Thoroughbred Aftercare Allliance is Launched

The Second Race was very happy to receive a copy of this Press Release today announcing the creation of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. Please read more about this exciting development for ex-race horses.

For Immediate Release:Contact: NTRA Communications: Eric Wing212-521-5316 ewing@ntra.com

THOROUGHBRED AFTERCARE ALLIANCE IS LAUNCHED New York, NY – February 9, 2012 -

A broad-based group of Thoroughbred industry stakeholders announced today the establishment of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA)—an organization designed to serve as both the accrediting body for aftercare facilities that care for Thoroughbreds following the conclusion of their racing careers and a fundraising body to support these approved facilities.

Funded initially by seed money from Breeders’ Cup, Ltd., The Jockey Club, and Keeneland Association, the TAA is comprised of owners, trainers, breeders, racetracks, jockeys, aftercare professionals and other industry groups. “It is our responsibility as owners, tracks, breeders, trainers, jockeys, bloodstock agents, and anyone who has a stake in the game to take responsibility for the aftercare of these great animals who are the keystone of our sport,” said TAA board President and Thoroughbred owner Jack Wolf. "Securing support and funding from Breeders' Cup, The Jockey Club, Keeneland and so many other great organizations speaks to the credibility and importance of our effort and is so greatly appreciated.”

Additional support of the TAA has been provided by Adena Springs North, CARMA, Fasig-Tipton, The Jockeys’ Guild, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, The New York Racing Association, Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company and Thoroughbred Charities of America. The organization also received staff support from Thoroughbred Charities of America, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). The NTRA will continue to provide that support on an ongoing basis. The TAA will accredit aftercare facilities based on a Code of Standards covering operations, education, horse management, facility services and adoption policies.

Simultaneously, the TAA will raise funds on behalf of accredited facilities via institutional contributions that are to be directed 100% to program services rather than to fundraising or general administrative costs.

“The Breeders’ Cup is proud to be one of the initial funders for the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and fully support the TAA goals of an industry-wide, annually funded program committed to the placement or second-career retraining of retired Thoroughbreds on a national scale,” said Craig Fravel, President and CEO of Breeders’ Cup, Ltd. “Through the contributions of our sport’s stakeholders, we can help ensure that our horses are treated in a dignified manner throughout their lives.” “The Jockey Club’s involvement and support of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is a natural extension of our other ongoing efforts in the area of Thoroughbred aftercare,” said James L. Gagliano, The Jockey Club’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “The accreditation and proper funding for aftercare facilities will greatly enhance the well-being of our equine athletes, and we encourage other groups and individuals from all segments of our sport to support this Alliance.” "Thoroughbred aftercare is something that touches us all," said Nick Nicholson, President and CEO of Keeneland. "We are proud to do our part, and I know that virtually everyone else will be equally proud to do theirs in order to make the TAA an ongoing success."

The TAA, a 501 (c) (6) non-profit organization with a 501 (c) (3) subsidiary, will fill out its staff and provide additional updates in the coming months. The TAA offices will be based in Lexington, Ky.
###
Photo by Cecilia Felix

California Retirement Management Account (CARMA)- Ray Paulick Writes About Good Karma

Photo of Frank Alvarado at Golden Gate Fields. Ex-race horses in retirement are helped by the opt-in horsemen's program (CARMA) in California. CARMA will be holding a "Texas Hold'em" Poker Tournament on Thursday, August 13 at the Del Mar Hilton Hotel. Here is a reprint of the Ray Paulick written article from the blog The Paulick Report on CARMA's efforts and director, Madeline Auerbach from 8/7/09

