- The Hambletonian fire burns again for MinorDon't get him started. Like so many horsemen, harness racing trainer Deshawn Minor understandably can barely contain his enthusiasm when you mention the Hambletonian, especially with a prospect in one his stalls at Magical Acres in Chesterfield, NJ. […]
- No live racing on Memorial Day at MonticelloThere will be no live harness racing at Monticello Raceway on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27th . However, simulcast wagering will be available both day and night. […]
- First freshmen to qualify at The MeadowsSixteen harness racing two-year-olds will face the starter on Friday morning, making their first official appearances behind a starting gate. […]
- Daily Racing Form to promote USTA programThe United States Trotting Association Strategic Wagering Program is joining forces with the Daily Racing Form to promote 41 of harness racing's most important stakes races on 28 dates at 15 racetracks across the country in 2013. […]
- Smilin Eli has Deshawn Minor really smilingHe doesn't have a barn full of horses, but you only need one and harness racing trainer Deshawn Minor is pretty pleased the one he has is Smilin Eli. […]
- Winning Mister honored as 'Horse of the Year'The 'Best of 2012' awards were handed out last night by the Keystone Chapter of the U.S. Harness Writers' Association, and leading the way as Pennsylvania's 'Horse of the Year' was Bob Key's Winning Mister 1:51.3 ($1,108,874), the millionaire and FFA trotting star who established track records at every Pennsylvania harness […]
- Billings is 'Grand Circuit of Amateur Racing'The C.K.G. Billings Harness Driving Series kicks off its 32nd season at Monticello Raceway on Wednesday, June 5 followed closely by a harness racing contest at Scioto Downs on Friday, June 7th . […]
- Two $250,000 stakes at Harrah's PhiladelphiaTop harness racing free-for-allers invade the Delaware Valley this Sunday afternoon at Harrah's Philadelphia, with the sixth edition of both the Betsy Ross Mare Pace and the Maxie Lee Open Trot, both events offering bounties of $250,000. […]
- Denver fastest winner in PA Stallion SeriesDenver grabbed the lead with a lightning-quick backside burst that propelled him to victory in a stake-fastest 1:55.2 in Wednesday's $100,000 Pennsylvania Stallion Series stake at The Meadows. […]
- Western Ideal filly stars at Saratoga racewayCamdee (Western Ideal) was the star of the night on Wednesday at Saratoga Casino and Raceway. […]
- Ten top pacers set for $200,000 Dan PatchA field of ten will be sent postward in the $200,000 Dan Patch Invitational at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Saturday, May 25. […]
- Great candidates for weekly awards honorsWe saw a lot of excellent harness racing performances at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs this week, so there were plenty of great candidates for Weekly Awards honors. […]
- New Director of North American OperationsAward winning journalist and harness racing administrator Steven Wolf has joined Harnesslink.com as Director of North American Operations. He will begin his new duties immediately. […]
- Spain becoming a slaughterhouse for horses!Like his father and grandfather before him, Alberto Martin breeds horses, raising them on two farms, one of them here on the outskirts of Madrid. But even as a third-generation breeder, nothing in his experience had prepared him for times like these. Over the last two years, Mr. Martin says he has been forced to sell 50 of his 70 beloved mares for about $400 […]
- Software glitch stings punters - $30 million'Whoops! Wrong button!' - and there goes HK$30 million ... Yesterday's multi-million dollar betting blunder at Sha Tin might not have been that simple, but a betting software glitch certainly left a searing hole in plenty of punters' pockets, created an unexpected windfall for others and in the process spawned a host of highly entertainin […]
- Happy Easter I Am, A Harness Racing HorseHappy Easter from the Harness Racing documentary film ''I Am, A Harness Racing Horse'' and from American Rose Lee (light bay) and Angler (dark bay). Have a Happy Easter dinner with an abundance of good food, friends and family. […]
- Jimmy Marohn Jr, St Patrick & Pope FrancisWestbury (Long Island, New York) born harness racing driver Jimmy Marohn Jr won the 13th annual St Paddy Pace at Monticello Raceway last Wednesday (March 13), and on this past Sunday Catholics (and non Catholics) throughout the world celebrated St Patrick's Day - the great saint who cast all the snakes out of Ireland. […]
- Son of Cardigan Bay's co-owner reminiscesThe late Dr Lawrence Slobody was not only a brilliant American doctor and director of pediatrics but he was also a harness racing visionary. His son and standardbred enthusiast Roger, said that when New Zealand's millionaire pacer Cardigan Bay came to the United States in 1964 his father took an eighth share in the brilliant son of Hal Tryax. […]
- St Patrick's Day trailer - Monica Thors teamA cheerful "Happy St Patrick's Day" video from Monica Thors and the "I Am, A Harness Racing Horse" team... fun and serious at the same time. […]
- Tears flow big-time for Rocknroll HanoverEight hours after 2005 Horse-of-the-Year and harness racing giant Rocknroll Hanover was euthanized at the Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center in New Jersey, her former caretaker Sarah Lauren Scott was still having trouble holding back her tears. […]
