Hochul Signs Horse Welfare Bill into Law

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Wednesday a bill prohibiting the slaughter of racehorses and racehorse breeding stock for a commercial purpose; requiring that all racehorses competing in the state, as well as all horses used for breeding purposes, be microchipped; requiring that the state's Thoroughbred and Standardbred breeding funds set aside money for aftercare programs and put all funds raised through fines relating to be used to support aftercare; amending the tax law to allow individuals and corporations to contribute to aftercare facilities; and mandating a public education campaign highlighting the prohibitions and penalties outlined in the bill, as well as contribution opportunities. Blood-Horse first reported Hochul's signing of the legislation.

The bill was passed in June by the New York State Assembly, a month before previous New York Governor Andrew Cuomo–who at the time was expected to sign it–resigned.

Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. of Queens and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow are co-sponsors of the bill, and it has been met with widespread support from various industry stakeholders, as well as equine safety advocates.

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Chestnut Hall: Holiday Designer Show House To Benefit Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation will open the doors of the historic house at TRF Sanctuary at Chestnut Hall this December with a Holiday Designer Show House to benefit the organization's herd of nearly 500 retired racehorses.

The historic farmhouse will be grandly decorated inside and out with exquisite decor in rooms designed by Cherry House Furniture, K.P. Designs, Living Spaces by Lyn, Debhelin Designs, Little Mount Lavender, Abbey Custom Interiors, Jason Jennings Designs and All Lit Up. This event has been spearheaded by volunteer Elizabeth Rosenberg and is being staffed by volunteers and friends of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.

The event will run from Friday, Dec. 3 through Dec. 11 and the house will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily except on Sunday when the hours are 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and can be purchased at www.trfinc.org or can be purchased for $25 at the door.

The TRF Sanctuary Farm at Chestnut Hall, located on 25 picturesque acres in Prospect, Kentucky, opened in April of 2021 and is home to 11 retired Thoroughbred racehorses. The farm has hosted numerous events since opening and has welcomed thousands of visitors through tours with Visit Horse Country.

About TRF: Founded in 1983, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation is a national organization devoted to saving Thoroughbred horses no longer able to compete at the racetrack from possible neglect, abuse, and slaughter. As the oldest Thoroughbred rescue in the country, the TRF provides lifelong sanctuary to retired Thoroughbreds throughout their lifetime.  

Best known for its pioneering TRF Second Chances program, the organization provides incarcerated individuals with life-changing vocational training through its accredited equine care and stable management program. At eight correctional facilities across the US, including one juvenile justice facility, this program offers second careers to its horses and a second chance at life for program graduates upon release from prison.  The TRF Second Chances Program at the Wallkill Correctional Facility provides a home for 40 retired Thoroughbred racehorses and has been changing the lives of returning citizens for nearly forty years. 

For more information visit: http://www.trfinc.org/ 

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Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: Thanks To Genetics, Thoroughbreds Are The Ultimate Shapeshifters

Let's talk about what a Thoroughbred truly is.

A Thoroughbred is an athlete. Through centuries of crafting a vision and meticulous breeding to bring that vision to life, the Thoroughbred has become the wonder of horse lovers and sports lovers and the source of big business and cultural richness around the world.

The vision for the Thoroughbred started about 350 years ago with the goal of producing the ultimate racehorse, but the selective breeding to create horses that could excel at racing has also produced horses that can be successful at many other equine sports. That's because of what has become intrinsic to the breed beyond just physical prowess.

“The Thoroughbred looks out into the far distance,” said Chris Ryan, who has worked with Thoroughbreds at the highest levels of horse racing and eventing for more than four decades. “His horizon is way out there and he feels he can get there whenever he wishes. This gives him tremendous forward thinking. A horse thinking forward is going forward. Watch his ears!”

After finishing his education in 1976, Ryan entered the horse racing world, working with Thoroughbreds in both flat and jump racing, first for trainer Thomson Jones in the United Kingdom. He would then become head lad for trainer Jim Bolger in his native Ireland, among other roles as jockey, trainer, breeder, and sales producer. 

“A chestnut race mare, Stanerra, winner of two Group 1s, two Group 2s now upgraded to Group 1s, a Group 3, and European Champion Older Horse of her year, probably gave me the best insight into the Thoroughbred,” Ryan said. “I was on my own with her for long periods of time and got to know her so well and she me. What a privilege to be accepted by her to such a level you could tell what she was thinking while on her back and even at 200 yards distant.”

Ryan's understanding of what made Stanerra tick took the mare from winning just one of 13 starts as a 4-year-old in 1982 to winning two races in one week at Royal Ascot and then becoming the first European-trained winner of the Japan Cup in 1983.

Now, Ryan serves as a judge for the United States Eventing Association's Young Event Horse Series and Future Event Horse Series, where he evaluates the potential of horses to excel at the highest level of the equestrian sport of eventing that the website for the FEI, the international governing body for equestrian sports, dubs “the most complete combined competition discipline.”

“I love their intelligence, their beauty, their refinement, and their courage under fire,” Ryan said of the Thoroughbred. “Nature (100 percent genetics), and nurture (everything else) have given the Thoroughbred a most amazing anatomy and physique, a designer heart to lung ratio and a mind which can process data at speed which allows their engine to 'tick over' at an amazing 35 miles per hour — the Formula 1 of the equine species.”

