Message
As many people (and groups) as possible need to know about this hypocrisy. Sick PETA on them. The Friends of Barbaro would go [crazy], too.
Sometime after the inception of Suffolkās anti-slaughter policy, all trainers were required to watch an educational anti-slaughter video. This from the NEHBPA Presidentās message earlier this year:
The second issue concerns retirement of our thoroughbreds, in the event that they do not have a second career opportunity. We are doing everything possible to inform all horsemen of the anti-slaughter policy in place and the options available. Your NEHBPA along with Richard Fields and his Suffolk Downs management team continue to be very proactive on the subject of horse retirement.
Last year, we required that all trainers watch an anti horse slaughter video that our association produced. This video is available on DVD for our Owners or Trainers who request a copy by contacting your NEHBPA Staff. I want to be very clear- if you have any doubt as to where one of your horses is headed when it ships out of Suffolk Downs-PLEASE DO NOT LET THAT HORSE LEAVE THE STABLE AREA!!!
Your NEHBPA is here to help make this process as simple as possible and will provide information and answer any questions you may have. We have two dedicated organizations that are set up for this purpose. The first is the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, and the second is CANTER-New England. Your NEHBPA and Suffolk Downs work closely with both. Stall Superintendent Lorita Lindemann is the local representative of the TRF and she is available in the stable area on a daily basis. CANTER New England is headed by Ellen OāBrien and she is at the track every Saturday.
As a means of protection for every owner and trainer, we have designed a special Transfer of Ownership (Bill of Sale) that specifically indicates that the recipient of any horse has suitable facilities, will provide proper care and that the horse will not be relinquished to any slaughter or rendering facility or any agent or auction house that would likely result in slaughter. This Transfer of Ownership (Bill of Sale) has been designed for your protection and will be available at the NEHBPA Office, the Horsemenās Bookkeeper and the Racing Office. It is very important that you use this specially designed form each time you change ownership (sell, donate, or give away) of your horse. Donāt risk your racing future! Please come and talk to us at the NEHBPA Office as we are here to help you.
Personally Iād like to see it go a step further and have a required seminar which discusses how to go about rehoming and the steps to take in finding a good home (reference checking, what questions to ask, follow up, etc etc.)
Do these measure actually guarantee that everyone will do the right thing?
Of course not.
Is it a step in the right direction?
Yes, because if nothing else trainers can not claim ignorant, and there is the start of a paper trail regarding where the horse goes when it leaves Suffolk.
I am sorry the officials at Penn are not as supportive as those at Suffolk. In going forward, however, perhaps the concerned horsemen themselves could put together a similar educational program (hereās a chance for the HBPA to step up!) to eliminate the ignorance?
[QUOTE=Introspect;4888916]
As many people (and groups) as possible need to know about this hypocrisy. Sick PETA on them. The Friends of Barbaro would go [crazy], too.[/QUOTE]
I am pleased to announce that many people have contacted me to help out. Wow, is the world of people who care about horses immense. I am very thankful for the people who want to help end the situation of thinking that āgiving away a horse to a good homeā and sending the horse out west somewhere is not a suitable retirement. Ignorance when retiring a horse is not an excuse. Either euthanize the horse or actually find a good home for it. The fact that a trainer can not state EXACTLY where a horse was sent originally only a few months ago is a big red flag if you ask me.
In my fact finding, what can posters tell me publicly about Steve Armstrong?
As previously indicated, we removed this thread for review. Weāve since addressed some of the content and merged the thread with others on the same topic that had been created after its removal.
While posters are legally responsible for their own comments, to comply with our posting policies, avoid the foul language, personal insults, unsubstantiated criminal allegations, and the use of multiple alter accounts to post.
Itās generally OK to comment upon or highlight issues that are a matter of public record or to discuss the performance/actions of those in positions of authority, as it relates to their official capacities. Please keep the discussion centered on verifiable facts, not rumors and innuendo.
Thanks,
Mod 1
Thank You
[QUOTE=DickHertz;4889050]
Thank You[/QUOTE]
So glad the threadās back, thanks mods for keeping it up and thanks Dick for starting it.
Iāve been sitting on my hands because anything I have to offer on the most recent topic is hearsay and not the result of direct involvement. So, Iām glad itās out in the open through first hand experience, although Iām sorry this horse is MIA.
Well as an aside, I just threw my hat in the ring to possibly become Penn Nationalās official transition home for retiring race horses. Hopefully fiascos like this will be a thing of the past once they are able to offer a viable, humane alternative to āgiving a horse away.ā
Good on you, Laurierace.
