As last week’s report of 11 yearlings landing in a Texas kill pen illustrates, the evil of slaughter is still very much a part of U.S. Horseracing. While according to USDA data, fewer American horses, including racehorses, are going to slaughter, this is primarily a product of three factors – none of which have anything to do with industry action.
One, because of residual drugs in the bodies of slaughter-bound American horses, the EU market (for horse meat) has practically dried up over the past decade. Two, there is a greater awareness (social media) of discarded racehorses in peril, and thus more individuals and non-profits stepping up to save them. And three, with major declines in tracks, racedays, races, etc., there are simply less horses in the system. But again, the larger point here is that it’s nothing the racing industry has done, or is doing. They continue to produce (breed) thousands and thousands of horses each year for whom they have neither the desire nor the ability to care for post-exploitation at the track.
Last week, in an “Open Letter to the Industry” published by the Thoroughbred Daily News, seven prominent organizations/individuals in the rescue sphere took the racing industry to task on slaughter. Here are some excerpts:
“Thoroughbreds are bred deliberately, intentionally, and with careful planning. They are ‘created’ with the goal of winning, with the goal of earning, with the goal of making money. Why are so many Thoroughbreds ending up at feedlots across the country with a price tag and a deadline hanging over their heads?
“There have been weanlings, 2-year-olds, Thoroughbreds who just raced, injured Thoroughbreds coming off the track, those who have had second careers after racing and others who have been discarded in their teens or older. Many Thoroughbreds at feedlots are senior broodmares, having carried multiple foals over their post-racing lives and producing new life for the industry; some have even been in foal at the time they landed at a feedlot. No specific age group or subset is excluded.
“The ‘who’ of responsibility makes those who were ever involved in the lives of these broken souls seek to escape accountability, finger point and deflect, as if somehow they can absolve themselves from guilt. It makes those of us who spend a large portion of our days finding, drawing attention to, networking, raising funds, finding appropriate homes, bailing and caring for these rescued horses indignant.
“Yes, there are some folks in the industry who do love their horses and do right by them. There are some very good connections who do care and even others who have no obligation to help a horse in trouble yet help anyway. Unfortunately, they are the minority and not the majority.
“Thoroughbreds deteriorate quickly in the auction/slaughter pipeline, suffering dehydration, injury, bites and kicks, starvation and exposure to diseases with each stop on the brutal auction circuit contributing to their inevitable demise. Footage of the cruelty and abuse at lower-end auctions has been well-documented.
“Recently, the 6-year-old gelding Tyler’s Sensation [last raced 11/16/24 at Delta] lay down in the cool Texas grass and took his last breath just 40 hours after being pulled from a Texas kill pen, sick and emaciated from chronic neglect. Subsequently, multiple stakes winner Magic Vow [last raced 5/12/21 at Louisiana] ended up at a kill pen, emaciated and lame. Both horses went through cheap auctions and then ended up at a feedlot. How about Boston Belle [last raced 5/3/24 at Evangeline], a beautiful, uninjured, young mare who ended up in a feedlot five days after her last race? The racing industry did not save them or protect them. This is just three examples of the thousands of Thoroughbreds who end up in these situations every year.
“One would think that mandatory industry funding and mandated reporting of a Thoroughbred’s whereabouts after retirement and rescue would have been set in place by now. Shouldn’t this be a priority for the industry that benefits from their sweat and efforts?
“The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) was formed in 2013 as an aftercare and accreditation program. Many folks are under the assumption that TAA is the cure-all for Thoroughbreds after racing and yes, many horses have retired via TAA-accredited organizations. However, there are only a handful of TAA-accredited organizations that will help Thoroughbreds in the slaughter pipeline. As an entity, TAA does not endorse assisting Thoroughbreds in the slaughter pipeline and has provided no real aid in helping Thoroughbreds in this situation. Shouldn’t all Thoroughbreds, especially the most vulnerable and at-risk, be helped as well?
“Moreover, the distribution of TAA grants based on their public 990 tax returns clearly shows the bigger organizations are getting the biggest slices of the pie and the smaller organizations are receiving the smallest with no opportunity to grow or expand. Funding for many smaller organizations is grossly insufficient to support the horses they do have.
