. France Galop now encourages people to share their stories of their OTTBs as part of its tactic to market racing.
  • Also in France, racing connections are expected to pay for a horse's castration and transport to an accredited rehoming center. That can be a tough pill to swallow, especially for owners who are also discovering the horse that once had value as a racing animal may be retiring with very little market value. Routh suggests owners who set aside as modest a sum as two weeks' training fees could be enough to make sure the owner doesn't feel surprised by those retirement costs later.
  • Harrington believes education is key for new owners, especially those who join in as part of a large syndicate where they are able to approach racehorse ownership with no equine background or racing experience. Many don't even know a horse can live another 20 to 25 years after its racing retirement, let alone that they will need to find a new vocation for that time. “I think people don't think about it,” she said. “I think it's ignorance rather than willfully saying, 'I'm not going to look after my horse.”
  • Motion believes part of the key to making aftercare sustainable — particularly in the United States, where it's still so reliant on charitable giving — is to think twice about whether a horse needs to go to a retirement organization, where they will be on the organization's books for many years. Motion believes that many horses are suitable for some kind of active job where they might be useful as privately-owned animals, and that retirement sanctuaries are often asked to shoulder the burden of horses who could find vocations elsewhere.
  • Breisner said there could be more exchange between the racing and sport horse world as far as the education of riders. As stable help has become more difficult to find in Britain, Breisner said he sometimes has racing staff who ask to spend time training with him to improve their overall horsemanship, which benefits the racehorses they'll work with on and off the track. Likewise, he suggested that the many international racing schools that train jockeys and exercise riders could also include education on the basics of transitioning OTTBs off track. Riders who have the skills to be versatile will benefit the horses they work with.

The next IFAR virtual session will focus on aftercare for racing administrators and regulators and will take place April 13 at 8 a.m. Eastern. Registration is free and is available here.

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Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Make Moves To Address Slaughter Pipeline Issues

Continuing to demonstrate its commitment to the health and welfare of thoroughbreds, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association (PHBA) today announced its endorsement of the John Stringer Rainey Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act.

The SAFE Act, named for the late South Carolina philanthropist and former director of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, is legislation that would permanently end the slaughter of American horses for human consumption in the United States and abroad.

It also amends Title 18 of the U. S. Code by making it illegal to “possess, ship, transport, purchase, sell, deliver, or receive … any horse with the intent that it is to be slaughtered for human consumption,” with penalties that include fines and imprisonment.

Introduced in 2019 by Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, the SAFE Act has also garnered the endorsement of several prominent animal welfare groups. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Humane Society of the United States are among those supporting its passage.

Other prominent groups that have endorsed the SAFE Act include the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the United States Trotting Association, and the Maryland Horse Council.

“Our bipartisan legislation will help put an end to the cruel and inhumane slaughter of horses while protecting families from toxic horse meat and safeguarding the reputation of the U.S. food industry worldwide,” said Sen. Menendez when the bill was introduced.

In addition to its commitment to the health and safety of Thoroughbreds, aftercare is also a top priority of the PHBA, according to president Greg Newell.

“We are doing everything we can to help place horses who reach the end of their first or second career, whether they have finished racing or breeding,” said Newell. “Our Anti-Slaughter Committee, chaired by Kate Goldenberg, has done a wonderful job addressing what can be done to help our equine athletes.”

PHBA Board member Hank Nothhaft, also a member of the Anti-Slaughter Committee, said that endorsement of the SAFE Act was something the organization wanted to do to be a positive force towards improving the industry. The fact that many unwanted thoroughbred broodmares are found in slaughter pens proved to be a call to action.

“There was unanimous support from the PHBA Board to mitigate the slaughter of broodmares,” said Nothhaft. “Older broodmares, especially, are not attractive candidates for equestrian activities, and thus they are not as easy to rehome as younger horses. This has really pushed us from sitting on the bench towards getting into the fray.”

“The Anti-Slaughter Committee was formed in order to protect our broodmares, stallions, and Pennsylvania-bred racehorses that end up in the slaughter pipeline, or in bad situations,” explained Jennifer Poorman of the PHBA. “What is coming from it is so much more.”

Poorman said that the Committee has a goal to create a broodmare retirement program to address the need of unwanted mares.

“Our hope is to form a non-profit within our organization, to assist our breeders when the time comes when their broodmare can no longer breed,” said Poorman. “We'll be looking to build a network of partner farms willing to assist with retirement from breeding, whether it's a second career or permanent retirement due to physical limitations.

“We're also creating a campaign to educate our breeders about responsible aftercare, along with providing a network of resources for our breeders to turn to at any point they find themselves in need of assistance,” she said.

“No one has been looking out for the broodmares,” said Nothhaft. “There's lots of enthusiasm for this project moving forward.”

Nothhaft said one reason why the SAFE Act hasn't gained traction towards passage since 2019 in Congress is because large agricultural interests fear that anti-slaughter legislation would bring undue attention to their industries, which involve large-scale slaughter of animals for food.

“The SAFE Act is one of three items we are working on,” said Brian Sanfratello, executive secretary of the PHBA. “The others are Pennsylvania-specific anti-slaughter legislation, similar to the SAFE Act, that would make it a misdemeanor for anyone who causes or transports a horse into the slaughter pipeline, as well as a PHBA code of ethics, with sanctions for anyone who is a member or registers horses with our organization and is found to be in violation of the Pennsylvania anti-slaughter measures.”

The PHBA's relationship with legislators in Harrisburg could have a positive impact towards the introduction and passage of a Pennsylvania anti-slaughter bill, said Nothhaft.

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