The industry conversation on “aftercare” rages on, especially on the pages of the Thoroughbred Daily News. First, it was Mike Repole in Jan, then The Jockey Club’s answer a few days later, then Reiley McDonald last month. Now, Pat Cummings,…
In a recent LTE to the Thoroughbred Daily News, founding board member of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and still active horseman Reiley McDonald further exposed the sham that is racing “aftercare.” Here is some of what the Kentucky-based McDonald had…
In an “Open Letter,” The Jockey Club has responded to Mike Repole’s threatened lawsuit. I won’t bore you with all the details, just the part about “aftercare.” On Repole’s claim that TJC “has failed to address aftercare,” they write: “Aftercare…
This past week, prominent owner Mike Repole announced he would be bringing a lawsuit against some of US Racing’s yet-identified power brokers. Apparently, Repole has never been a fan of the “old boys’ club,” and decries the inability of individuals…
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…
By now, most of you have probably heard about the 11 yearlings purchased Tuesday by a kill-buyer at a sale in Texas. Here is the original statement from the executive director of the sale’s organizer, the Texas Thoroughbred Association: “We…
Everyone in racing and everyone who follows it closely from the outside knows that slaughter is still a massive issue, despite all PR – “no-slaughter policies,” “aftercare programs” – to the contrary. This week, the Thoroughbred Daily News (TDN), one…
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) is an arm of the U.S. horseracing industry. It not only brooks zero criticism of racing but compels anyone who seeks accreditation (and funding) to speak positively of the industry. As I wrote in this…
Earlier this month, I relayed the story of an Arizona regulatory vet, Victoria Lowe, allegedly suggesting to trainer Chip Woolley that he send his 10-year-old mare, Piper Rose, to slaughter. Well, the “investigation” (actually multiple investigations, as both the Arizona…
I’m happy to report that a bill that would “prohibit any person from possessing, selling, importing, etc, a horse or horseflesh if such person knows or should have known that any part of such horse or horseflesh will be used…
“The system has failed.” So says a recent op-ed on slaughter in the Thoroughbred Daily News. Let’s start with this: The writer, Nicole Forbes, is unabashedly pro-racing. But while I abhor much of the tone (sappy) and her patent passion…
Introduced by Assemblymember Deborah Glick last year, NYS bill A5481 targets equine – all equines, not just racehorses – slaughter. The summary reads as follows: “Prohibits any person from slaughtering a horse where such person knows or has reason to…
