Silent slaughter of thoroughbred racing

Oct 18, 2023

On any given day of the year, thoroughbred racehorses are crammed onto trucks, with no water or hay, and shipped to Mexico or to Canada to be slaughtered in a manner far more inhumane than can be imagined.

In 2018, over 40,000 American horses were slaughtered for their meat, a vast percentage were thoroughbreds: yearlings who failed to exhibit proper conformation, horses who performed poorly or broke down during a race or in training, stallions and broodmares too old to reproduce.

If seasoned racing fans or horse lovers were aware of the cruelty behind the glamour or the endemic horror underpinning the elegance, a darker take on the Sport of Kings could result. The gruesome treatment of these slaughter bound horses was presented by Bryant Gumbel in his HBO "Real Sports" program Tuesday with no remedies to clean up horse racing.

Although U.S. slaughter rendering plants where banned in 2006, those in the slaughter trade cheated the legislation by exporting the horses to Mexico and Canada. The meat is then shipped to regions around the globe where horse meat is perceived as a delicacy.

Horses' instincts are sharp and keen. Panic ensues when undergoing torturous abuse in rendering plants, when tied by one leg to a post and then shot in the head with a screw gun or nail gun. Whether the shot to the head was effective or not, the butchers begin their work anyway. If the horse is a pregnant mare, the unborn foal is cut out and tossed aside to die.

The slaughter business is horrid and inhumane, and it sadly partners with the horse racing business. These seemingly disparate entities are, in fact, symbiotic, with one wearing a fancy hat and the other a floor-length rubber apron. When breeders, owners or trainers are overwhelmed with a glut of horses, the kill buyer is on call. Expedience is the key; if a trainer, owner or breeder sought to place horses with a rescue, costs are incurred, and time is wasted. Most thoroughbred rescues are full with waiting lists and financially stressed. Thus, the direct ship slaughter companies offer the trainers a quick disposal service for their unwanted horses.

There are rules ... well, sort of

Most U.S. race tracks have policies against these practices. Churchill Downs states in its 2019 Spring Meet Rule Ban on Horse Slaughter: Any owner or trainer based at Churchill Downs who sells a horse for slaughter that was previously stabled at Churchill Downs will have his/her stalls permanently revoked.

This rule leaves the door wide open for owners and trainers to give away the unwanted horse to a kill buyer with the knowledge the horse will probably go to slaughter. As the Churchill Downs rule is written, the trainer might state he "gave the horse to a guy." That guy either brings the horse to a direct ship kill buyer or is bought by kill pen buyers, and no rules have been broken.

When thoroughbreds are bought by the kill buyer and direct shipped, they can sell the horses as meat for a tidy profit. If the kill buyers hold the horses in their deplorable kill pens, the horses usually get sick, injured and receive no vet care.

Some racetracks have penalties against owners and trainers who sell a horse for slaughter. In Louisiana, if owners/trainers ignore these rules, they could be banned from stepping foot on a Louisiana racetrack ever again.

Santa Anita's fatalities bring outrage

The California State Legislature has taken over the investigation into 23 fatal breakdowns at Santa Anita Park that occurred during the 2019 Winter Meet. Owners, owner organizations, trainers, jockeys, racing fans were outraged the racetrack could be allowed to degrade so abysmally. However, no significant actions have been taken by legislators to stop the shipping of horses to slaughter, totaling 40,000 in 2018.

Kill pens have found a lucrative market on social media. To promote their inventory, some kill pens post photos while others show a video of the horse. All breeds of horses, ponies, and donkeys are found at these kill pens.

Some ship pens also advertise a horse's pedigree. The pedigree is key to a wealth of information for the "Facebook Angels." With the horse's pedigree in hand, the Facebook Angels can research the horse's history, using Equibase and the Jockey Club's interactive database, back to its breeder, previous owners and trainers, its auction history and racing record. Responsible former breeders, owners, and trainers bail the horse out of the kill pen, send it to quarantine, and find a retirement home for the horse.

Recently trainer Graham Motion received a call on a horse he trained who won over $500,000. Motion immediately sent a trailer to pick up the horse and is caring for him for the rest of his life.

Recently, a group of 58 anti-kill pen buyers got together on Facebook and reported the kill pen horse rescue sale pages as selling guns and drugs. All the large kill pen pages, where taken down, put up, taken down, and this group even made a You Tube video threatening the kill pen pages. The kill pen sellers are trying to give good horses once last chance before they go to death, and the pittance they make off these horses is nothing compared to the bloodstock agents who sell the thoroughbreds and make handsome commissions on the horses when their value is in the multi-thousands. This attack on the Facebook Angel's and the kill pens they rescue from has caused hundreds of horses who normally would be re-homed go straight to slaughter.

What's it take to get attention?

In 1997, Exceller, winner of over $1 million and produced stakes winners at stud, who had been sold to stand in Sweden, was brutally slaughtered. Three months later The Exceller Fund was created to help thoroughbreds in danger of slaughter. Recently, the Exceller Fund accepted Successful Affair and Vaporize, through the help of Gary Contessa, former president and member of the board of the Exceller Fund. Both horses were rescued from a kill pen.

In 2013, senators Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced the Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2013. Named the SAFE Act, this legislation would ban the export of U.S. horses to foreign countries for meat. The SAFE Act bill, which has 73 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives needs more sponsors before it can be voted on by Congress. The SAFE ACT BILL continues to need a sponsor in the Senate.

The American Jockey Club offers aftercare programs for thoroughbreds, as does the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Unfortunately, these programs refuse to provide funds for rescuing thoroughbreds in kill pens. This discrimination may soon be remediated by a large group of well-known Americans and the U.S. Horse Welfare and Rescue National Coalition, which currently is uniting to provide care for thoroughbreds and the glut of horses who will need homes when the SAFE Act bill passes into law.

A first step; miles to walk

The SAFE Act would help prevent U.S. horses from being slaughtered, although the kill buyers always seem to find a way around the laws. It also would increase the population of horses needing homes in the U.S.

In Gumbel's HBO report on the crisis, he omitted the measures that the USHWR National Coalition is taking to help care for the thoroughbreds when the SAFE Act bill cleans up the track-to-slaughter atrocity. The USHWR National Coalition, is developing the resources to care for thoroughbreds, as well as other unwanted horses. They are working with kill pen operators to transform them into legitimate horse-sale brokers.

Transformations already are appearing in their businesses. The coalition is partnering with "approved" rescues, veterinarians, horse transporters and farriers to provide affordable care for owners who cannot afford high prices and formerly dumped their horses for slaughter. Feed and hay companies are partnering with the coalition to help horses and owners in need.

The thoroughbred crisis is real. The U.S. Horse Welfare and Rescue's National Coalition is planning a meeting in the fall at the Breakers as well as other locations across the country.

Anyone who wants to help can contact the U.S. Horse Welfare and Rescue and become a member (ushorsewelfare.org).