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Racing Supports Amendment on Transport for Slaughter

Several horse racing professionals in the U.S. have given their support to a U.S. House amendment that would ban the transport of American slaughter-bound horses across state lines and over the borders for butchering abroad. Led by U.S. Representatives, Troy Carter (D-LA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and John Katko (R-NY), the amendment will be offered to the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST) Act, H.R.3684, which is slated to be on the House floor in the next few weeks.

Last month, the Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, H.R.3355 was introduced in the U.S. House. If passed into law, it would prohibit horse slaughter facilities from opening on U.S. soil and ban the export of horses across the borders.

“After years of pressing for a ban on the slaughter of our American horses, I am thrilled with this latest development and applaud our leadership in Washington for their commitment to the issue. Stopping the transport of slaughter-bound horses will be a game changer,” said Stone Farm's Staci Hancock. “It is time to end this brutal practice in the U.S. once and for all. Horses are bred for sport, competition, and companionship, not to be part of the food chain. As owners and breeders we must be the stewards of our horses' safety and welfare. They look to us for their care and protection and to allow them to go to a horrific slaughter is unconscionable.”

Industry Professionals who support the amendment:

“We had a close call this year getting our Grade I Santa Anita Derby winner The Deputy released from a kill pen. And this was far from our first rodeo,” said Team Valor's Barry Irwin. “I support any initiative that will end this cycle.”
Trainer Graham Motion said, “It is high time that we end the transport of American slaughter bound horses across state lines and over the borders. We at Herringswell are committed to finding other careers for Thoroughbreds once their racing days are over. The practice of transporting horses for slaughter is abhorrent and it must come to an end.”
“Now that the state legislators of New York have done the right thing, I would hope that the Federal Government will join and ensure that our racehorses are provided a fitting home when their careers are over,” said Jeff Gural, proprietor of Allerage Farm and owner of the racetracks, Meadowlands, Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs. “Allowing them to be sold for slaughter should have been eliminated years ago.”
“As a multiple Kentucky Derby winning jockey and a person who has enjoyed a Hall of Fame career, my passion for my outstanding equine athletes has never wavered. The Carter, Fitzpatrick, Katko amendment to the INVEST Act that will stop interstate travel across state and international borders for horse slaughter is a must,” said Gary Stevens. “There is always a place for our beautiful friends to retire and live out the life they all deserve.”
“Everyone in racing should support the Carter, Fitzpatrick, Katko amendment–and every effort to end the slaughter of our horses. Aftercare organizations work tirelessly and at great expense but the slaughter of our horses, or the extortion of our horses under threat of slaughter, will never end until slaughter is stopped at the federal level,” said Victoria Keith, President of the National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization. “We urge every racing entity to step up now and make this push together to stop this profound injustice to our horses and public relations nightmare for racing.”
“If at the very least, you care about horses, and at the very most, you make your living working with horses, then providing support to the Carter, Fitzpatrick, Katko amendment is so obvious that one should not have to think twice about it,” said Dr. Patty Hogan of Hogan Equine. “Welfare issues are at the absolute forefront of public concern for any sport or industry associated with horses in this country, and to ignore that fact is to do so at your own peril and demise. Getting this amendment passed will finally close the dangerous loopholes that still exist out there for our most vulnerable members of the U.S. equine population.”

Additional supporters who endorse the amendment: Additional horse racing professionals who endorse the amendment include; Claiborne Farm, Cobra Farm, Crawford Farms, Equine Advocates, Fawn Leap Farm, Foxie G Foundation, Gainesway Farm, Jack Knowlton-Sackatoga Stable, Lael Stable, Machmer Hall Thoroughbreds, NP Zito Racing Stable, Neil Drysdale, Pin Oak Stud, R.A.C.E. Fund, Shadowlawn Farm, Shaun Dugan Agent, Tranquility Farm, U.S. Harness Racing Alumni Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, and numerous others.

To add a farm or organization name in support of HR3684, 'Carter, Fitzpatrick, Katko amendment,' click here.

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Grooms, Hotwalkers Honored in New York

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) named a race for the New York Race Track Chaplaincy (NY Chaplaincy) Friday, June 4, allowing the organization to honor the groom and hotwalker who cared for the winning horse in that race. Trainer Bill's Mott's Aunt Kat (Uncle Mo) won, with Gustavo Solorio and Agripina Lara each receiving a trophy and a gift provided by the NY Chaplaincy as part of the winner's circle ceremony.

“These are the people who dedicate their lives to caring for Thoroughbreds and we are immensely grateful to NYRA for partnering with us to honor them in this manner, as they have done for many years,” said chaplain Humberto Chavez. “These individuals are rarely in the limelight and this ceremony, as well as similar tributes conducted at Aqueduct and Saratoga Race Course, is a real morale-booster.”

According to Chavez, approximately 800 stable workers live at Belmont Park and another 2,000 live off track.

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Op/Ed: Guild Members: You Should Not Be Proud

Perhaps no collection of companies makes decisions based more on hard data, charts, statistics and actuarial tables then those that make up the insurance industry.

