TURNING CHALLENGE INTO OPPORTUNITY
One of the Thoroughbred industry’s biggest challenges may also present one of its greatest opportunities. The challenge, brought to the fore this year by a series of widely publicized events but always lingering just off center stage, is the issue of animal welfare. How the industry deals with this subject may be one of its last, best opportunities to derail our slow but steady march toward irrelevance in the eyes of the general public.
The death of Eight Belles in this year’s Kentucky Derby, from all indications, was a freak accident, one of those incidents that could not have been prevented by anyone. But her demise, along with revelations about the routine administration of anabolic steroids to many of the sport’s best performers, shined a spotlight on racing that revealed to the general public some of its darkest truths.
Foremost among those is the question of what becomes of a Thoroughbred when it is no longer useful as a racing or breeding animal. Some owners and breeders take great measures to insure either a productive second life for their horses or dispose of them through humane euthanasia. Too many horses slip through the cracks, however, and end up on meat wagons headed to slaughter houses in Canada or Mexico, or are simply abandoned.
The perception of our sport is shaped by media reports of the cruelty of slaughter or abandonment of Thoroughbreds, and it does not present an image attractive to many Americans, especially a younger generation that is more in tune with animal welfare issues.
That is the challenge.
The opportunity lies in the numerous programs and untold number of volunteers who work to find second homes for Thoroughbreds as riding, pleasure or performance horses, or as therapeutic animals used in programs for the mentally, spiritually or physically challenged, and in prisons where they have helped rehabilitate hardened criminals.
It’s time for the racing and breeding industry to fully embrace programs like the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, CANTER, Rerun, Tranquility Farm, Thoroughbred Charities of America and others, instead of pretending the issue of unwanted ex-racehorses does not exist.
Last week I heard a presentation on how our sport can energize its “brand” from marketing expert David Aaker at the Asian Racing Conference in Tokyo, Japan. Aaker, an advisor to Japanese advertising giant Dentsu and professor emeritus at the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley, talked about how some other businesses have energized their brands by hitching their wagons to something outside of their core business that it is interesting, relevant and compelling to their customer base.
Avon, one of the oldest cosmetic brands for women, was cited as one very good example. There was little the company could do to energize itself by making better lipstick, Aaker said, so it found an issue with great relevance and interest to its female customers: breast cancer. Avon put enormous resources into a breast cancer awareness campaign, created a foundation to support breast cancer research, and promoted an annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer throughout the world. Breast cancer research and other social issues relevant to women were foremost among Avon CEO Andrea Jung’s program to rebuild and re-energize the Avon cosmetic brand. It has been a great success.
What social issue is of great importance to current and potential racing fans? I think that’s a no-brainer: it’s the humane treatment of the animals that give us so much pleasure and entertainment.
Look into the eyes of any fan when a horse dumps its rider in the post parade and takes off on a perilous solo run, or when a horse breaks down in a race or is carted off on an ambulance. It’s not just the champions our fans care about, either, it’s those low-level claimers they’ve followed in the first or last race on any day at any track.
Racing is fortunate to have people who are animal lovers and do what they can to protect them. Just today, Madeleine Paulson Pickens is reported to have come up with a plan to rescue from death the tens of thousands of wild mustangs who have roamed the American West and are so much a part of our culture. The late Paul Mellon bequeathed a most generous gift to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation that will benefit former racehorses for years to come. John Hettinger dedicated the last years of his life to ending slaughter and protecting our horses.
But it’s time for racing, as an institution, to understand that what’s good for our horses is good for our sport, to face this challenge and embrace it as an opportunity. The Jockey Club realized this with its recent announcement that it will give to horse retirement causes and offer breeders an easy way to donate funds to this cause whenever they register a foal. Suffolk Downs officials established a zero-tolerance policy against trainers sending horses to slaughter and a few other tracks have followed their lead.
But the clock is ticking. Voters in Massachusetts banned dog racing in that state Nov. 4 because of concerns over animal welfare. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to see similar measures taken against the racing of horses. Think about that for a minute.
