THANKSGIVING WEEK CHARITY FOCUS: THOROUGHBRED CHARITIES OF AMERICA
There are so many charitable organizations in racing, some benefiting Thoroughbreds to enjoy a second career after their racing days are over, and others focusing on the people involved in the game who need our help. For some, it’s a difficult choice where to direct their charitable donations
Enter the Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA), whose annual telephone auction of seasons is Dec. 1-3 and whose charitable auction dinner will be held in Lexington, Ky., on Friday, Dec. 5. The TCA serves strictly as a fund-raising organization that allocates money raised to a variety of equine and human organizations that work toward improving the lives of racehorses and the people who work with them.
Here are the five areas the TCA supports:
- Thoroughbred rescue, rehabilitation, retraining, adoption, retirement and euthanasia
- Backstretch workers including disabled jockeys, farm and track employees with little or no medical coverage and child care for them while working
- Equine educational organizations including those who provide equine-based scholarships and those who utilize Thoroughbreds in their educational programs
- Therapeutic riding programs which include the use of Thoroughbreds in their programs
- Research into equine diseases and ailments
The concept for the TCA, which is now affiliated with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, was begun in 1990 by the late Allaire DuPont and Herb and Ellen Moelis (pictured), who felt a need to help promote the well-being of retired racehorses. It began with a small auction at the Moelis’ CandyLand Farm in Middletown, Del., where $15,000 was raised and donated to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. The event grew, especially after the generous addition of stallion seasons, and before long the group was raising nearly $1 million through its annual dinner auction.
The TCA was thus created to serve as a “United Way” type of organization to pass through donations where it’s most needed. To date, more than $15 million has been given to over 200 different Thoroughbred non-profit organizations by the TCA, which sends 94 cents from every dollar raised directly to these charities. Click here to see the list of organizations which have received funding from TCA.
Oversight for the TCA, which has one employee, falls on a knowledgeable and respected board of directors who are active in both fund-raising and grant decisions.
This year’s 19th annual TCA Stallion Season and Art Auction takes place at the Keeneland Entertainment Center on Friday, Dec. 5, beginning at 6 p.m. For tickets, call (859) 312-5531. For information about this important event and the Dec. 1-3 telephone auction that precedes it, click here. If you’re unable to attend, you can still bid on the stallion seasons and other items up for auction. To make a donation to TCA, click here.
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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Tags: allaire dupont, candyland farm, Ellen Moelis, Herb Moelis, horse racing charities, horse slaughter, Horse Welfare, Keeneland, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, tca, tca stallion season and art auction, thoroughbred charities, thoroughbred charities of america, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred rescue, thoroughbred retirement foundation, TOBA, trf
November 26th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Ray,
What percentage of TCA donations goes toward Thoroughbred rescue, rehabilitation, retraining, adoption, retirement and euthanasia? What percentage goes toward popular and already well funded equine research?
Unwanted, broken, voiceless horses are grossly short-changed if not totally forgotten at most charitable events organized by the horse racing industry. To counter-balance that, TCA should dedicate at least 70% of its grants exclusively to the humane treatment of unwanted and discarded racing and breeding horses. I hope that TCA does that to help fill the void left by horse racing insiders who breed, race and profit from horses yet prefer supporting a million human causes, the majority of which have nothing to do with horse racing.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Grant allocation percentages among TCA’s 5 grant sectors, for the past grant cycle, fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, are on the TCA website. Please go to http://www.ThoroughbredCharities.org and click on “Frequent Questions”. The website is very detailed and includes all the non-profits we’ve supported in “groups we support”.
Thank you for you interest in fund raising for the Thoroughbred charities!
November 28th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Thank you Ms. Harris. From the TCA website:
“In 2008, grant distributions of $1,592,225 were allocated to 147 different organizations in 35 states with percentage breakdown by TCA’s Five Charity categories as follows:
1) Equine rescue, rehabilitation, retraining, adoption, retirement and euthanasia: 46%
2) Backstretch, Jockey, Chaplaincies, Medical Care: 22%
3) Education and scholarships: 15%
4) Therapeutic riding programs which utilize Thoroughbreds: 10%
5) Research into Equine diseases and disorders: 7%”