Anyone out there following the sad tail of Evacuation Route and his route from the track to a slaughter buyer?
If there is any interest I have the link to a post on Facebook for him.
The system failed him and the last people who owned him - show people named Renee and Bobby Porter from Newcastle Pa dumped him at New Holland. Horrible situation. More to come.
horrendous. Have to wonder though, how many end up at these slaughter sales direct off the track: A LOT of them do. Remember the Sugarcreek Six story? These tracks have buyers who show up at the track with livestock trailers and they have set horses to pick up every week. Some you see at the auctions but a lot go direct to the KB and shipped.
It is heart breaking and it is sad that these horses are never given a chance with someone else.
The TB industry has come a long way in recent years but it still has a very, very long way to go
I havenât seen the story on Evacuation Route but he last raced in August 2016 at Presque Isle. I am assuming he was rehomed to a 2nd career with the Porters and they are the ones who delivered him to new Holland?
Yes, they are the ones who delivered him and a Percheron they owned. They were not the only ones who let him down. His trainer sold him for $500 to somebody who then passed him off to somebody else. The Porterâs are show people and how they could in good conscience do this to him is unfathomable! More to come.
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What is the link to Evacuation Routeâs story?
https://twitter.com/equinealtitude?lang=en
There is a lot of information about the horse on this Twitter account.
A lot of good grass and food and treats followed by a loving passing is never too much to give to horses under our care. Sending horses to slaughter is 100000% inexcusable. 
I miss the ones I have had to say good-bye to, but I never regret the last day/weeks they had.
Renee and Bobby Porter should be ashamed. <â and I am deliberately typing their name again so people will make sure to remember them.:mad:
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There are tracks, such as Penn and MD, who have anti-slaughter policies in effect, so before you paint the entire racing industry with one broad brush, you should name the names of the tracks where this continues to occur.
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My argument is that out of how many tracks in this country; how many regulate what happens to the horses from there (very few) which is why my statement, above, says the racing industry has a long way to go. Penn and MD are only two tracks of how many? And the big question is DO THEY ENFORCE IT. Penn National does not and they have come under a lot of fire in past years for not upholding their rules when horses are found at New Holland. Parx has a zero tolerance policy but again, are any of these enforced?
There was a bay at a kill auction in California with racing plates still on within the last few days. He came out of Los Alamitos.
The kill lots in Oklahoma and Louisiana are rittled with thoroughbreds. And Iâm not even touching on the subject of harness tracks; those horses have no option
In addition; these trainers who dump these horses at auctions now try and get around policy by sending them directly to a kill lot where they are never seen from again. No one at the track keeps track or cares where these horses end up. Sure they have a log book at the gate for horses leaving but no one honestly cares where their destination is. If regular joe comes in and pick ups horses as a âhorse transport guyâ whoâs to know where they go.
I can tell you a friend a few states south of me bought several thoroughbreds out of Suffolk Downs when it was in regular operation. She bought them for second careers. But no one ever questioned where the horses went once they left the gate. She signed their names to the log book and off they went
They only care if someone from the public finds one at public auction and it becomes public news. There are certain men with trailers who travel around to the track as needed and pick up horses. There was one such man who did so, likely still does, at Mountaineer. He picks up for a well known KB whoâs name escapes me. He might do it at Charlestown as well but I am not privy to that information
Do any of the following tracks have anti slaughter policies and with the amount of horses in their barns; where do all of these 1000âs of horses end up after a few short years on the track?
(Also this is not intended to take anything away from those trainers who do 100% right by the horses in their barns!!)
Los Alamitos, California
Rillito Downs, Arizona
Turf Paradise, Phoenix,
Yavapai Downs, Arizona
Oaklawn, Arkansas
Fairplex, California
Golden Gate, California
Arapahoe Park, Colorado
Gulfstream/Calder, Florida (Part of Magna Ent which has anti slaughter rules)
Hialeah, Florida
Sunshine Raceway, Florida
Tampa Bay, Florida
Idaho Downs, Idaho
Les Bois Park, Idaho
Arlington Park, Illinois (Anti Slaughter Policy in place)
Fairmount Park, Illinois
Hawthorne, Illinois
Hoosier Park, Indiana
Prairie Meadows, Iowa
Ellis Park, Kentucky
Kentucky Downs, Kentucky
Turfway Park, Kentucky
Hazel Park, Michigan
Finger Lakes, New York (NYRA has anti Slaugh. policy but is it enforced, this track is very close to Unadilla auction which is horrid)
Canterbury Park, Minnesota
Columbus Races, Nebraska
Fonner Park, Nebraska
Horsemans Park, Nebraska
Lincoln Racecourse, Nebraska
Freehold Raceway, New Jersey
Meadowlands, New Jersey
Monmouth, New Jersey
Albuquerque Downs, New Mexico
Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico
Sunland, New Mexico
Suffolk Downs, Mass- Racing is limited here now but they were the first to pioneer the thought of anti slaughter policy. Whether or not it was enforced, I donât know.
