Posts Tagged ‘Julie Krone’

By Ray Paulick

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one holding his breath when the gates opened for the fourth race Saturday at the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting from Santa Anita. Seven “old” men and one still young woman, all of them Living Legends who have retired from professional race riding, were set to show that their skills had not all faded.

This wasn’t like one of those Old Timers Day baseball games at Yankee Stadium I remember watching on television in the 1960s, when pitches were lobbed up to the plate and spikes weren’t sharpened for slides into second base. These eight Living Legends would be aboard racehorses still in the prime of their careers in a game that can be dangerous for even the youngest, fastest-thinking and quickest-reacting athletes.

Thankfully, the eight horses and riders made the seven-furlong course safely, with 59-year-old Canadian Sandy Hawley, one of the all-time great riders and gentlemen of the game, romping to victory aboard the race favorite, Tribal Chief. (Click here to view the race.) Hawley took his charge wire to wire to win by 6 ½ lengths, looking every bit as good as he did in his prime 30 years ago, when he was nine times Canada’s champion jockey and four times led all North American riders by wins. Tribal Chief gave Hawley his 6,450^th career victory, 10^th on the list of all-time North American leaders.

Following Hawley across the finish line were horses ridden by Living Legends Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens, Pat Day, Julie Krone, Jacinto Vasquez, Chris McCarron and Angel Cordero Jr. (Equibase chart.) All are members of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. Not riding but participating in autograph sessions were three other Hall of Famers: Eddie Delahoussaye, Laffit Pincay Jr. and Jorge Velasquez.

Turns out I wasn’t the only nervous one. “I was a little nervous going into the starting gate, because I haven’t been out of a gate in 10 years,” Hawley said afterwards. “That was the part that I was worried about, so I grabbed a big handful of mane.”

The Living Legends race turned out to be a popular promotion for the riders and racing fans, and was a clever way to kick off a week featuring the 25th Breeders’ Cup world championships. Fans in the Los Angeles area and at tracks across did more than watch the Living Legends; they bet on them to the tune of over $1 million, with the $438,012 in the win, place and show pool the highest on the 10-race card.

There was immediate talk of holding another similar event in the future.

 By Ray Paulick

The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill criminalizing the transportation of horses for the purpose of slaughtering them for human consumption. The action, by voice vote, came less than 24 hours after Josephine Abercrombie, a prominent Kentucky Thoroughbred owner and breeder, sent  a letter (co-signed by 45 others) to Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and ranking member Lamar Smith (R-Texas), urging passage of the bill over the “neutral” position taken by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association one week earlier. The bill, H.R. 6598, known as the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, now moves to the House floor.

Abercrombie’s letter (shown below) seemed to trump an earlier letter by NTRA president Alex Waldrop, which said the NTRA had “concerns with the bill and potential unintended consequences.” The NTRA had previously supported anti-slaughter legislation filed but not passed in 2003; Waldrop’s letter did not address other anti-slaughter bills currently under consideration. Abercrombie and her co-signors urged support of all anti-slaughter legislation currently before the 110^th Congress. “We and so many others in the Thoroughbred breeding and racing community strongly support all legislative initiatives, including H.R. 503, S. 311, and H.R. 6598, which will bring horse slaughter to a swift end,” Abercrombie  wrote. “We want you to know that the NTRA’s position is not representative of the larger community.”

There currently are no slaughter plants operating in the U.S., the two in Texas having been shut down by a court ruling and a plant in Illinois shuttered after a state law was passed. There has been an increase in the number of horses being transported across the borders into Canada and Mexico, however, and H.R. 6598 provides enforcement for federal officials to end that. Horses confiscated would be under the jusisdiction of the attorney general, who, according to the bill, “shall provide for the humane placement or other humane disposition of any horse seized.”

Following is the text of the letter from Josephine Abercrombie and the list of co-signors.

Sept. 23, 2008

Dear Chairman Conyers and Ranking Member Smith:

Last week, during a Judiciary Committee mark up of H.R. 6598 – the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, it was revealed that the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) does not support current legislation to ban horse slaughter. Needless to say, we were surprised at the revelation and disappointed by the reasons NTRA put forward, none of which are valid.

