Herb,

 I agree with you whole heartedly.  It HAS to be an industry supported activity.  Otherwise, the horses WILL suffer and the industry.  Many people are anti racing because of this very issue.  Revenues need to be generated from several sources.  Another avenue of revenue is the  slots and table games inititives that are growing around the country.  In Pennsylvania, where I live, the 'selling' point of slots was a reduction in real estate taxes.  Personally, I haven't seen this, BUT I would LOVE to see a portion of that money going to fund retired racehorses.  It seems like a no brainer to me.  I have two retired racehorses and would love to be able to take in more, but money is an issue.  Having some money coming in to retrain the OTTBs would be VERY helpful.  Good luck in your retirement!  

I heard a saying once that stuck - 'Many hands make work light'. The more parts of the industry who take part in doing right by those in the sport dependent on others for their care, the less of a 'burden' it will be on all. And this sport may yet survive and thrive. Thank you for all that you've done.

Mr Moelis, unending thanks for all you have done, and for those who will carry on with your work. You are correct in saying that this is an obligation, but I really must add that it is a charitable thing, as well. For those who cannot afford to have a horse (ANY horse) of their own, there are thousands of ways to help..send $5 to TCA to buy a bale of hay, send $1 to Old Friends to help buy a bag of apple treats or carrots, throw your pennies in a jar-- when the jar is full, roll the pennies, cash 'em in for real money and send it to whichever retirement facility floats your boat. Better than all the above, CALL or e-mail a retirement group and ASK what you can do to help in any small way; believe me, as Mr Moelis already knows, every tiny bit helps.

Of course, those who own, breed, ride, race or train are on the hook, too; these are the folks that make money on the backs of their charges and it is their responsibility to care for their charges.......forever, if need be. After all, folks, we (meaning everyone generally) created 'em, bet on 'em, made a buck or two on 'em, loved 'em, thrilled at 'em, wept over 'em, agonized over 'em and allowed 'em into our hearts; doesn't that deserve something more than a filthy kill pen?

Good retirement to you, Mr Moelis; why do I think we will still see you at the track now and then?? Thank you again for all you have done.

Cheers and safe trips.

They say it takes a village to raise a child and it seems this slogan fits the unwanted racehorse problem as well. Anyone who profits off the back and sweat of this noble animal should contribute to it's care once it can no longer compete on the racetrack. To do any less is unconscionable and immoral.

I too would like to take this opportunitiy to thank you,

Mr. Moelis for your service to the industry and to our wonderful retired equines.

Cool article.   Thanks for getting it all started.

Also....Just an idea for you to "Possibly" pass on to the new President.

Create a $5.00 or even a $50.00 Fee that's added on to every horse that gets Claimed in a race or who Transfers it's Ownership privately at "Every" Claim and "Every" Transfer.

Not exactly sure how many times that happens each year, but it's probably a pretty sizeable number, especially when multiplied by 5 or 50......ya know ???

Then put all of the Fees collected each year into the Retirement Funds.

Good Luck !!!

I'm not in the horse businees and know very little about all the expenses involved, but it seems to me that there should be more control in the breeding end of it. Seems there are alot of horses that are born and don't turn out to be racers. I understand there is no way to tell this beforehand, but why keep on breeding horses just to get that good one you are looking for.  What kind of future do these other horses have? Hopefully they could be trained to do something else. But to me it seems there is a lot of over breeding.  Maybe I'm way off base and if so please except my apology.

Thank you Mrs. Moelis for caring about these beautiful creatures that God created for us to enjoy.  They all deserve to be cared for until their time comes to cross over the Rainbow Bridge.

JUST BEAUTIFUL!!!...ty...

Agreed!!

Great article! I wish you the best in your retirerment.I have thought for a long time that anyone who makes a living off these wonderful animals needs to to support them in their retirerment. If everyone involved,trainers, owners, breeders,pinhookers, stallion owners, racetracks,as well as the states that collect tax revenues, gave even 1% of net profits toward the aftercare and retraining, the

funding part of the problem would be solved. The big thing is to hold the people who are responsible for these horse accountable.Many states now have a no slaughter policy that suspend trainers who horses end up going to slaughter.Breeders should be aware of where the foals they bred end up and if need be take them back at the end of their careers.All recetracks should have programs in place for adoption and a place for the horses to go while they are waiting for placement.If bettors are offered a chance when they collect their winnings to donate right at the window, I'm sure many would do so.This problem is huge, but if everyone stood up and took responsibility for the animals in their care, their wouldn't be a problem.

Beautifully said but most importantly beautifully performed in your efforts to start the ball rolling on the subject of retired, unwanted and then neglected thoroughbreds. They are not expendable. Many of them more than not earned their keep and others on the racetrack. To 'throw them away' and forget them is not the correct nor humane thing to do, period. I agree with CRob87 who stated that a fee should be collected at every race, and further by every entrant into any race, to be placed in a national fund to be drawn upon for horses who no longer earn their keep by racing. It's the right thing to do, so Thankyou Mr. Moelis for your years of service and insight of a much needed plan for all the horses. I hope your concerns will be as important to and passed on to your predecessor.  

Agreed 100%! Old Friends and organizations like them are doing great work, but they cannot do it all. In these hard economic times, steps must be taken up front by those involved to insure that the animals they intend to profit from receive the care they need. How we address this situation reflects the character of our people. I pray we will do the right thing.

Thanks very much for writing this.  This is a topic that needs a lot of attention from all parts of the industry.

I am in a very different part of the horse industry, but over the years my husband and I have retrained many thoroughbreds, including several that we competed up to the Grand Prix level.

