For decades, TB owners and advocacy/adoption groups have been requesting the Jockey Club provide a means to permanently retire a horse from racing. The options of transferring the horse without pedigree or reporting the horse deceased are not viable options as they simply further devalue a TB. The TB becomes just another “grade” horse in the slaughter pipe line. Future opportunities as breeding animals are wiped out regardless of whether someone is breeding TBs or desirous of getting them approved into warmblood sport horse breeding registries where TB pedigree must be verified. Even for those people acquiring Tbs for non-breeding use, possession of JC papers represents perceived value of their horses relative to ancestors in even the 4th and 5th generations which generally translates to a higher level of care.

As a lifelong industry participant, it is incomprehensible to me that an organization as well funded and powerful as the Jockey Club (whom the general public perceives as the “industry god”) would prefer to be vilified in the public eye via social media instead of being proactive in protecting the best interests of the industry, owners and their horses. At a minimum there needs to be a JC procedure for ownership transfer of horses being sold or adopted as permanently retired from racing whereby the designation “Permanently Retired From Racing” becomes prominently displayed on the foal papers, as well as in online databases like Equibase which would not only protect the individual horse, but the entire industry from more bad press when a previously retired, injured/retired horse breaks down.
An additional future use designation of “This Horse Is Not To Be Slaughtered” would add to the effectiveness of identifying individuals sending TBs to slaughter in violation of racetrack policies. A final request is for the Jockey Club’s legal counsel to draft a sample bill of sale with specific language addressing the issues of permanent retirement from racing and not to be slaughtered which could be used as evidence of deceit in purchase/acquisition, and could be adapted to provide an owner legal recourse.

If the travesty of Star Plus can happen to a high profile owner like Earle Mack who is well known for conscientious after-care for his TBs, consider the reality of how many low profile owners/horses this happens to each year. The JC is not the AQHA and I sincerely hope the JC will step up before Star Plus disappears.

Throw him out of the sport for good !!!