Charles Town Races is home to an aftercare organization all its own: Aftercare of Charles Town (ACT). Founded in 2013, the purpose of the nonprofit organization is to rehome, repurpose and retire Thoroughbreds that have raced or trained at the West Virginia track. ACT operates with a volunteer board and no employees.
Georgiana Pardo is a general practice lawyer and the volunteer president of ACT, which assisted 43 horses in 2019. Georgiana explained to the Daily Racing Form how ACT works. To enter a horse in the ACT program, she says, a horseman must file paperwork showing that the horse has raced at Charles Town. Charles Town assesses a paddock fee per start; as much of the ACT funding comes from that fee and from the Charles Town Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, ACT's focus is on assisting horses that have raced specifically at that track.
The retiring horse must also come with vet records that allow ACT to determine what sort of second career may be most appropriate for the horse. Once accepted into the program, the horse will go to a placement partner where it is rehabilitated, retrained and adopted out. The placement partner receives a stipend and ACT pays for any vet care needed to get the horse comfortable for his second career. Placement partners are experienced nonprofit organizations that provide follow up on the horses that were under their care and will take the horse back should it be returned.
Georgiana notes every racehorse deserves a quality life after racing. She believes that track funding for aftercare is achievable, and that it assists more than just the horse: it helps the owners, trainers and the horse's adopters, as well. It's a situation in which everyone wins.
Read more at TDN.
More information on Aftercare Charles Town can be found here.
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