As Thoroughbred industry leaders who have long supported all Congressional actions to end this cruel industry, we were disappointed that the NTRA voiced unfounded concerns to those who support the slaughter of horses thus jeopardizing the passage of this legislation. We and so many others in the Thoroughbred breeding and racing community strongly support all legislative initiatives, including H.R. 503, S. 311, and H.R. 6598, which will bring horse slaughter to a swift end. We want you to know that the NTRA’s position is not representative of the larger community.

We commend you, Chairman Conyers, for providing this bill with a fair hearing, which has allowed it to move to this point. Given the narrow opportunity to act before Congress adjourns, we hope that H.R. 6598 can swiftly be moved from Committee to the floor of the full House of Representatives for final consideration. This bill is too important for politics to delay its enactment. Every five minutes an American horse is slaughtered. This bill can stop that.

H.R. 6598 is a sound bill that puts enforcement into the hands of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and its agents who are trained and staffed to deal with criminal issues. We feel confident that the DOJ has the necessary experience in dealing with large animal confiscations having led such high profile investigations involving animal fighting, Class B Dealers, and puppy mills. As with other statutes, under H.R. 6598, the DOJ has the authority to ask for assistance from other federal, state and non-governmental agencies during its enforcement of the law and this flexibility has shown to be highly effective.

Under a close examination of the concerns asserted by those opposing the bill, we can see no legitimate reason not to pass this legislation. As representatives of the Thoroughbred industry we look forward to the next Committee mark up of H.R. 6598 and urge you to pass H.R. 6598 as written, without amendments, as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Josephine Abercrombie

 

John H. Adger, racing and bloodstock manager, Stonerside Stable, Houston, TX; 
Peggy Augustus, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Keswick Stables, Keswick, VA; 
Betty and Gary Biszantz, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Cobra Farm, Lexington, KY and Solana Beach, CA; 
Nadia Sanan Briggs, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Padua Stables, Ocala, FL; 
Anne and Cot Campbell, Thoroughbred owners, Dogwood Stable, Aiken, SC; 
Pat Chapman, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Someday Farm, Doylestown, PA; 
Jenny Craig, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Rancho Paseana, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; 
Carol Farmer, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Shadowlawn Farm, Midway, KY; 
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Ford, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Diamond A Farms, Versailles, KY; 
Maegan Ford, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Diamond A Farms, Versailles, KY; 
Staci and Arthur Hancock, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Stone Farm, Paris, KY; 
Mark Hennig, Thoroughbred owner and trainer, Garden City, NY; 
Sara Jones Hill, Thoroughbred owner, Coconut Grove, FL; 
Gretchen and Roy Jackson, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Lael Farm, West Grove, PA; 
Barbara Banke and Jess Jackson, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Stonestreet Farm, Lexington, KY; 
Jackson W. Knowlton, Thoroughbred owner, managing partner, Sackatoga Stable, Saratoga Springs, NY;  
Julie Krone, Racing Hall of Fame jockey, Los Angeles, CA; 
Janice and Robert McNair, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Stonerside Stables, Houston, TX; 
Ellen Moelis and Herbert I Moelis, Thoroughbred Charities of America, Candyland Farm, Middletown, DE; 
Maggi Moss, Thoroughbred owner, Moss Equestrians, Des Moines, Iowa; 
Joanne and Paul Oreffice, Thoroughbred owners, Dogwood Stables, Paradise Valley, AZ; 
Debby and John Oxley, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Fawn Leap Farm, Midway, KY; 
Madeleine Paulson Pickens, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; 
Dan Rosenberg, Rosenberg Thoroughbred Consulting,, Midway, KY; 
James D. Squires, Two Bucks Farm, Versailles, KY; 
Angie Athayde-Stevens, Thoroughbred consultant, Los Angeles, CA; 
Gary Stevens, Racing Hall of Fame jockey; Los Angeles, CA; 
Deborah W. Tatham and Thomas P. Tatham, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Oak Cliff Breeders, Houston, TX;
Melanie and Jeffrey Tucker, Stone Bridge Farm, Schuylerville, NY; 
Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Lexington, KY and Saratoga Springs, NY;
Kim and Nick Zito, Thoroughbred owner and trainer, Lexington, KY and Saratoga Springs, NY.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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