Steve Armstrong
[QUOTE=Barnfairy;4888995]
Personally Iād like to see it go a step further and have a required seminar which discusses how to go about rehoming and the steps to take in finding a good home (reference checking, what questions to ask, follow up, etc etc.)
Do these measure actually guarantee that everyone will do the right thing?
Of course not.
Is it a step in the right direction?
Yes, because if nothing else trainers can not claim ignorant, and there is the start of a paper trail regarding where the horse goes when it leaves Suffolk.
I am sorry the officials at Penn are not as supportive as those at Suffolk. In going forward, however, perhaps the concerned horsemen themselves could put together a similar educational program (hereās a chance for the HBPA to step up!) to eliminate the ignorance?[/QUOTE]
Why canāt they just create a paid position for someone to assist owners/trainers with the rehoming process?
It costs money!
[QUOTE=jenm;4890166]
Why canāt they just create a paid position for someone to assist owners/trainers with the rehoming process?[/QUOTE]
The Phila. park program top spot is a paid position why not Penn?
Thats where the owners would have to come into some agreement to offer funds for this service. Afterall, they own the horses, and they are the ones who need to find the new home for the horse when their racing career is over.
Canter offers a great advertising outlet, but trainers/owners are limited on time as to how long a horse ā a non-racing horse can remain on the track waiting for someone to come along.
Correct Me If Wrong
Barbara Luna from āTurning For Homeā should jump in here and I stand to be corrected if wrong.
Do the horses at Philly not Pay TFH for every horse going into the program. They also surrender JC papers fill out a health questionair and turn over any vet records or x-rays.
TFH does not have a barn. They pay to farm these horses out to other Non-Profit agencies to move the horses onto a new home.
There is no barn owned by TFH that acts as single clearing house.
There are still some cracks in the system. And like anything else its not perfect.
Of course it sure beats going into ādarryl Dsā program.
It still a problem when an owner doesnāt want to pay any more day $$'s on a lossing business venture. And it costs to keep a horse until someone buys it.
There is going to be a precentage who are just not going to servicable mentally or physically for new jobs.
Those horses clog up the system.
Creating an affordable and aesthetically humane release for these horses is what really needs addressing. Horses with over taxed joints, bad wind, multiple chips, slabbed bones, chronically sore used up horses destined to everyday joint pain and ever enchroaching artheritus.(sp errors). They will languish in a system using up donations that would other wise re-hab and re-home other horses. A master Vet panel with a good criteria can make the determination but then how do you proceed to the next step with out having people scream foul at you??
An NO Anti vrs Pro Slaughter arguments thats not the pointā¦
[QUOTE=Moderator 1;4889046]
Please keep the discussion centered on verifiable facts, not rumors and innuendo.[/QUOTE]
Damnā¦all the facts that I posted and now deleted and I feel like I have just been wasting my time. The bad apples win once again. Not good for the horseā¦
[QUOTE=judybigredpony;4890322]
Barbara Luna from āTurning For Homeā should jump in here and I stand to be corrected if wrong.
Do the horses at Philly not Pay TFH for every horse going into the program. They also surrender JC papers fill out a health questionair and turn over any vet records or x-rays.
TFH does not have a barn. They pay to farm these horses out to other Non-Profit agencies to move the horses onto a new home.
There is no barn owned by TFH that acts as single clearing house.
There are still some cracks in the system. And like anything else its not perfect.
Of course it sure beats going into ādarryl Dsā program.
It still a problem when an owner doesnāt want to pay any more day $$'s on a lossing business venture. And it costs to keep a horse until someone buys it.
There is going to be a precentage who are just not going to servicable mentally or physically for new jobs.
Those horses clog up the system.
Creating an affordable and aesthetically humane release for these horses is what really needs addressing. Horses with over taxed joints, bad wind, multiple chips, slabbed bones, chronically sore used up horses destined to everyday joint pain and ever enchroaching artheritus.(sp errors). They will languish in a system using up donations that would other wise re-hab and re-home other horses. A master Vet panel with a good criteria can make the determination but then how do you proceed to the next step with out having people scream foul at you??
An NO Anti vrs Pro Slaughter arguments thats not the pointā¦[/QUOTE]
Not Barbara Luna but until she comes along:
Here are the criteria to place a horse in TFH:
http://www.patha.org/tfh-retire-a-horse.html
Owners contribute a certain amount per entry at PHA to the fund; jockeys contribute a certain amount for each win or place.
