Announcing our Website Launch

(photo used by permission of Smokey Stover)

The Second Race is pleased to announce the launch of its website, which will literally be the first generation of a larger functioning site, social network and data base used for networking ex-race horses into new careers and homes. Our goal remains the same "Networking for Results" and fostering a collaborative community is KEY! www.thesecondrace.com

As a reminder, The Second Race, was founded by Sharla Sanders after volunteering and serving on Boards of organizations to facilitate a sharing of resources. The Second Race serves ex-race horses to find them new homes due to a lack of competitiveness, injury or just a well deserved retirement. In some cases a horse is suited for a new career, and The Second Race is developing relationships with trainers in other disciplines to evaluate opportunities for placement and training.

Any horse that was used for racing, bred to race but never started, or has been a broodmare is considered a candidate for assistance. While our normal channel for placing race horses is the horsemen at the tracks, we will work with owners of ex-race horses that have been off the track for some time.

When stall space is available we have a foster program in place in San Diego county and will take in a surrendered horse. The horse then becomes the property of The Second Race. We are growing "hubs" of foster volunteers throughout the United States.

Since our inception in June 2009 we have helped over 50 ex-race horses find new homes. We have helped to save 6 slaughter bound race horses by purchasing them or contributing to their costs to remove them safely. The Second Race has created a "Quarter Pole Fund" specifically to assist with race horses that find themselves in peril. However, we must caution that we are not a funding non profit, and cannot be solicited for funds.

We are proud of our efforts to date, the relationships we have made and the contacts that share The Second Race to help horses. We must continue to work as a team in order to do the best we can for them (the ex-race horse).

Please visit our website at www.thesecondrace.com and give us your feedback. We invite you to share our website, services with your groups, networks and contacts in order to grow!

Time to Pick a New Calendar--- Here is One I Recommend

Magic Route before and Magic Route after his arrival and return to health by Southern California Thoroughbred Rescue (photos by Laurie Taylor/TMA) from the SCTR website http://www.sctrescue.org/



Several organizations, rescue and retirement agencies (horse and otherwise) are selling calendars to support their groups.

One of the calendars that I have personally been excited to see (and purchased today) is the one offered by Southern California Thoroughbred Rescue (SCTR).



SCTR has aptly named theirs "Still Winners". The featured cover boy is Luis Especial, a personal favorite of mine while he was racing the Southern California circuit.


Luis, was purchased from an auction lot on Kentucky Derby day for the princely ransom of $ 250 after earning $ 183,000 on track. This handsome dark bay is one of several horses showcasing the love, care and bloom of horses once deemed "trash", that SCTR has recycled back to their former selves in their 2010 calendar. Luis has since been adopted by a top equestrian trainer and is going to be in for a surprise (per Caroline Betts, founder and president of Southern California Thoroughbred Rescue) when training for his next professional career beginning in early Spring.


Other horses featured include Noble Gambler, Magic Route, and Sunday Match (lovingly renamed Bam-Bam and when you see his photo, you will understand why). Magic Route was a formerly starved horse that was rescued from his owner and patiently and quickly brought to life again. The transformation bears mention and notice, but pictures tell the real story and his are a tribute to the care that a horse can find itself in when taken in by SCTR. The cost of the calendar $ 24.95 plus shipping, equals $ 27.00 and is an attractive investment for the thoroughbreds that will be helped in the coming year. (Anything beyond the $ 27.00 would be appreciated).

If you would like a new calendar that makes a difference, may The Second Race suggest this one. To order go to their website http://www.sctbrescue.org/ and click on the header "2010 Calendar!", a link to PayPal is provided. If you want to send a check instead their address is SCTR, 635 Hacienda Drive, Norco, CA 92860.

Nopie--- The Funny Name Horse and His Rescue by Two Women Miles Away

The story of Nopie is the second in the series of December stories. I met Nopie at GEVA (Glen Ellen Vocational Academy) in Northern California in June of this year. A four year old colt, he was already well traveled by the time he arrived at GEVA. As a colt, he has tons of personality and was charming and pulled me in with his talent for getting into mischief (including figuring out how to open up the refrigerator door located just outside his stall).

Photo of Nopie by Christine Churchill

Here is his story and the ladies that saved him, Joyce and Chelle: (As told by Anne Koletzkep, GEVA volunteer):

On a cold winter day at Nebraska's Fonner Park, February 20, 2009 to be precise, just three days before his 4th birthday-- a dark bay horse with improbable name Nopie ran his last race. At least he tried to. He stumbled coming out of the gate, pulled up lame, and was vanned off the track. We now know he pulled his suspensory ligament and in doing so tore away a piece of the sesamoid bone in his left front ankle. The real tragedy of this already sad story is that Nopie should never have been entered in the race in the first place.

