Posts Tagged ‘exceller’

By Ray Paulick

Mike Mullaney’s Daily Racing Form article about the European slaughterhouse death of Exceller in April 1997 was a shocking reminder of what can happen to any Thoroughbred, no matter how accomplished they were, when they are no longer considered useful as racing or breeding animals. But the great racehorse of the 1970s did not die in vain.

A group of fans discussing Exceller’s death on an online forum decided to do more than mourn his death. They pledged to support Thoroughbred rescue efforts, initially at the United Pegasus Foundation in California. They eventually forming the Exceller Fund to keep alive the name of the horse trainer Charlie Whittingham called the best Thoroughbred never to win an Eclipse Award. Exceller was, however, posthumously elected to the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.

This grassroots organization of racing fans and horse lovers began with just a dozen people, each pledging a minimum of $15 a month to support rescue efforts. The Exceller Fund’s membership has grown to well over 100 members and has saved more than 250 horses since its creation. There are no only employees, only volunteers, and the Fund’s annual budget is approximately $70,000. (Click here to see the Exceller Fund’s financials.)

Click here to learn about becoming a member of the Exceller Fund or here to make a donation.

Its mission statement – Providing a Future Beyond the Finish Line – allows the Exceller Fund to work with local horse rescue organizations to transition horses to a second career after racing or breeding by acquiring horses that might be at risk for slaughter and caring for them until a new home is found. Its Web site provides a list of horses the Exceller Fund has adopted out or helped in other ways.

Barbara Kraus served as president of the Exceller Fund until 2003, when Bonnie Mizrahi, who had been in charge of fund-raising, took the reins. In August 2008, top New York trainer Gary Contessa was named president, a move that increased the organization’s visibility. “To have a major trainer such as Gary Contessa want to be our president and champion our efforts is a thrill and an honor,” Mizrahi said. “I believe this will signal to fans that racing does not turn a ‘blind eye’ to the horses once they are done, and I hope it will inspire others to realize that the Exceller Fund wants to work with racing to provide a “future beyond the finish line” for these magnificent Thoroughbreds.”

Today at Aqueduct, the New York Racing Association will run a race in Exceller’s honor and present a check for $5,000 to the Exceller Fund. Wouldn’t it be nice if tracks from coast to coast honored the memory of this outstanding horse in a similar way?

The Paulick Report will spotlight a different charity each day of Thanksgiving week, when we traditionally take time to reflect and give thanks to the blessings we have and to help those less fortunate. This is a difficult time for many Americans, and charitable organizations are feeling the effects of the global economic crisis. We hope you’ll spend a few minutes to learn about some of the charities that make us a better industry, and consider giving to these or to others that we won’t have the opportunity to publicize. Remember that no gift is too small.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick

No horse has ever done what Exceller did 30 years ago when he defeated two Triple Crown winners, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park. Given the unlikelihood that the sport will ever see two Triple Crown winners racing at the same time again, it’s hard to see how Exceller’s accomplishment will ever be matched. The son of Vaguely Noble may be the greatest horse never to win a year-end championship in the United States. He was an accomplished runner in Europe and in the U.S., winning 15 of 33 starts for Nelson Bunker Hunt (including seven of 10 starts in 1978), and earning in excess of $1.6 million — when million-dollar winners were rare.

Take a few minutes and enjoy this video of the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup.  It was a fascinating contest. Seattle Slew broke through the gate before the start. Then, Affirmed’s saddled slipped, compromising his chances. Seattle Slew was pushed to unbelievably fast fractions for a mile and a half race, yet he fought as gamely as any horse has ever fought, right to the finish. And Exceller, under Bill Shoemaker, rallied from 22 lengths off that rapid pace to get the win.

Sadly, neither the Jockey Club Gold Cup nor the many other outstanding victories are why Exceller is known to a generation of racing fans who never had the good fortune to see him run. This grand Thoroughbred, who gave so much for our pleasure, wound up in a slaughterhouse in Sweden in April 1997, less than 20 years after his greatest racing achievement.

Exceller’s crime? Failure to succeed as a stallion?

(Read more about Exceller’s racing career and his death in a Swedish slaughterhouse. Elected to the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1999, two years after his death, Exceller’s biographical information and Hall of Fame plaque fail to state his cause of death.)

Whether you believe that slaughter is a viable alternative for unwanted horses or are sickened by the thought that thousands of Thoroughbreds are led to slaughter for human consumption every year, the story of Exceller is a tragic one. No horse who did for the sport what Exceller did should have such an undignified death.

The same is true of the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, Ferdinand, who is believed to have died in a Japanese slaughterhouse in 2002 after not living up to expectations as a stallion.