By Ray Paulick The California Horse Racing Board has taken a lot of heat in the last several years for some of their actions, but they deserve a great deal of credit for approving a unique program in December 2007 allowing horse owners to give a small portion of the purse money they earn to the California Retirement Management Account (or CARMA), a fund-raising organization that contributes to retirement, adoption and retraining operations for retired California Thoroughbreds.
It’s doubtful the program would have gotten off the ground were it not for the efforts of Madeline Auerbach, who is passionate about many facets of the Thoroughbred industry, particularly animal welfare issues. “This is an idea whose time had come,” she said
CARMA is unique in that it is an opt-out program, meaning that CARMA will receive three-tenths of one percent from purses unless the owner instructs the racetrack paymaster that he does not want to participate. Some other programs that have raised money for retirement homes have done it on an opt-in basis, meaning you have to try and recruit people to contribute.
As a result, Auerbach said CARMA has roughly 80% participation from California owners. “It’s staggering,” she said.
“A lot of people were pushing to make this opt-in,” said Auerbach. “I knew people wouldn’t participate. I said it’s either opt out or we won’t do it.”
With a $200,000 endowment contribution from the Jan, Mace and Samantha Siegel Foundation, CARMA was off and running in 2008. A fund-raiser made $150,000, and the owner’s contributions could be right around $200,000 annually. CARMA made its first group of grants of $150,000 last year.
Auerbach, who chairs the 501(c)3 organization, said CARMA will be focusing more on programs that place ex-racehorses with new owners or retrain them for second careers.
“We have a great process,” she said. “We look at the financials and fundraising efforts of the organizations applying for grants. We also go look at the facilities.”
CARMA relies on volunteers for many of those duties. Lucinda Mandella, who shares her time working for Thoroughbred Owners of California, is CARMA’s only paid staffer.
The program is making a difference, Auerbach believes. “We make surprise visits to the farms,” she said. “We’re seeing improvements in the condition of the horses. Their teeth are getting floated and they are receiving more veterinary care.”
Auerbach is also riding high on the success of Unusual Heat, currently second in the California sire list by progeny earnings after leading that list in 2008 with record earnings for a California stallion and getting 16 stakes winners.
The son of Nureyev stands at Old English Rancho in Sanger, Calif. He raced for Auerbach and her late husband, James, after being claimed by them for $80,000. They didn’t have much luck with Unusual Heat on the racetrack and tried to sell him for $50,000 after he bowed a tendon. No one was interested so Unusual Heat was bred to some of the Auerbachs’ mares in 1998. He had 11 winners from 15 foals, and has only gotten better since.
Auerbach, however, says she deserves no credit for Unusual Heat’s success. “It was pure luck,” she said.
Auerbach races many of Unusual Heat’s offspring with her longtime trainer Barry Abrams. She recently decided to package a group of six Unusual Heat 2-year-olds in a syndicate that will be sold through Billy Koch’s Little Red Feather Racing, which will manage marketing and client relations. Auerbach and Abrams will make the racing decisions. Fifteen shares are being offered for the group at a price of $90,000 per share. CARMA will get a portion of proceeds from the sale.
“I’m trying to get people excited,” Auerbach said. “I want more people to come to the races and have as much fun as I do.”
Auerbach is spending a lot of time this month preparing for CARMA’s annual fundraiser, a Texas Hold ‘em poker tournament called “Gitty Up, Belly Up & Pony Up.” It is being held at the Del Mar Hilton on Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. The early bird registration fee of $200 ended Aug. 6; the price is $225 at the door. TVG/Betfair is sponsor of the event, which also includes a silent auction plus food and drinks.
For more information on CARMA, click here.

Del Mar and Saratoga-- Racing and Charity Go Hand and Hand

The Del Mar and Saratoga "boutique" Horse Racing summer season is in full swing and so are the events surrounding the summer race meet.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Bebe Neuwirth and horsewoman Josephine Abercrombie will be honored Aug. 6 at the eighth annual Equine Advocates’ gala at Canfield Casino.This popular event annually attracts leaders in the thoroughbred industry and fans who want to rub elbows with horse racing’s elite. They all have one thing in common — they are passionate about saving horses from senseless slaughter and neglect. Equine Advocates, a leading rescue organization based in Chatham, is the home of 75 horses that have been spared. Neuwirth will be recognized with the Safe Home Equine Protection Award as an outspoken advocate against horse slaughter and for her life-long commitment to protecting animals at awards dinner and charity auction. “It is our patriotic duty to ensure the safety and the well-being of horses in this country,” Neuwirth said. This annual event has always been Equine Advocates’ most important fund-raiser and will be even more so this year due to the down-turn in the economy that has affected most nonprofit organizations across the country. A limited number of tickets at $250 per person are available. For more information, call (518) 245-1599. All proceeds will go toward Equine Advocates’ horse rescue, sanctuary and humane education programs.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Event: After the Finish Line 2009 Annual Charity Fundraiser, Silent/Live Auction and Dinner

"A Tribute to the Majesty of Thoroughbreds" Where: Hilton Hotel- Del Mar Time: 5:30-9:30 p.m. Contact http://www.afterthefinishline.org/

Thursday July 30, 2009
Event: Don McBeth Memorial Fund Dinner with the Jockeys and Actor Tim Conway!