Ryan's assessment of Thoroughbreds — now one that I'm embracing as I've gone from announcing horse races to eventing on OTTBs — is that the nature of the breed goes beyond its original intentions of racing. So, a Thoroughbred does not lose its nature once it finishes what those in horse racing perceive as its primary purpose. Nor does it take on a new identity if it goes from racing into a new sport like eventing or show jumping or barrel racing or any of the other disciplines that retired racehorses can now excel at as part of the Thoroughbred Makeover.

In fact, the qualities that the Thoroughbred possesses have inspired crossing other breeds with the Thoroughbred. For example, the Irish Sport Horse Stud Book that has excelled in eventing has developed through crossing with Thoroughbreds. 

Horses with a high percentage of Thoroughbred blood were some of the highest sellers at the recent Monart Sale and Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale for event horse prospects in Ireland.

“The Thoroughbred is the most noted Studbook improver,” said Ryan, who was the pedigree announcer for the Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale.

From the sale of eventing prospects then to the highest level of the sport, the Thoroughbred has stood out.

“We saw in the recent excellent Maryland 5 Star cross country the ease of travel of the pure Thoroughbred and those with a high Thoroughbred influence,” Ryan said. “Those that lacked found it hard work.”

The author in his role as an announcer of OTTBs at Twin Rivers

The impact of the Thoroughbred goes beyond anything Captain Robert Byerly, Thomas Darley, and Lord Godolphin could have ever envisioned when they each imported a stallion from the Middle East that would bear their name and become the three foundation stallions for the modern Thoroughbred.

So, when you see a Thoroughbred leave the starting gate or the cross country start box or the barrel racing chute, it's an opportunity to appreciate how the breed has evolved over more than three centuries to be an elite sport horse, regardless of what that sport is.

Understanding and embracing the true nature of the Thoroughbred means that events like the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover, programs like The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program, and retired racehorses competing at horse shows can be appreciated as representations of the strengths of the breed, and not just something different that happens after a racing career ends. 

My next column, a conversation with outgoing Retired Racehorse Project executive director Jen Roytz, who, like Ryan, also has both a racing and sport horse background, will explore how the nurture side of Thoroughbreds' evolution through the racetrack has also prepared the breed for success as sport horses. 

Indeed, horse racing is the catalyst for the Thoroughbred's success across the entire equine world.

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More Than $125k for Aftercare Raised by Inaugural ‘Race to Give’

The first annual “Race to Give” campaign, begun in September by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) as an online giving and awareness program to support Thoroughbred aftercare, wrapped Friday with over $125,000 raised. Officials from Hagyard presented a check to TCA totaling $125,117 in a winner's circle ceremony at Churchill Downs.

“Starting a new charitable effort is always a challenge and usually takes some time to build momentum,” said Hagyard's Dr. Luke Fallon, DVM. “So we tried to set a realistic goal, but I think we underestimated people's passion for aftercare. Once the campaign got rolling we realized that a six-figure goal was not out of reach.”

Representatives from Hagyard thanked all participants who supported the effort, with a broad range of industry racing teams, farms, businesses, and organizations adding to the spirit of competition.

“As we mentioned at the launch of the campaign, competition is central to who and what we are as an industry. So we wanted to engineer competition into the Race to Give,” said Ken Ford, CEO of Hagyard Pharmacy. “It manifested itself in a number of fun sporting events, and the highly entertaining Run-A-Muck challenge where people were challenged to make a donation or muck a stall. I couldn't possibly list everybody who really leaned into the Race to GIve, but seeing people like Carter Carnegie and Allie Sclafani get involved was just amazing.”

The fundraising effort also included corporate sponsors Thoroughbred Daily News (TDN), TVG, Resolvet, Keeneland, and Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). “Our industry partners were simply amazing,” Fallon continued. “And we have to give an additional shout out to Thoroughbred Daily News and TVG. They were extremely generous with their promotional space and their editorial content to help get the word out. For about six weeks, Race to Give was a significant part of the industry discussion.”

In addition to raising money for aftercare, Race to Give was also engineered to raise awareness for the importance of aftercare. With Thoroughbreds on average living another 20 years or more after retiring from racing, they can move into second careers in new disciplines such as eventing, hunter/jumpers, dressage, western, polo, trail riding, equine therapy, and much more. Thoroughbreds are extremely versatile and can often be retrained for multiple disciplines. Responsible owners can set their horse up for future success by retiring them into a TCA-approved and TAA-accredited aftercare program where they can be retrained for their next career.

“As we pause to think about what we're thankful for this week, I know one of things on my list is being part of an industry that understands the importance of the next career for Thoroughbreds,” said Mike McMahon, TCA President. “This check, and the hundreds of Race to Give participants who contributed, is clear evidence of the genuine love we all have for these animals.”

Detailed results of the Race to Give campaign can be found at RaceToGive.org.

“This year's campaign was truly amazing,” said Fallon. “Now just imagine what we can do with a whole year to plan for the 2022 campaign.”

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