We have some very bright people in this industry, people who can understand what marketing expert Aaker was talking about with Avon and apply the same principle to help both the horses and the business of Thoroughbred racing. We can energize the Thoroughbred racing "brand" by taking on one of our biggest challenges and viewing it as an opportunity to sell our sport to a new generation.
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: 32nd asian racing conference, andre jung, animal welfare, anti-slaughter, asian racing conference, avon, avon walk for breast cancer, ban on dog racing, CANTER, ceo andrea jung, david aaker, dentsu, dog racing ban, eight belles, haas school of business, Horse Racing, horse slaughter, john hettinger, kentucky derby, Madeleine Paulson Pickens, madeleine pickens, massachsusetts dog racing ban, mellon foundation, paul mellon, Paulick Report, pickens plan, Ray Paulick, rerun, thoroughbred charities of america, thoroughbred racing and breeding, thoroughbred retirement, thoroughbred retirement foundation, tranquility farm, trf
November 18th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Wow Ray, if only everyone thought your way. As a member of a newly formed rescue in So. IL, its tough going out there. But one of the things is awareness. People have no idea and need to be educated. We need more people like you taking the reins, the snowball is rolling, it justs needs to pick up momentum. LOVE your site!
November 18th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Animal lovers know the difference between “selling the sport” and truly caring about the animals’ lives after racing. Avon succeeds because it focuses on real people, not celebrities. That’s what thoroughbred racing must do if it wants to attract attention, not only to the sport but to the welfare of the horses after racing. Animal shelters throughout the country have sponsorship programs where people can donate sums of money for the care of a specific dog or cat. I’d jump at the chance to help sponsor Cigar!
November 18th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
One option that I believe is overlooked with racehorses who are retired is that they make “great” family pets and saddle horses. How about a “free to good home” program? The administration cost should not be too high. Contact a veterinarian in the prospective owner’s home town and get his opinion of the suitability of said persons.
I have simplified this idea but I believe it could be workable. Even stallions of “lower class” could be used to improve the bloodlines on a small ranch operation rather than gelding them. So many ideas and so little space. Thanks for the ranting space. Nancy
November 18th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Ex race horses CAN make great pets and show horses and eventers and pleasure horses but not all are suited and many are not properly evaluated before being placed. One unruly OTTB (off the track Thoroughbred) in a barn can spoil the reputation of the breed if the trainer in charge is not saavvy enough to deal with the horse.
I tend to think that moderate stallions should only be used for breeding if they have some exceptional quality (unrelated to racing) such as near ideal conformation, temperament and or exceptional talent in a particular field, like jumping. Breeding unproven stallions creates more unwanted stock.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
The Thoroughbred horse as a breed and the sport of which it is a part, are, understandably, the main focus of Ray’s blog and the responses here and elsewhere. I love racing and the Thoroughbred horse. However, the problems of the unwanted horse cannot and will not be solved by helping only Thoroughbreds - which represent a small minority of the horses affected by the well-intentioned but poorly-thought-out legislation we are dealing with now. Many ideas are presented here. The Unwanted Horse Coalition discusses many more. However, an understanding and consideration of the entire horse industry is needed in order to really fine-tune the ideas and possible solutions. For example, there are so many thousands of “free to a good home” horses of all breeds right now that it is unbelieveable. Also, many high-strung (as they need to be in order to run so beautifully) Thoroughbreds do NOT make good family “pets.” In addition, most ranchers - small or large - have their choice of hundreds of high quality American Quarter Horses or good stallions of similar stock horse breeds much better suited to their programs than Thoroughbreds. And the Arabian, ancestor of all of today’s Thoroughbreds, has been hit particularly hard. What about them? Now that humane slaughter - as much as we hated to think about it - is no longer an alternative, the additional abuse now heaped upon the unwanted horses of every color, size and stripe all across this land is abysmal. Abandonment, neglect, starvation. And it will only get worse. One respondant suggested local veterinarians be a part of the solution. Well, veterinarians are the ones caught in the thick of dealing with the increased incidents of abuse and neglect. Why do you think the American Association of Equine Practitioners came out against the anti-slaughter legislation? They could see what would happen to the horses they admire so much and dedicate their lives to - if there was no alternative put in place when slaughter was outlawed. Well, guess what. No alternative was put in place. The laws and judicial judgements passed, and now thousands of horses suffer miserable lives, day after day after day - all with no place to go, prisoners of poor plannig and poor legislation. Thoroughbreds, Morgans, Arabians, Quarter Horses, Standardbreds, American Saddlebreds, Appaloosas, Paints, the pony breeds, the draft breeds, grade horses, and even Mustangs - which have their own additional challenges. What a stupid mess.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Forget it, Ray. Tracks will never promote social responsibility when it comes to the welfare of horses because they are afraid it will only focus more attention on the problem. They don’t have the guts or the foresight.