There are two main obstacles to getting the sound ones new careers.  

1) At the major shows, people at this point are unfamiliar with thoroughbreds (believe it or not).  Most of the trainers grew up riding warmbloods and think TBs are difficult/nuts.  We can't put the time and money into horses that might end up as amateur horses instead of Grand Prix horses if there's no market for them in the class of shows that that have horses selling for prices would result in not getting killed financially.  If you sell because the horse is a very good horse, just not a grand prix horse, at this point the other trainers mostly won't even look at TBs.  People need to be able to see more thoroughbreds and the high levels of show jumping for this to change, which means there needs to be some incentive or agreement to lower costs of campaigning these horses.  Bringing a green horse (which is what these are in their nex role) to a real deal show costs easily $1000+/week and that's if you are a trainer and do your own shipping.  There are lots of ideas floating around, from agreements for lower stall prices for TB horses with tattoos to year end awards for horses competing in open competition.  By the way, there's good prize money in the "Young Jumper Championships", but the thoroughbreds that raced are very unlikely to "catch up" in time to compete in the "age classes" against the horses imported from Europe.  The Horse Center in VA has a series of shows only open to TBs that raced or were at least in training.  It's not quite what we need but it's a great thing and it's sort of embarrasing that we have nothing like this in KY.

2) It is extremely difficult to find / try the sound but not fast enough race horses.  I spend a ton of time driving all over to look at horses we get calls about, and half the time we can't even see them under saddle or they are grossly misrepresented.  And we're not just looking at free horses, we're willing to pay a decent amount for the real deal.  The trainers often think we will watch the horse walk in the shedrow and write a check.  We have a lot of respect for many of the trainers and know they're busy, but those horses never have a shot with us.  They may be retiring from racing, but they are going to be in a serious training program with a lot of expenses poured into them, so how can we bridge the gap?  Most of these horses love to work and many can happily show at high levels until their late teens.  We need a way to bridge the gap.  If there was one person at the tracks who built contacts, got straighforward info on history of the horse and had them in a place where they could be seen under saddle for a few minutes and then potentially tried a bit under saddle, a lot more would have a shot.

I realize that a lot of people think even sound racehorses that stop racing at 4, 5, 6, 7, or even 8 have earned the right to hang out in a big field for the next 20+ years, and a lot of them have.  But a lot of them would like a different job, other than stomping flies.  And HAVING A JOB HE CAN DO IS EVERY HORSES BEST PROTECTION.

I am very interested in furthering this issue, but can only do what I can.  If the two problems above were ameliorated to some extent, I might be currently retraining 6 or 7 instead of 2.

Sorry this got long and thanks again for writing this, all you've done, and enjoy your next phase!

Thank you, Mr. Moelis for getting the ball rolling - the awareness is now there and every day, more and more people are getting on-board and realizing that an investment in fixing this problem is an investment in securing their own livelihood within this industry.  We now have some very successful retirement/retraining programs nationwide and the safety net for these horses has grown broader and more secure.  

I attended one of your earlier auction events at Candyland and was so impressed by your devotion to the cause - I can't thank you enough for your hard work and remarkable dedication.

Happy retirement to you and kudos or all the good you have done.  Your reward will be in heaven. My father was a farmer and retired from farming in 1938 becuz he never made enough $ to buy his own farm--he worked someone else's farm in order for the family to live in the farmhouse and have their own garden, etc. He went to work in a factory the year I was born so I wasn't raised on the farm--I do have a point to all this story telling--but we visited my relatives farms every weekend. My father had plow horses & when they became obsolete due to tractors they were sold. As a child my father gave me a gift--a love of horses. He had a horse named Jerry that was smarter then he was! He introduced me to Arlington Park as a very young child--my dream was to have a pony but not in the city! I have this burning desire to get into the horse business & have no way of knowing how to start. I know no one, etc. I'm retired now & I want to live out my dream. Can anyone suggest what I might do hands-on? I want to be around horses for the rest of my life. I am "free" and can relocate. I have offered to help out at the horse farms in my area but they want experience or young (I am very agile and young for my age.). Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

HELP FOR BOATROCKER OUT THERE???...GOOD LUCK...

boatrocker:

There's a few things that you could try.

1)  Look in the back of the Bloodhorse magazine in the "Help Wanted" ads.

2) Since you can Relocate then Email as many farms in other States as you can to see if any of them are looking for anyone or who might know of someone else that could help.   That way you'll know where you can Relocate to.

3) Check with the Racing Secretary at a respectable Track like Arlington or Santa Anita to see if they know of anyone who might be looking for some help and who also might be a good fit for you character wise.   Least of things they might be able to give you a Visitors Pass to the barn area so that you could ask Trainers themselves.

Or....as a last resort you could possibly even find a Racetrack Bar where some of the Trainers, Jockeys, Grooms and such hang out and ask around there.

Good Luck !!!

to CRob87:  Thank you very much! I will take your advice and try it all--and since I'm only 45 minutes (if the traffic is okay) north of Arlington I'll be able to start there soon! Luv, the Boatrocker

Mr. Herb and Ellen~~just a small note to say bless you for caring about the beautiful thoroughbred.  thank you for loving them and giving them a life beyond the finish line.  I am a member of the Exceller Fund, we save them from slaughter. such a terrible fate to these athletes who want nothing more than to please man.  will hate to see you retire. you have saved the lives of so many.  blessings to you both.

Nola Ross

Bartlesville Ok

I think that there should be $0.25 added to every $2.00 bet placed anywhere and anytime in the country either as a "tax" or as a donation, with the entire proceeds going to take care of unwanted/abandoned thoroughbreds. That would solve the problem.