(Here is my post on the disgusting Thoroughbred Aftercare Allaince)
“There aren’t enough good organizations to take Thoroughbreds, especially organizations that are willing to take horses who may not be suitable for a second sporting or show career. There simply isn’t enough funding for this type of aftercare and no funds for rescue, and by no means are there enough sanctuaries. As long as the industry ignores the topic of Thoroughbreds who continue to suffer and die in the auction/slaughter pipeline and refuses to step up for the forgotten, the aged or those deemed ‘useless,’ this matter will continue to be a black eye on the industry….”
Thank you, Rick. I think the same is true of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. In the early stages of their website, it was announced that “the blue ribbon nominating committee” did a wonderful job of nominating the people who would be the members of the various committees that make up the “Authority”. The names of the various other committees were disclosed and the names of the people nominated to these other committees were disclosed.
There was never a clue as to who the members were of the evidently self-proclaimed “blue ribbon nominating committee”. I assume it is like a silent partner meaning that organized crime is involved.
I recently checked out TAA’s website. I was curious as to who was running it. To no one ‘s surprise, some of the biggest players in the industry are on the board of directors. Owners, breeders, bloodstock agents, and industry executives made up the majority of the board. It’s so ironic that the people causing the problem are the same people who are supposed to be solving the problem. I have no doubt that if the board members just got out of the business, the number of horses in kill pens would drop significantly.
It is a great book indeed.
“As last week’s report of 11 yearlings landing in a Texas kill pen illustrates, the evil of slaughter is still very much a part of U.S. Horseracing.” Much like the overload of dogs in animal kill shelters are very much a part of this govt’s. unlimited licensing of ‘puppy mills.’ Author, Mathew Scully’s “Dominion,” lays out, “The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals & the Call to Mercy.”
Poor creatures are dying, one way or another, and will keep dying , unless we put an end to the horseracing industry!
Elisabeth, we switched farm vets because of their mentality of ” Breed by the #`s”. We don`t one $ of ours going to support the racing industry in anyway if possible. We have seen Thoroughbreds supposedly shipped to race in S. Korea only to end up being slaughtered for meat! This occurred supposedly because of an issue with the health certificate. This then required those poor horses to only be allowed entry into S. Korea if they went directly to slaughter. When the grooms of those horses found out what happened they all cried for a long time. Today whenever the economy takes a down turn horses are still dumped along back roads here in Oregon! We have had some dumped near our farm! We would have not liked having strange horses introduced into our herd, but we would rather that than those horses being struck by one of our local nurses on her way to work in early am! All they had to do was open our unlocked farm gates & release them in the front of our farm where they would have been safe.
When food crops such as corn are used for fuel instead of food, it creates a situation that makes it so some people who have horses cannot afford to feed them. There was a certain period of time in the United States when people would take their horses to an auction, but nobody would buy the horse(s). I don’t know how often this happened but it did happen. The economic conditions were so bad for so many people that they would just abandon the horse(s). They would take their horse or horses to the auction and whether they were sold or not, they would not bring the horse or horses home.
With the price of hay being too high because of the shift from growing corn for fuel and less acres of ground being used to grow hay crops, it created a situation that became extreme for horse owners. I expect even worse situations like this to happen in the next two to three years. And this is in addition to the already existing situation of arrogant people that view horses strictly as a commodity that if they are not being used for something whether for riding, showing, some type of competitive event or for their meat, then they are “going to waste”.
I found it to be EXTREMELY REVOLTING and REPULSIVE when a certain person on social media said that if a horse isn’t butchered for their meat, then they are going to waste.
A comment I saw years ago re foaling was that the breeders and stock people were seeking the next Secretariat and those who fell short were of no interest to them.
Breeding Thoroughbreds in the way the racing industry operates is irresponsible for several reasons:
Overproduction: Every year, thousands of foals are bred with the hope that a small fraction will become winners. The rest often face uncertain or grim futures once they’re deemed “unprofitable.”
Disposable mindset: Horses are treated as commodities rather than sentient beings, with their worth tied almost exclusively to racing potential. Once they’re injured, too slow, or too old, many are discarded.
Health consequences: Breeding practices focus on speed and early maturity rather than soundness and longevity. This can result in fragile bodies, higher risk of injury, and shorter lifespans.
Lack of responsibility: The industry rarely ensures a safe landing for the horses it produces. After their racing careers, many end up in auctions, slaughter pipelines, or neglected situations.
Unsustainable cycle: Because demand for future champions fuels constant breeding, the tragic cycle of overpopulation and abandonment continues year after year.