TFH works with South Jersey TRA and the NETRC. And has a waiting list of horses to enter the program.
[QUOTE=brightskyfarm;4890253]
So, coming full circleā¦ another answer is needed for that eventual now what? question that owners present.
Unfortunately, as a whole, owners dont want to invest any more money into this answer. More rescues? and where is that money to come from? When that answer if found, the problem is solved.[/QUOTE]
Well, there are also the breeders who might give a thought to helping re-home rather than breeding to sell & hope to sit back & collect the breedersā awards. (And I say that as a breeder who has told the trainers who have horses weāve bred that they ALWAYS have a place to come home.)
Having said that, I just PMād Dick Hertz my own story that I wonāt post fully, except to say that I learned what Nick Zito & Dick Hertz have also learned the hard way - even when you make an effort to let the trainer or current owner know the horse has a retirement home waiting for it, the horse STILL somehow gets lost in the shuffle.
[Barbara Luna, if you ever wondered what drives me to occasionally PM you about this horse or that horse who races at Philly Park & might bear watching & need an intervention. This. This is what drives me. And thanks for being there!]
But itās not the trainer OR the owner OR the breeder OR the track OR the fans. It is all of us.
It would just be easier for the horses if we all felt that way.
Another day has passed.
Are we any closer to finding out the answer to
WHERE IS THE HORSE???:mad:
[QUOTE=JoZee;4890207]
The Phila. park program top spot is a paid position why not Penn?[/QUOTE]
Yes, the Philly position is a paid one but several of the horses placed via TFH and the groups it uses to actually rehome them have ended up in bad spots (this is a matter of public record). Iād guess this is due to lack of follow up but these programs need to put some teeth into their placement/adoption agreements and MUST follow up on the horses or anything they do is just a temporary band aid.
Just wanted to let everyone know that there has been no pertinent update on the location of the missing horse. On the other hand, there are many wonderful people who have stepped up to educate me and others about the way horses are being disposed of. What is irritating to me is that many horses are not even given a chance to have a 2nd home, not even 2 days of āhey do you want this horseā when theyāre done with them, off they go with ZERO chance to be adopted. This, my friends at Penn National, is what I call the ultimate in hypocrisy. I do not understand why some trainers do not even list horses with CANTER. Itās an effective and free alternative and often you can get a several hundred for your horse which many times pays for their upkeep while you wait several weeks to re-home the horse. Itās the only thing we have at Penn. When the HBPA disposed of the Race Fund nearly 18 months ago give or take, was a new retirement program quickly discussed? No. Why? Because as always, the horses come last.
On another note, I am being smeared by certain members of the HBPA (not the majority) and Stephanie Beattie. This is fine and it comes with the territory, I have nothing to hide. Iām not perfect, nobody is, but you will not find one positive drug test on this resume and if you would like me to provide proof of where every one of my horses were sent we can provide it in documentation along with a contract that states āAt any point should you decide this horse is no longer a good fit for you and you do not want the horse, you can call us and we will pick it up and pay you $500 for the horse.ā If certain trainers really cared about where their horses end up they would do the same. Moreover, own who you are. I know trainers who are pro-slaughter and they own it. I know trainers who used to send horses to the killer and it kills them they once did it and they have turned over a new leaf, but they OWN IT. For someone to be vocal about a retirement program and then not practice what they preach, I have a serious problem with this. Itās simply impossible that a keen trainer like Beattie who is known for being sharp as a tack with her horses would simply, out of the blue, forget where she had sent a horse only a couple of months ago.
Also, to this date, I have not received one call from Stephanie Beattie saying that she is actively looking for the horse. To his credit, David Wells has called. Not one call from Ms. Beattie. I have some good clues to give her when she calls me that might help her locate him. I also have received two other PMās from posters with similar stories about how they contacted Beattie about rehoming, followed up with a call and with the snap of a finger they were already āgiven away.ā
Iām also glad to report that after several months, Ms. Beattie has updated her email address on the HBPA site and that Penn National has put the Anti-Slaughter policy back on the overnight.
Now if we could just get testing for Milkshakes before the Messiah returns, we may all be better off.
A master Vet panel with a good criteria can make the determination but then how do you proceed to the next step with out having people scream foul at you??
ExactlyāThis is what CANTER came up with and is working to put in placeāan AAEP Vet panel AT THE RACETRACKS to determine if horses will be sound for a second career. Not āserviceably soundā, not āpleasure rideā sound, but Sound. There are no more homes for limited-use Thoroughbreds, and a decision should be made AT THE RACETRACK to euthanize the horses.