Sun Ray Gaming, New Mexico
Zia Park New Mexico
Aqueduct, New York (NYRA has anti slaughter policy but not enforced; rules are murky)
North Dakota Horse Park, North Dakota
Belterra Park, Ohio
Hollywood Gaming, Ohio
Thistledown, Ohio
Fair Meadows, Oklahoma
Remington Park, Oklahoma (Anti Slaughter Policy in Place. Remington said in 2015 that race officials will be checking for lip tattoos at local livestock auctions regularly. Are they still doing so)
Will Rogers, Oklahoma
Portland Meadows, Oregon (Part of Magna Ent. which has anti slaughter rules)
The Meadows, Pennsylvania
Parx, Pennsylvania - anti slaughter policy in place
Penn National, Pennsylvania- anti slaughter policy but not upheld
Presque Isle, Pennsylvania
Lone Star Park; Texas
Retama Park, Texas
Sam Houston Track, Texas
Colonial Downs; Virginia
Emerald Downs, Washington
Charles Town, West Virginia
Mountaineer, West Virginia (Mountaineer is known for truckloads of horses going to the KB. In 2010 Mountaineer said it âmay ban trainers who sell to slaughterâ. They specifically told trainers they could lose stalls or rights to the track if horses were found at sugarcreek in Ohio. What about the rest of the sales???
Delta Downs, Louisiana
Evangeline Downs, Louisiana
Fair Grounds, Louisiana
Louisiana Downs, Louisiana
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Do I support kill buyers and equine slaughter houses? NO.
However, as you stated that at this list of tracks there are â1000âs of horsesâ. What are realistic options for all these horses once racing and/or breeding stock are no longer viable?
If the expectations are that the original breeders/owners become responsible, numerous industries will shut down. If the expectations are that the current owner/trainer become responsible, these horses will, IMO, still end up where they end up, just in a more circuitous, potentially less humane, manner. Do I think what happens now is humane? NO.
Maybe the call should be to help humanely euthanize these horses or at least work toward humane treatment and slaughter rather than shutting down slaughter in the US (where it could have been regulated) and moved it to other countries.
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Snaffle,
You might to check your list and your research a little more carefully. There hasnât been TB racing at Colonial Downs in Virginia since 2013, harness racing since 2014. I donât think many horses are entering the slaughter pipeline from there.
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This is one of the reasons I only own 1-2 race horses at a time. If they need to retire, I find them homes, and itâs hard sometimes. Many of the rescues who are all over social media touting their work and begging for money wonât take a horse unless itâs sound with xrays and quiet. They want details on the horse, then they get back to you with âWeâre fullâ if the horse does not meet their criteria. So if you have a horse that has an ankle or something minor that will not impact a second career, you have to find it a home yourself. The best way to place a horse is Retired Racehorse Project - Iâve been using them exclusively for the past couple years and always get lots of interest immediately. I retire the papers via the Jockey Club, have my name and contact info attached to the papers, and have the notarized sales contract state that I must be contacted prior to the horse changing hands and the horse is not to go to auction. And I meticulously research anyone I sell a horse to.
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It does not sound as if it was the track or the racing connections that put this particular horse in his present plight, if I have read all of the information correctly.
Sadly there is a lot of prejudice towards OTTBS ( and even TBS in general even if they never raced) that is just ignorance. I have an OTTB, my third OTTB and I adore him. I always said I did not want an OTTB until somehow I got one, and after that I have a preference for them. TBs are amazing smart and sensitive horses, I love them.
Ex racers come with some nifty things to appreciate-- mine is about bomb proof in traffic, is about bomb proof in horse traffic, is very nimble going through narrow gates or barn aisles, very polite in his stall, easy to manuever by saying âoverâ, has mostly excellent ground manners, just a real nice gentleman of a horse.