Just look at how the chickensh#t NTRA had a chance to take a stand on slaughter and weaseled out. It was pathetic.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
WARNING:
K.B. Abbott is a pro-slaughter wolf in sheep clothing.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
KB Abbott- please keep in mind that slaughter has not been outlawed. It is alive and well, and shortsighted efforts to close down US slaughterhouses without a ban in place have led to an even worse situation for horses, as they are being shipped (in record numbers I might add) to Canada and Mexico.
And as much as people hate the “pro slaughter” point of view… well, there’s some reality to it. The fact remains that there are a LOT of horses out there who are unwanted or have no place to go.
As it pertains to racing- it gets really difficult because not everyone in racing has the money to retire every horse to a lush field, or spend months marketing it to the public. It’s a business, and many in the business are not well off. I think that support from racing organizations and tracks for retirement and rehoming efforts is great, but it needs to be stepped up. Or a very small portion of purse proceeds, or entries, or foal registrations, needs to be put in a fund for those things.
I don’t like it when a perfectly useful and trainable horse ends up at New Holland because the owner/trainer just ran out of time and money… but on a personal level I can understand it. When it comes down to it keeping a business running, so one can feed the family, is vitally important. I think the industry as a whole has a big role to play here in keeping options open for those people who don’t really have any. Supporting TB retirement/rehoming in a more serious way is super important. Not just the TRF and big names, but the many small local groups that are actually doing the legwork and networking for the trainers, etc.
I will say, as a volunteer with one of these groups, that support has definitely been increasing- not just from racing fans or bigwigs but from the tracks we deal with directly. They’re definitely feeling pressure from the public, but I think, more than that, they’re starting to learn that racing has to change its identity a little bit, if it’s to survive as a sport in this country. And that doing the right thing is not just about appeasing people, but is in their best interests as a business, too.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Ray, thank you! It makes great sense for the racing industry to start calling “the product” horses then pass meaningful reforms to protect them to generate positive PR then attract fans, bettors, sponsors and advertisers.
Most breakdowns happen to horses with pre-existing conditions and thus can be prevented. The number of races should be adapted to the number of racing sound horses available, not the other way around. Horses shouldn’t be drugged to pass the smell test then fill an insane number of races nationwide which hurts horses and produces sad racing regardless of what surface they run on. Racing must aim for quality.
Those who can’t afford or can’t bring themselves to treat horses humanely once they are through with them should do something which doesn’t involve live animals.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I have personal experience with OTTB’s and I own 2 right now. I do not consider them high strung. My stallion is a stakes winner and he is very sweet and a good husband and acting dad. My mare had 6 wins and is perfectly sound. He had 53 starts and she had 36. They had a stillborn foal this year. There are too many fragile Thoroughbreds and from what I read fragile bones can be hereditary. Tracks should do bone density scans on horses before allowing them to race. Some horses need to be treated like people with osteosporosis. I am very happy that Mountaineer has joined the “zero tolerance for slaughter” group of racetracks. I hope it spreads to all of them. If everybody cared enough to try and breed for soundness then horses could race longer and they could breed less horses who could retire sound for any career. There are too many horses that cannot stay sound and thousands of them have perished because of injuries in races or training. Many horses are put to stud who could not last even 12 starts without a fracture. Those who do not care about breeding for soundness do not really care about doing the right thing and it would be nice if they would get out of breeding and fracture prone horses would be gelded so they would not produce more fragile horses. An owner/trainer should be trying to place horses before he is in dire need of money. He could offer horses for sale on CANTER’s web site if he is in PA. If he is really that poor he can apply for food stamps. >
November 19th, 2008 at 12:04 am
TB Virginia
I agree that options like CANTER and others should be explored but for many trainers they are doing what the owner wants. If the owner wont pay the bills anymore, the trainer can’t keep feeding them.