Non-smokers get better rates on health insurance.

Middle-aged drivers pay lower premiums than do those a generation or two younger.

Those driving in Los Angeles traffic pay more than those who live in rural areas of the country.

Apply for a term policy and the insurance company can list your premiums for the rest of your life. They know what the statistics show, based on your place of residence, family history, gender, age, health condition, etc.

Interested in long-term health care? Be ready for a question asking if you participate in such activities as bungee jumping, sky diving and/or, my favorite–heli skiing, which for the uninformed is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding reached by helicopter instead of a ski lift.

One thing probably even riskier than heli skiing is being a Thoroughbred jockey. Every time a jockey gets a leg up on a mount, he or she knows the inherent risk involved in the vocation they have chosen.

Imagine being a jockey and speaking with an insurance agent about binding health or long-term coverage.

Which is why for years, members of the Jockeys' Guild have been provided access to policies for life insurance, temporary disability and accident, death and disability.

Yet, as reported by Bill Finley in the June 15 TDN, the Guild recently informed its members currently riding at Monmouth Park they would no longer be covered by the organization's policies.

Monmouth, as has been widely reported, is the first track, because of a directive from its state racing commission, whose jockey colony may carry a whip but not encourage its mounts with the stick.

As Finley noted, Guild management says it believes races at the New Jersey track are more dangerous with the new policy in effect.

“The increase of risk is thereby creating a greater exposure for the Jockeys' Guild and the benefits that we provide to our members who are riding under such regulation,” Guild president and CEO Terry Meyocks said in a letter sent to members.

Frankly, that is a bunch of crap. Bull crap, not horse crap.

The Guild has not seen the policy rates increase, nor has it been informed the rates will go up because of the new rule at Monmouth Park.

The track is only a few weeks into the meeting, as yet with no apparent increased risk to jockeys.

When respected trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was ridiculously singled out in California a few years ago for having a higher incidence of breakdowns, could the Guild have said any jockey who rides the horses he trains (at any track) would not be covered?

According to Meyocks' quote, riding those horses would cause an “increase of risk” and therefore “greater exposure for the Jockeys' Guild.”

Suppose over time we find a greater incidence of accidents in races where Lasix is not allowed. Would the Guild cover a rider should he be injured in an allowance race but not in a graded stakes–at the same track on the same day?

What if New Jersey is just the first state to enact regulations saying riders can carry a crop but not use it except in cases of extreme emergent circumstances?

Jockeys and their agents must constantly decide at which tracks they will accept mounts. Some riders, unhappy with the new policy at Monmouth, have elected not to spend their summer at the track. Others have accepted mounts and ridden without incident.

The Jockeys' Guild may certainly take a hard stance on its belief the riding crop aids riders and keeps them safer. But by playing politics the organization is forcing members riding at Monmouth to either bind their own coverage or ride without it.

Often the Guild steps in to lobby on behalf of members riding at a specific track or in a certain state.

In this case, however, the Guild is turning its back on members that have consciously decided to ply their trade at Monmouth Park.

At the conclusion of the Monmouth meeting, should the Guild's insurance carrier raise its rates based on “evidence” of an increased risk to jockeys, there may be reason for the organization to consider a discussion with its members.

It goes without saying that jockeys require insurance and the Guild's binding of coverage for members is an important, if not the most important, benefit of membership.

But if you are a jockey riding at Monmouth Park, we don't know yet if you are at an increased risk. Well not from the commission's policy. You are, however, from your brethren at the Guild.

Ride they say, but we won't cover your ass. We don't have your back.

If the Jockeys' Guild wants to file injunctions and/or lawsuits, testify before committees, threaten boycotts–go ahead. But pulling the rug out from members at Monmouth Park? Well on the litmus test for class, it doesn't go any lower.

If you are a jockey riding in another state, and a member of the Guild, are you proud of how your organization is treating the Monmouth jocks?

You shouldn't be.

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California Chrome Co-Owner Passes Away

Denise Martin, the co-owner of California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit), passed away June 14 at the age of 61. Martin and partners found the heights of success with the two-time Horse of the Year. The popular seven-time Grade I winner, whose victories included the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Dubai World Cup, currently stands in Japan.

Martin was the wife of Perry Martin, who also co-bred California Chrome. The couple split from their partners in the horse and founded Martin Racing in 2016, the same year California Chrome won his second Horse of the Year title. They have remained active in the horse business and recently won the GIII Steve Sexton Mile S. with homebred Mo Mosa (Uncle Mo).

“Denise greatly enjoyed interacting with racing fans, whether she communicated with them in person or through California Chrome's official social media channels,” said Perry Martin. “She also was solely responsible for all of Martin Racing's charitable giving endeavors.”

Martin was a chemist. She served as CEO of Martin Testing Labs in Sacramento from 2000 to 2020. She previously worked for the United States Air Force as a civilian employee at McClellan Air Force Base. The Martins were living in Wyoming at the time of her death.

Survived by her husband of 35 years, Martin also leaves behind her daughter, Kelly; her son, Perry, Jr.; and her brothers Andrew and Richard Brudniak.

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