Exceller became a cause célèbre for some racing fans who were frustrated that the Thoroughbred industry and its leaders were doing next to nothing for so many former racehorses who failed to generate revenue for their owners and ended up being slaughtered. A group of them decided they would do something about it, forming the Exceller Fund, pooling their own resources and raising additional funds, and volunteering their time to save horses from slaughter and help them transition to a second career off the racetrack. The Exceller Fund is one of many such organizations struggling to make a difference on behalf of the horses and the Thoroughbred industry.

This Saturday, to honor Exceller’s Jockey Club Gold Cup victory, a number of racetracks across the U.S. will host a “Toast to Exceller Day,” in order to raise awareness and donations for the Exceller Fund and many other equine charity groups. A special cocktail, “The Exceller,”  is being sold at several tracks, including Mountaineer, Finger Lakes, Laurel Park and Presque Isle Downs, with proceeds benefting the Exceller Fund.

“I cannot thank our partner tracks enough for their support with this and I wish to especially thank the New York Racing Association for their commitment to the Exceller Fund that will be a lasting relationship for many years to come,” said leading New York trainer Gary Contessa, who in August was named president of the Exceller Fund.

Exceller did a great deal for Thoroughbred racing — then and now.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world. 

Saturday was a bad day for horses. One of their best friends in the world, John Hettinger, passed away at the age of 74. No one fought harder to end the slaughter of horses in the United States than John Hettinger.

He was tireless and passionate about ending slaughter. He talked about it, wrote about it, did something about it. He was a man of words and of action. And he put his money where his mouth was.

Of all the things John Hettinger ever said or wrote about horse slaughter, there is one paragraph that has stayed with me. It came from an article he wrote in 2003 and asked me to publish in the Bloodhorse.

 

“How do we as an industry feel about our horses?” he wrote. “Are we horse lovers? Are these animals, who work for us in one way or another throughout their entire lives, sensitive and capable of trust, courage and generosity of spirit? Or are they fast cows without horns?”

Fast cows without horns? That line got me. Until then, I was ambivalent about slaughter, because I considered horses “livestock,” which, technically, they are. But that simple but brilliant observation taught me there are different kinds of livestock – the kind that are bred and raised for human consumption, and the kind that are bred and raised for sport, but end up in the food chain by unfortunate circumstances.

Thank you, Mr. Hettinger, for helping me finally understand what was so clear to you.

The following press release about John Hettinger comes from the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. Please consider a donation to TRF, Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation, Blue Horse Charities or to any of the many other worthy equine welfare organizations in his memory.  – Ray Paulick

TRF Mourns loss of Humanitarian, Horse Lover John Hettinger

 

John A. Hettinger, a tireless advocate for retired race horses and one of the leading figures in the fight to end horse slaughter in this country, passed away Sept. 6 at his Akindale Farm in Pawling, N.Y., after a lengthy illness. Hettinger was 74.

 

A longtime horse owner and breeder, Hettinger became a passionate activist for the retired Thoroughbred in the late 1990s. He personally bought hundreds of horses to keep them from going to slaughter, was an outspoken critic of anyone standing in the way of passage of legislation to ban horse slaughter and started Blue Horse Charities, a charity that raised millions to provide for retired thoroughbreds. Hettinger was also an important friend to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. He was a long-time member of the group’s board of directors.

"We at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation are deeply saddened by the loss of John Hettinger," TRF Executive Director Diana Pikulski said. "John was among the most loyal and honorable people I have ever known. He was the Thoroughbreds strongest advocate and he took action to back his convictions. The TRF was honored to have his huge support and presence as a director. John personified our mission and made us a stronger, better organization and we are honored to continue his efforts on behalf of our equine athletes.

"John created a sanctuary at Akindale, his family farm, where hundreds of thoroughbreds saved from the slaughter pens were given a home. The TRF started the first Thoroughbred retraining center in the country at the Exceller Farm, the use of which was donated to the TRF by Mr. Hettinger. John also created Blue Horse Charities to raise money from thoroughbred horses sales to fund thoroughbred adoption agencies.

"It did not matter who he rubbed the wrong way in his effort to have the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act passed by the U.S. Congress. John always said that his best friends all had four legs."

In 2000, his efforts on behalf of retired horses were recognized by the industry, which awarded him a Special Eclipse Award.

"There are two things that flourish in the dark—mushrooms and horse slaughter," Hettinger once said. "Most people don’t know it’s going on. We must deny them the darkness."

Hettinger was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the New York Racing Association and Chairman Emeritus of the Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation. Racing under the name of Akindale Farm, Hettinger campaigned such stakes-winning horses as Chase the Dream, Genuine Regret, Jazzing Around, Lady DAccord, Move It Now, Prospectors Flag, Up Like Thunder and Virgo Libra. Akindale also stood such stallions as DAccord, Personal Flag, Stacked Pack and Sir Wimborne.

Hettinger’s big horse was Warfie, who he said gave him his biggest thrill as an owner when she won the Long Island Handicap in 1989.

He was also the majority owner of the Fasig-Tipton sales company until it was sold earlier this year to Dubai-based Synergy Investments Ltd.