For many trainers, the annoyance of selling to non racing homes becomes too much. Having teenagers calling about horses and buyers who want the horse’s life story. The sales process is very different in the horse showing/pleasure environment. Quick sales are the norm in racing and the “process” gets tedious for trainers trying to manage a stable while selling 3 or 4 or more via CANTER or similar sites.
I think that the JC needs to step in and become more involved. They are very interested in protecting the bloodline, but less so in protecting te actual animals.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
One aspect of the current problem in Thoroughbred racing that hasn’t been addressed is this: Many owners/breeders simply cannot AFFORD to be in this business!! If you can’t afford to support a horse long term, regardless of it’s earning potential, you shouldn’t be owning and breeding them! It’s that simple. Decades ago, the majority of Thoroughbreds were bred, raised and raced by the wealthy for their PLEASURE, not as their sole source of income. While this attitude may seem “elitist”, anyone who owns horses, know that they truly are a luxury and should be seen as such. The recent downturn at the November sale, will hopefully weed out many people who cannot afford to keep horses. The other side of that coin is that I fear many people saw this as “a time for a bargain” got in as well. Boy are they in for a rude awakening! This coming year will be even more difficult for sellers. If you think the November and September sales were down this year, just imagine the coming one! Many pinhookers are out of money and without resources as the banks have stopped lending. It’s going to be very ugly this coming year
November 19th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
To KB Abbott - what “humane slaughter” did we ever have here? Are you talking about the closed slaughterhouses in Texas and Illinois? Come on.
Certainly there is a larger problem to be solved than the post-career care of Thoroughbreds, but the solution has to start somewhere, and if not here and now, then where and when? If the US slaughterhouses were still open, would attention now be directed at ending the horrors of shipment to Mexico/Canada? When the slaughter pipeline is shut down, another set of problems will take center stage and the lack of the “humane slaughter” alternative should help force the irresponsible owners and breeders to either take care of their horses or stop buying/breeding them.
No wonder racing has trouble finding young fans. Who wants take their kids to the track knowing that today’s favorite may be hanging on a Mexican meathook in a year or two?
All those involved in the industry need to understand that times have changed and that what was acceptable in the past is not acceptable now. The more the industry continues to kick against the tide, and complain about how awful it is FOR THEM and how dreadfully THEY are suffering because of lunatic animal rights activists, the worse for racing. The animal rights activists are going to prevail on this issue eventually, because Americans don’t eat horses. The industry should decide now whether it wants to set the agenda or leave it to PETA.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
We can ban the sale for slaughter if we have a mandatory cut from everybody involved in racing - owner, trainer, jockey, breeder and racetrack - to go toward retirement foundations and the cost of humane euthanasia for horses with no place else to go. Call it workers’ comp for horses. We cannot save every horse, but we certainly can prevent the brutal cruelty of going to slaughter for the extra few hundred bucks it puts in the owner’s pocket.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Nancy Benstead: I must respectfully disagree: there are already too many horses. Breeding any more is only adding to the problem.
Everyone else:
THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUMANE DEATH (euthanasia) AND SLAUGHTER!
November 19th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Disillusioned:
Mountaineer
http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/mountaineer-may-ban-trainers-selling-at-slaughter-auction/
Suffolk
http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/banned-trainer-suffolk-done-me-dirty/
Hoosier Park
http://horsekillers.blogspot.com/2008/11/hoosier-park-joins-ranks-of-other-zero.html
November 19th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
I agree that the deplorable way some trainers and owners have callously disposed of the very horses that allow them to make a living has tarnished the sport and the way it is perceived.
I applaud Suffolk Downs and Mountaineer for taking a stand and moving down a road toward better care and concern for the horses. Anyone found sending horses to slaughter be in to auctions like new Holland or Sugarcreek or selling directly to killbuyers should have their licenses revoked, forever. It would be a good way to weed out the lowlifes who have been a stain on the sport since the beginning.