Posts Tagged ‘remi bellocq’

But the Blue Grass Farms Chaplaincy, as the name implies, serves a community much larger than the track. “When we started this organization,” said industry consultant Lonny Powell, the chaplaincy’s founding president, “we saw that it was an enormous challenge. With a racetrack chaplaincy, you draw a square and define the stable area as your community. With the Blue Grass Farms Chaplaincy, we’re serving several counties in Central Kentucky. But it’s worked, and it’s given me great satisfaction and pride to see how many people have benefited.”

The chaplaincy was formed in 2003 by a group of individuals in Central Kentucky that included Powell, David Foley of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the Jockey Club’s  Dan Fick, Tom Thornbury of Keeneland, Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association CEO Remi Bellocq, breeder Ben Walden, Bobby Maxwell of Sallee Horse Vans and Bethlehem Farms’ Sandra White. (Click here to learn more about the Blue Grass Farms Chaplaincy.)

“Back in the early days, we’d hired a part-time administrator and a part-time chaplain to get this kicked off,” recalled David Foley, a past president and current treasurer of the chaplaincy. “We used to meet several times a month the first few years trying to get the ministry going. Both of these positions ended up going full-time and we were covering a lot of ground; however, fundraising was always a challenge. Then, along came Mary–as the song goes. She came to us initially as a volunteer a few years back, began participating and then inquired about setting up a Ladies Guild to assist the chaplaincy with additional needs and to help with fundraising. She was ‘on fire’ for this ministry, back then and remains so today.”

When the chaplaincy’s original executive director left Central Kentucky and resigned her position, Lee-Butte was working virtually full-time as a volunteer. The executive director job was offered to her, and she stepped in to help the organization through a transition without missing a step. It’s grown under her leadership and expanded its outreach to the community in many ways. Lee-Butte is one of three employees, along with the chaplain Claudio Toro and executive assistant Deanna Widaman.

“On a day to day basis, we are able to take care of any emergency needs the workers have,” Lee-Butte said, “whether it’s physical, spiritual, financial or medical. It’s a one-stop resource center.”

The chaplaincy, which was previously affiliated with the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America but ended its ties with that national organization earlier this year, opened an Enrichment Center at its Lexington office in the last year.  The center is used as a classroom, where courses on safety and English as a second language are taught. The center will be used this summer for a new children’s reading program, and it also hosts a mentoring program for mothers who either have husbands working on horse farms or themselves are farm employees. A computer lab is being created, thanks to a gift of eight computers from Darley Farm. Classes will be taught to help farm workers develop word processing and basic computer skills that will help them on the job. Lee-Butte hopes to arrange for regularly scheduled medical and dental services to also be available for those in need.

“Our greatest achievement last year by far was opening the Enrichment Center,” said Fritz Widaman of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the chaplaincy’s current president. Its development, Widaman said, would not have been possible without the generosity of many people in the industry.

Lee-Butte echoed Widaman’s sentiments about the widespread support, saying funding comes from all levels of the industry, from wealthy farm owners who make substantial donations to individuals who send in $5 or $10.

“Taylor Made Farm has been phenomenal in their support,” she said, “Beau Lane of the Lane Foundation has supported the chaplaincy for a long time and has been one of our major donors. Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton have been supportive, and so has the Blood-Horse family, especially at Christmastime. Darley has been very supportive, both with funding and with the recent donation of computers.”

The heart and soul of the chaplaincy’s fundraising, however, comes from the Ladies Guild that Lee-Butte helped start.

(UPDATED OCT. 10 TO REFLECT NEW POLICY FROM MAGNA ENTERTAINMENT)

When the Judiciary Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives held a markup hearing on Sept. 17 to discuss H.B. 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008 that would ban slaughter and criminalize the transportation of horses for the purpose of having them slaughtered for human consumption, a letter from National Thoroughbred Racing Association president and CEO Alex Waldrop said his organization took a neutral position on H.B. 6598 despite supporting previous anti-slaughter legislation.

Waldrop’s position statement, read into the record by Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, outraged a number of prominent Thoroughbred industry participants, including Pin Oak Stud’s Josephine Abercrombie, who wrote a letter signed by more than 40 individuals that was sent to the leadership of the Judiciary Committee stating that the NTRA did not speak for them on the issue. The Judiciary Committee passed the legislation on Sept. 23 and sent it to the full House.

On Oct. 3, however, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) referred the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act to the Agriculture Committee, giving that committee until Jan. 3, 2009, to take action on the bill. Since the 110^th Congress has adjourned, the bill will not pass unless it comes up during a lame duck session, which is highly unlikely.

Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and ranking Republican Goodlatte both have been recipients of contributions from the NTRA PAC, most recently receiving $5,000 for their 2008 campaigns. Peterson is a member of the Congressional Horse Caucus and Goodlatte has been a strong ally of the NTRA’s lobbying efforts concerning Internet gambling and tax incentives for breeders. Goodlatte has been an opponent of slaughter legislation. (Abercrombie, incidentally, is a “champion” level NTRA Horse PAC donor, giving $5,000.)

In the wake of the Judiciary Committee’s action on anti-slaughter legislation and the NTRA’s neutral position (the American Horse Council is also neutral), Paulick Report readers suggested we contact other major Thoroughbred industry associations and businesses to see if they have taken a position on the issue of slaughter and on the specific legislation (H.B. 6598).

Listed alphabetically by organization, here is what we learned:

ASSOCIATION OF RACING COMMISSIONERS INTERNATIONAL: According to RCI president/CEO Ed Martin, the RCI “normally does not take positions on pending legislation in Congress and has not been asked by any of its members to address the issue.”

BREEDERS’ CUP:  Greg Avioli, president/CEO, said the Breeders’ Cup “has not issued a formal policy statement on the slaughter legislation before Congress. However, it is the strong consensus of our board that slaughter is inhumane and any and all reasonable options other than slaughter should be pursued. In furtherance of this position, proceeds from this year’s Championships will go to multiple retirement organizations.”

CHURCHILL DOWNS INC. Officials did not reply to requests for a position statement. Churchill Downs Inc, created the Greener Pastures program in conjunction with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and supports other retirement and retraining programs.

FASIG-TIPTON: Did not reply to requests for a position statement. Under the leadership of the late John Hettinger, Fasig-Tipton’s majority shareholder, the company created Blue Horse Charities to offer support to various retirement and retraining organizations. Hettinger was the industry’s leading anti-slaughter advocate.

JOCKEY CLUB: Spokesman Bob Curran gave no position on H.B. 6598 but said the official breed registry “is opposed to the slaughter or processing of Thoroughbreds for consumption by humans or animals. This includes the sale and/or transportation of Thoroughbreds for slaughter or processing for consumption by humans or animals.” The Jockey Club is a member of the Unwanted Horse Coalition.

KEENELAND ASSOCIATION: Did not reply to requests for a position statement. Keeneland and its foundation have supported Thoroughbred retirement and retraining organizations, including the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Rerun.

KENTUCKY EQUINE EDUCATION PROJECT: A statement from executive director Patrick Neely said: “It has been a topic of discussion in some of KEEP’s industry working groups but no formal position has been taken at this time.”

KENTUCKY THOROUGHBRED ASSOCIATION: Did not reply to requests for a position statement. KTA lists several Thoroughbred retirement organizations on its Web site.

MAGNA ENTERTAINMENT (owns Santa Anita, Gulfstream, Laurel, Pimlico, Lone Star Park, Remington Park, Golden Gate Fields): Does not have a position statement on slaughter or current anti-slaughter legislation, according to an official with the company. OCT. 10 UPDATE: MAGNA INSTITUTES NEW POLICY. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.

NATIONAL HORSEMEN’S BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION: CEO Remi Bellocq said he could not provide a yes or no answer to whether the organization supports a ban on slaughter or H.B. 6598 because of the diversity of the 30 HBPA affiliates across North America. “Our horsemen and horsewomen fall across the spectrum on this issue,” Bellocq said. The National HBPA is a member of the Unwanted Horse Coalition. Bellocq said “this shouldn’t be defined necessarily as a ‘slaughter for human consumption’ issue but, rather, an ‘unwanted horses’ issue. To a person, if given a choice, horsemen would much prefer finding a home and/or second career for their horses as opposed to slaughter. Unfortunately, no matter what legislation (state or federal) is passed, the real problem – the number of unwanted horses – will still exist. To stem the number of unwanted horses, education and awareness are a key first step to successfully bring the number down.

“To that end, in 2005 National HBPA was one of the founding members of the Unwanted Horse and we continue working actively within the UHC to better educate horsemen about the options including, should all else fail, humane euthanasia. The UHC has set-up a big tent under which all the wonderful horse rescue programs can work together. If we truly made an industry-wide effort to centralize, for example, an ex-racehorse outplacement / adoption program, I am convinced many could be placed with willing owners. Why not, for instance, establish a national site modeled after Petfinder.com? Already, organizations like the Illinois HBPA have created similar approaches with success (see Illinois HBPA’s Horses Wanted link.”

NEW YORK RACING ASSOCIATION: Did not reply to requests for a position statement. NYRA offers support to the Exceller Fund, which helps place retired horses and has supported the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.