Nopie's story, what we know of it, began on a happy note in Northern California in December 2008, when he won two races back-to-back at Golden Gate Fields. But the note quickly turned sour when he didn't even place in his next race. Something had to be wrong. And it was- X-rays taken in January 2009 revealed that there was an irregularity developing in the sesamoid bones of his left ankle. Instead of giving the horse's ankle the rest it needed--which would have been costly especially for a lower level claimer as Nopie-- his owner transferred him to a trainer in Arizona to see how he would do in al lower-level claiming race. Again, Nopie finished in the back of the pack. So Nopie was sold to an owner/trainer in Nebraska, who was fully aware of Nopies' compromised ankle, kept Nopie in training and entered him in the race at Fonner Park.

Fortunately, Nopie had something going for him that, in a very real sense, saved his life-- his BIG, PLAYFUL, SUNNY personality. A personality that two women, Joyce and Chelle, had fallen in love with when they had met him at Golden Gate Fields. Assuming Nopie had been retired because of his ankle, Chelle and Joyce were horrified to find out he was entered to race at Fonner Park. Desperate to save him from what they feared was certain disaster, they pulled out all the stops to try and buy him before that race, but the owner refused, because he was absolutely certain his horse was going to win. After the race, of course, he was only too eager to sell. Chelle and Joyce hadn't been able to save the horse from disaster, but at least they had him. Nopie was coming home.

But Nopie needed a place to stay where he could be tended to while he gained some much needed weight and his leg healed. To the delight of everyone at GEVA, Chelle and Joyce chose to place him in Pam's capable hands until he was well. Since Nopie was looking at 6 to 9 months of confinement, Pam created a small paddock for him in front of his stall so he could spend his days getting lots of fresh air and watching the other horses on the farm. Her original plan was that Nopie would spend his nights inside the stall, but Nopie soon made it clear he didn't think much of that idea, so the paddock become his full-time home. Now, 7 months later, he has graduated to having simultaneous access to both his paddock and his stall, and judging from the number of times he moves from one to the other during the day, he very much approves of this new arrangement.

Such long term confinement is a lot to ask of a horse, but Nopie has not only risen to the challenge, he has managed to maintain his BIG, PLAYFUL, SUNNY personality through it all. That said, there's no denying that BIG, PLAYFUL, SUNNY, however endearing, is not always easy to live with. For example should you decide to tidy up Nopie's paddock, here is what awaits you:

Oh boy, look, a playmate is coming to my paddock. Can we play? Can we play? Huh? Can We? No? You have work to do? Well, OK, I can help, I can help. Yes I can. Oh, I'm sure I can. Like what's this? Your hat? Well what's that for? Don't you think it'd look better over here on the floor? Hey, what's this long pole? Handle of the pitchfork? Wow, look at how I can move it around with my shoulder; I'm sure that helps you so much. Here, let me move it some more. Hmmm. Maybe if I chewed on it, I'd be helping you even more. Wow, you got a carrot in these pockets? No? I'll bet you do. Let me just check and see for myself. Boy, this is really a deep pocket. You sure there's nothing in the bottom here, just over here in this little corner? Hey, what's this funny looking tab on the front of your jacket? Oh, wow, if I get it between my teeth and pull it, it goes up and down. This is really fun, don't you think? Up and down and up and down. You leaving? Why are you leaving? We were just getting started. Oh, oh my, maybe you're going to get me carrots. No, no, not that way, over here, in the big white box that's cold inside and has the door I know how to hold open with my chin. Oh nuts, you're going over to visit that other horse. Phooey! He gets all the attention. Like I'm not hurt, too. See, here my left leg? See? The one I'm pawing up all the bedding with? That's the one. It's hurt really, really, bad. You need to come check it out. I'll bite all the wrapping off if you don't. Oh wait! You're not stopping to see that the other horse after all, you're going to the buckets. The buckets! Food! OH WOW, you've got MY BLUE BUCKET! You're rinsing out MY BLUE BUCKET. YOU'RE GOING TO BRING ME FOOD! But no, you've put my bucket down. You must have forgotten I'm over here. I'd better make some noise to remind you. Hey, I'm over here! Here! Here! Over Here! Me!!! The one with the hurt leg and all his ribs showing-well, they used to be showing-- I'm hurt! I'm starving! I'm.....Excuse me, but where do you think you're going? You're leaving me here? All alone?! You're going off to do what? To go clean water tanks? You're going to clean water tanks instead of staying here to play with me? Are you out of your mind?! Hello...anyone there? Hmphf! Oh well, She'll be back. She always comes back. They all do. They dote on me. And how could they not. I'm Nopie!

