Guest Post: “The TAA and the Propaganda of Aftercare”

Follows is a guest post by longtime contributor Mary Johnson.

(For those who may be unfamiliar with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, here is my own post on that disgusting organization.)

“The TAA and the Propaganda of Aftercare”
by Mary Johnson

“The TAA is the greatest propaganda machine that racing has ever created.” – Susan Kayne, former racehorse breeder/owner and current advocate.

Aftercare…the word of the day in the racing industry. It is repeated ad nauseam day in and day out and is overused consistently with the intention of sugarcoating the reality of what happens to horses when they are no longer productive. Putting racing in a favorable light seems to be one of the primary goals. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) is touted as an organization that has the best interests of the TB at heart and distributes adequate funding for the horses who are fortunate to land in a soft spot after their racing days are over. From my personal experience and from the research I’ve done, nothing could be further from the truth.

Being accredited by the TAA is appealing, at least initially. Thoughts of having access to grants to care for the horses gives one a sense of security and stability – but with the accreditation comes the proverbial “muzzle.” Once accredited, the TAA insists that you are to always represent the racing industry and aftercare in a “positive light.” You are forbidden to criticize the drugging, whipping, injections, horses being raced too young with injuries, and the dumping of horses into auctions and kill pens. The TAA wants a sanitized version of the industry that damages and dumps so many horses, and yet they refuse to assist horses who are in the slaughter pipeline.

I grew up with horses, including TBs, and my mom bought me my first horse, an OTTB, in 1963. TBs are near and dear to my heart but I firmly believe that EVERY horse deserves a good life and a humane death. It is irrelevant to me the breeding, money won, or what the horse sold for at the major TB sales companies that take in an estimated $1B in annual gross revenue. I had assumed that those affiliated with the TAA would feel the same way, but that is not the case. Here’s what you need to know: The TAA will NOT assist any TB who ends up in the slaughter pipeline or at a kill auction. These horses are desperate for help, and oftentimes that help doesn’t come unless non-racing people step up for those discarded by an industry that generates billions annually.

Why is there no help? No emergency funds? Aftercare is aftercare. Are these horses less worthy because they were no longer profitable? Do they deserve to be abandoned in their greatest hour of need? Simply put, the most desperate TBs facing slaughter are not the priority of the TAA. The staff is too busy warning their accredited organizations to look past the atrocities and speak positively of an industry that mostly doesn’t care. If you want the TAA’s money, you play by their rules – and they’re always watching.

The TAA doesn’t just threaten those dedicated to helping the industry’s horses. They punish those who question the industry. Despite helping hundreds of horses out of the slaughter pipeline over the past few years, the R.A.C.E. Fund lost their accreditation in late 2024 due to noncompliance – i.e., they did not consistently portray a positive outlook on aftercare. A positive outlook for horses standing in kill pens? A positive outlook for an industry that cripples, maims and kills horses daily? Another accredited organization, Thoroughbred Retirement Network of Louisiana, opted not to reapply for accreditation in 2025 due to similar issues. And these two organizations are not alone in how they’ve been treated by the TAA.

Why would anyone sign up to be censored – “muzzled” – treated unprofessionally, and made to jump through countless hoops only to receive funds that will not begin to cover the expenses of the horses they help? As the TAA sits on an excess of $8M in assets, smaller rescues are struggling to survive. What will happen to those horses if these rescues are forced to close? Perhaps someone can reach out to Ms. Stacie Clark Rogers or Ms. Janice Towles for an answer to that question. After all, without the horses, including those in the kill pens, those two “ladies” wouldn’t have jobs with the TAA.

The Jockey Club (TJC) and the Breeders’ Cup (BC) both donate to the TAA. Together, according to their 990s, these two are sitting on approximately $205 MILLION in assets – 81 MILLION for TJC, 124 MILLION for the BC. Add the TAA’s $8M and the total is well over 200 MILLION – yet the industry can’t seem to find the resources to help the lost souls tagged for slaughter. What a vile industry.

In 2023, I wrote a story for this blog titled “The TAA, Blue Bloods, Colt Rainville and the Unconscionable Betrayal (Abuse) of Diva’s Kitten.” Diva’s Kitten was donated to Blue Bloods, an accredited TAA org, by Rose Smith. After Diva’s adoption to Colt Rainville, the horror story began. I and others reached out to Janice Towles with a 30+ page complaint against Blue Bloods and Towles did nothing except make “recommendations.” When asked why “requirements” weren’t made, Towles was silent. Why? Frankly, I think it was because she and the rest of the TAA officials wanted to be done with us (and Diva’s) and wanted to get back to “business as usual.” Yes, “business as usual” – keep those blinders on and keep drinking the juice that racing is propagating.

For those of you wishing to donate to 501c3s to help horses, please donate directly to the (non-TAA-accredited) organization. Most of us are intelligent enough to make good decisions. Donating to the TAA will not guarantee that funds will get to your targeted org. One doesn’t need the TAA to divvy up your hard-earned money especially when they have such little regard for the horses who are in the most desperate need.