Pamplemousse Grille 12th Annual Dinner-Del Mar
Where: Pamplemousse Grille
Details: Limited to 100 people. Tim Conway will tend bar and the jockeys will wait tables
Contact: Reservation: 858-792-9090 http://www.donmcbethfund.org/

CERF (California Equine Retirement Foundation) 8th Annual Golf Classic
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Del Mar Country Club
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
We will be joined by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club as DMTC's 2009 summer charity golf event. Hosted by Alex Solis and his celebrity friends in attendance. Dinner/Silent & Live Auction to follow a day of golf. For more information, click to see the brochure as a Word document or PDF. Call to be put on the mailing list. Contact: http://www.cerfhorses.org/

12th Annual David Flores Golf Tournament to benefit the children in Tijuana, Mexico.

Tuesday, August 11 at Encinitas Ranch Golf Course in Encinitas, CA, near Del Mar Racetrack. Competitors at the golf tournament will play 18 holes under an open four player scramble format with 100% of each competitor's handicaps. Shot gun start is at 1:00 p.m. There will also be an awards ceremony and dinner reception at 6:00 p.m. For more information or to sign up, contact David Flores Golf Tournament, 9230 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 202, Beverly Hills, CA, 90212, or call Jim Loya at (626) 825-6562.

CARMA Cares 2009 Charity Fundraiser

Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament

Silent Auction – Food and Drinks

Thursday, August 13, 2009 - 6:00 p.m.Del Mar Hilton (across from the track)$200 Early Bird Registration (before August 6) or $225 at the door for poker tournament.

For more information call (626) 574-6622. http://www.carma4horses.org/

Will most more events as the summer progresses!

"So How Long Have You Been Into Horses?"

Anyone involved with horse rescue or consumed with saving them off the track or off an auction lot, has been asked "So how long have you been into horses"? Its akin I guess to how long have you been collecting baseball cards or watching ballroom dancing?. I think you are either "into them" from your earliest memory or something comes to your attention that spurs you into action. Into horses isn't a passive past time, it's an all consuming passion, well at least for me and the numerous others I have met in the past five years.

My earliest memory of a horse in my life was a palomino pony when I was three years of age named Peanut. Peanut was never as happy to see me, as I was to see him. He was owned by my babysitter and stood under a tree often enough for me to know where he would be. No apples or any other amount of temptation made Peanut happy to see me. He bit me often, but I didn't care, I always came back for more. Its the same with rescue, no matter how many times you are thwarted or discouraged, you come back for more.

I became involved with saving horses after I read that 1986 Kentucky Derby Winner Ferdinand had been thought to have been slaughtered overseas. Up to that point I had no idea that anyone wanted horse meat for human consumption. I didn't know about the network of race horses going to slaughter in the United States for European plates. I couldn't imagine that an American icon, the horse, was treated in such a disposable manner.

I wanted to do something, but really didn't know what I could do. I only had one mission and that was to make a difference in it's life. I started by doing a search on the Internet. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the subject. I found that there were a couple retirement places for California race horses and that seemed like the perfect fit for me. I began volunteering for the Exceller Fund http://www.excellerfund.org/ However, after a bit it became apparent to me that I needed to do more. I wanted to touch the horse that I was going to sponsor. I went back to the Internet and found CERF (California Equine Retirement Foundation) in Winchester http://www.cerfhorses.org/ I was thrilled to find out that there were a couple horses available for sponsorship and that my visiting the horse and spending time with him was not only welcomed but encouraged. That was in September 2004. I have been with CERF ever since. I went into my sponsorship of Remote Controller, my handsome chestnut boy, with the gesture that I was changing his life but in retrospect he changed the trajectory of my own, and rescued me instead.