To learn more about Nopie (or visit him) and the other residents of GEVA go to the website at http://www.glenellenfarms.com/

Hard Questions to ask Yourself if Interested in Horse Rescue

Often times I am asked "How can you do horse rescue?". Truthfully, I don't "rescue" horses, I facilitate their (the horses) placement, transition or adoption from the race track into a new home or career. I have chosen this niche, as I would like in my efforts to try and "save" a horse from an uncertain future or from the auction lot by working with owners, trainers, jockeys and race trackers as the first line of defense for our equine athletes. Having said that I do on occasion volunteer my efforts, money, or resources to those that do "rescue". I found a group that networks for horses, one horse at a time, and on their website there was a checklist or a "gut check" of questions that a responsible person or group should ask themselves PRIOR to becoming involved in equine rescue. The questions are:

Checklist for Potential Rescuers

- Am I physically/mentally up to this challenge?
- Am I strong enough to take criticism for what I am doing?
- Do I have the time to dedicate to saving this horse?
- Can I decide between rescue and euthanasia with the signs the horse is giving?
- Am I committed to following the guidance provided for the horse’s care?
- Am I organized enough to document what is being done to care for the horse (both
for “proof” of care should I be reported for neglect myself and to keep track of meds, weights, feed routines, etc.)
- Do I have friends/family that can help me care for the horse in my absence?
- Do I have the money to pay for food, vet bills and necessary supplies?
- Do I have the necessary equipment (feed buckets, water trough/buckets, weather
appropriate blanket, halter, lead, sling for raising a horse)?
- Do I have a clean, warm/cool, dry and safe place to nurse the horse back to health?
- Do I have room for the horse to get exercise?
- Do I have a good relationship with my local vet?
- Is the vet willing to make farm calls quickly?
- Do I know how to check the horse’s temperature?
Do I have stomach/skills for administering feeding tubes, shots, doctoring wounds?
- Can the horse eat without assistance?
- Do I have any clue on what to feed this horse?
- How bad off is he/she? (Body condition score)
- Does the horse drop feed when trying to eat?

The mission of One Horse At a Time, Inc from it's website states:

One Horse at a Time, as our name implies, works with one horse at a time either through a bonefide rescue organization or one on one with individuals.

We provide a network of resources scattered throughout the country. Through our affiliated groups, we can direct resources to where it is needed. In the short period of time we’ve been an organization, we’ve contributed to the rescue and rehabilitation of many horses. We’ve had yard sales, lemonade stands, conducted on-line fundraising to generate the funds needed to help these horses.

In addition to sponsoring a horse, One Horse at a Time also donates to horses with special needs or helps in equine emergencies (such as raising funds for a hay shortage drive or hurricane damage).

To reach One Horse at a Time go to http://www.onehorseatatimeinc.org/

C.H.A.N.G.E. Program - a Support Network for Somona County Animal Control

Working for CHANGE, One Horse at a Time

In a county with more than 20,000 horses, Sonoma County Animal Care and Control is stretched thin. It handles the needs of unwanted and stray dogs, cats and other domestic pets, as well as injured wild animals and livestock from the unincorporated areas of Sonoma County, the city of Santa Rosa and the town of Windsor. It also responds to calls about abused, neglected and stray horses and livestock.

Small animals find safe haven at the county’s Santa Rosa shelter, but horses do not. Currently, Animal Control does not have facilities for horses, or the funding, personnel or training to care for them. Despite the best of intentions, the County of Sonoma has never had a solid equine care and control program in place.

That changed in 2007, with the founding of the non-profit organization the Sonoma County C.H.A.N.G.E Program, or Coins to Help Abandoned And NeGlected Equines. Concerned about Animal Control’s limited resources for handling horse cases, a group of community members formed CHANGE as a support network for the Sonoma County Animal Control department to call on for assistance with horse abuse, abandonment, or neglect cases.

CHANGE provides housing, veterinary care, farrier care and adoption services for horses that enter Animal Control’s custody. Since the organization’s founding, it has assisted Animal Control with 37 horses, 20 of whom ultimately entered the program as foster horses. Eighteen of those horses have been adopted by area residents. According to Petaluma veterinarian Grant Miller, simply caring for horses who are victims of abuse and neglect without addressing the root of the issue “enables the problem.” Miller, who helped found CHANGE after euthanizing an emaciated and severely dehydrated horse left tied to a fence in 100-degree heat, describes a multi-pronged approach to the challenge of horse neglect in Sonoma County. It all starts, and ends, with the law.“ The law is the bottom line,” says Miller, “and if you enforce the law, you pull the situation up by the bootstraps.”