I think it is good to see things like the Retired Racehorse Project, giving some higher profile and more market space to OTTBs.
The designer mania about having something warmblood-y imported from Europe drives the anti OTTB view- in my opinion-- and has nothing to do with the actual ability of the horse, it is about status.
I am glad to see that this particular horse hopefully has a soft landing. Stories like his break my heart.
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@Sunflower - I get your point completely. Unfortunately, TB breeders are not regulated or registered like the warmbloods are, and there are many many many mediocre mares being bred with no respect for conformation or racing record or pedigree. So you end up with many many âratsâ populating the lower ranks of racing, and many of them never even make it to the track. IMHO - the warmbloods at least have some registration criteria wrt conformation and ability. The Jockey Club registers anything and everything that has registered parents. And I love TBs - I showed very successfully with tbs against warmbloods for decades.
There are also other options for Standardbreds that come off the track - Many go to the Standardbred Rescue Foundation and get retrained for other disciplines. I have taken two of my person ex race horses that were Pacers and retrained them to ride. One turned out to be an amazing Jumper, who could jump 3â + and had all the heart in the world. The other was a mare who turned into an amazing kids horse.
I also have an OTTB and love him to. I wish more people would understand how good it is to have a horse from the track whether its an OTTB or an OTTSTB. The OTTSTB are broke to not only drive, but they are used to heavy equipment driving by them on the track, water trucks etc. Most have pretty good manners in the barn and bath stall.
Yes horses from the track end up with Kill buyers - and so do horses from the Hunter/Jumper, dressage, Eventing and all other horse disciplines - lets not act like every horse at the slaughter is ONLY and Ex-race horse. Thatâs just ignorant
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In my experience and from the export records - the vast, vast, vast majority of horses slaughtered are quarter horses.
At least thoroughbred racehorses are bred and born with SOME kind of purpose. I did the math years ago and any given thoroughbred born in the US has less than a 1% chance of ending up in a slaughterhouse.
Registration numbers are FALLING for the jockey club. The industry seems to be adapting.
Meanwhile, every Tom, Dick, and Harry is breeding their very own own son of an own son of an own son of Leo in their backyard and no one says anything!! Never mind the fate of the poor Amish horses that end up at the sale barnâŠ
Iâm sorry I just get so exhausted with peopleâs instance on beating on the racing industry when they are actually making real progress! The TIP program, the Retired Racehorse Project, the registry bending over backwards to identify horses, anti-slaughter policies at racetracks. Give some freaking credit where it is due.
As an aside - before singing the glory of the warm blood programs. In Europe - where do you think the horses that donât pass inspections go? To the slaughterhouse. I had a representative of a large European registry tell me that verbatim. Thatâs how they maintain quality. He was not apologetic about it. Europe doesnât exactly have a ton of space to warehouse a bunch of crooked legged substandard horses until they die naturally of old age. The only reason why the WB industry in the US has not had a lot of âwasteâ horses is that there is still a notion of âvalueâ in the warmblood and the numbers are relatively limited. That will end eventually. Iâm already seeing lots of examples of flunked out mares being bred.
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Or, the Europeans sell them to dealers to who sell to the Amish. There are a surprising number of DHH on the road, and stallions that were not approved as babies, contributing to the Amish driving horse group.
I truly believe that the TB folks have done a brilliant job of designing safety nets for the horses. The Quarterhorses? Well, they used to register 125K a year, and didnât give a damn. They still donât give a damn.
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You may be confusing WB Registration with Approval. Most European WB offer a COP on anything, since horses need passports even to go to slaughter, pretty much.
Many registries will register foals from approved parents without inspection, some with out DNA.
The Hype is strong w/WB.
Donât confuse elite marketing with âhorses donât go to slaughterâ, or the WB horses are all elite.
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@D_BaldStockings I trounced many a warmblood with my TBs when I showed. My point, which you missed, is that there is no way to measure the quality of a TB other than race record. At least there is an effort with wbs.
Ummm⊠the sport horse performance record of a TB? If I was looking to either buy or breed a TB sport horse, Iâd be looking at their performance record in my target disciple, I wouldnât care about their race record. Some of the best TBs for sport havenât been good race horses.
âQualityâ⊠what exactly is that? Since Iâm not in the racing business, Iâd be looking at the horse in front of me for âqualityâ.
My beloved mare never set foot on a track and yet was accepted in ISR Main Mare Book. Good enough for me 
TBs donât have to race to âperformâ
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