By offering intensive support and au-gratis expert witness testimony to Animal Control and the Sonoma County District Attorney’s office, CHANGE helps these organizations to more effectively build cases against and prosecute horse abusers. Several criminal cases have already made their way through the legal system, resulting in felony animal cruelty convictions in part because of the organization’s persistence. The Animal Control Department and the Sonoma County District Attorney have utilized CHANGE as a resource in handling cases effectively.

In October, 2008, former Bloomfield resident Salvador Barrera was convicted of felony animal cruelty by a jury and received county jail time for locking his emaciated, colicking horse, “Yiyo,” in a stall, where it died without medical care. Miller, who has forensic veterinary training, spent two days on the witness stand as he described the necropsy he performed on the dead horse. The trial played out before a courtroom packed with North Bay residents and attracted national media coverage, expanding community awareness of horse abuse issues. Barrera’s two surviving horses, “Jack” and “Katie,” were rehabilitated and placed into adoptive homes by the CHANGE Program.

Last September, one the county’s darkest and longest-running horse neglect and abuse cases quietly came to a head when Penngrove resident Pat Tremaine was convicted of two counts of felony animal cruelty. Tremaine, who kept two Thoroughbreds locked in 12 x 24 mare motel pens for upwards of 15 years, failed to provide the horses with consistent exercise or veterinary or farrier care. The horses subsisted primarily on a diet of stale bread and rotting produce. “Argus” and “Bobby” were relinquished to Animal Control and transferred into CHANGE foster homes. They were successfully rehabilitated by CHANGE volunteers and later adopted. Several more cases like these are pending. Before CHANGE, equine cruelty cases might never have made it to the courtroom at all, despite the best efforts of law enforcement and the District Attorney.

The organization recognizes that prevention of horse abuse and neglect before it occurs is preferable to prosecuting and punishing offenders. Knowing that Animal Control officers are on the front line in horse cases, CHANGE is working to offer education programs for officers in order to give them a better understanding of basic management and handling of horses, standards of care, and body condition scoring. In addition, CHANGE helps officers develop an educated eye that can alert them to abusive activities such as horse tripping. A component of underground Hispanic rodeo events, horse tripping involves making a horse run at high speeds and then roping it by the legs to pull it down. Horse tripping is illegal in the state of California.

Future plans for the organization include a traffic school-like program for offenders, offering education on animal cruelty laws and standards of horse care and management in place of a misdemeanor conviction.

It’s a tall order for a little organization that subsists solely on volunteer labor and donations from the community, but CHANGE is already showing Sonoma County that big changes can come from small efforts. “We’re taking a new approach to an old problem,” says Miller. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Welcome to The Second Race

Welcome to "The Second Race TM". The Second Race, was created by me, Sharla Sanders as an umbrella organization with its philosophy and mission at its core-- NETWORKING FOR RESULTS. When researching my idea for a network solution primarily for race horses and rescue efforts, I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so I decided to create my own. This blog will serve to communicate in the next few years several initiatives and objectives I have developed (some committed to paper and development and some still swirling around in my head). But all with one singular purpose--- to share information and resources to benefit all. To loosely quote, Sharmen Lane, a motivational speaker "Ones candle does not burn any less brightly for having shared it's light with another".


Too often we come from a place of fear, scarcity, or with a closed fist when it comes to helping another group or individual. I don't know if it's human nature, or this economy or a bit of both that seems to have made it seem far more difficult in the past year to obtain help. The Second Race, wants to blow all of this negativity away, and bring forth a consortium, if you will, of goodwill.


This blog will endeavor to give the reader access to non profits, a voice to individuals that toil behind the scenes; asking them to give their first hand account of their trials, joys and more importantly their expertise. The Second Race will search out experts in fields such as grant research and writing, care of the equine athlete, rescue and fundraising. The Second Race will form alliances with horseman's groups across the United States to find who is and who isn't backing the very racing stock that they generate their livelihood from. If there is a program that is offered that is available in a particular state, my aim is to share this with the reader. The Second Race will form partnerships with all forms of media, industry leaders and prominent people inside and outside of the horse world. Personally, I want to laugh, cry and point out the ridiculous and the marvelous all at the same time. I want to introduce us both to breeders, owners and trainers from the four major racing worlds and so much more.


Lastly, and may I say most important of all my wishes for The Second Race TM is that we celebrate the amazing equine athletes that give us their very lives for our enjoyment a network that will serve them when it's time for their next RACE.


Until next time....