- Super sire Rocknroll Hanover dead, aged 11"He made all of our dreams come true!" […]
- Kiwi gets his say at U.S.A. Racing CongressA United Code of Conduct should be introduced so there is consistent international governance in harness racing Associations, Clubs, Boards, and Commissions throughout the world. […]
- Plenty of trial form to dig your teeth intoJust when you think you've seen all of Mark Purdon's two-year-old artillery he reaches into the cabinet and gets out some more. That's what you had to be left thinking, after the Purdon clan dominated the 2yo harness racing trials at Addington yesterday (Monday February 25). […]
- USTA video from Harness Racing CongressThe U.S. Trotting Association, which will conduct its annual meeting in congress with Harness Horsemen International, Harness Racing Tracks of America and the U.S. Harness Writers Association from Feb. 28 through March 4, will provide live, online video streaming of several events and same-day online video coverage of several discussion panels. […]
- Happy Valentine's Day - horses included!Valentine's Day - February 14 - is not only a day when humans exchange their undoubted love for each other, but it should also be a day when we extend our adoration to all the world's beautiful animals - especially our wonderful harness racing breed. […]
- Troublemaker's last winner is really uniqueSemen that was collected 14 years ago provided the late American harness racing stallion - Troublemaker - with his last ever victory at Canberra on Monday night February 11th. […]
Posts Tagged ‘slaughter’
Oklahoma Legislature Approves Horse Slaughter
February 21st, 2013 | 
Author: The Oklahoma legislature has approved horse slaughtering of horses for human consumption in their state. No news if the governor will sign off.
What is so wrong with this legislation? Let’s start with the alleged reason they want to allow the slaughtering of horses. They claim to many horses are being abandoned and slaughter is a humane way of handling the problem. Dare I say few if any of these legislators have ever seen a commercial slaughterhouse slaughter a horse. If they did, I would be curious to see if they still considered it ‘humane’.
One of my other problems with this legislation is it once again, lets the general horse owner off the hook for failing to be good owners of horses. Instead of this quick solution, why doesn’t the state mandate micro chipping and institute fines for any horse found abandoned and/or abused by their owner. Instituting such a law would then force owners to do the responsible thing and end a horses life with humane euthanasia; in effect require responsible treatment of horses.
Lastly, in the ultimate irony, while allowing horse slaughter in Oklahoma for human consumption, it bans the sale of horse meat in the state. Why? Because horse meat is full of toxic chemicals due to the drugs and medication given them. So while they won’t allow Oklahomans to eat the meat due to safety concerns, they have no qualms about selling it to others.
Quite honestly, my problem with horse slaughter laws is two fold. One is we are giving irresponsible horse owners the opportunity to get away from being responsible and good guardians of their horses. If an owner can’t do right by their horse then maybe they shouldn’t be owning them. Secondly, under the guise of humane, and the only thing humane about it is the shorter drive to a slaughter house, the real motive is profit. Making money for those that trade in horses.
As far as I am concerned, any states that approve horse slaughter are states that should not be visited. I would ask all horse loving people to boycott those states and visit and spend your money in states which are animal friendly.
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Posted in Harness Horse Racing | 
Tags: approves, Horse, Legislature, Oklahoma, slaughter | 
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The Future of Horse Slaughter and its Potential Aftermath
By now, you may have heard that the Canadian and Mexican slaughter plants which ship horse meat for human consumption to European Union countries are presently refusing American horses. What does this mean to the horse racing industry in general, the standardbred industry in particular? Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know I am anti-horse slaughter, so you may be disappointed by the fact I am trying to provide information in a fair and balanced manner; not looking to tug at emotions, but state what seems to be the obvious.
Many grade auctions have suspended horse sales for now as Canadian and reportedly Mexican slaughterhouses are refusing to accept American horses for slaughter, reportedly the result of an European Union (EU) Directive. Since no one seems to be talking, including the EU, it is not known if this defacto ban is a temporary time out, long term, or a permanent ban. Regardless of the status of this ‘pause’, after doing some research, it appears slaughter of horses for human consumption may no longer be an option for horses residing in America, at least for race horses.
Recently, the EU concluded an audit of Mexican slaughterhouses where some concerns were raised regarding American horses presented for slaughter. Specifically, the report claims in the executive summary:
So we can see there are some concerns regarding American horses going to Mexico. But what about Canada where American horses make up 80% of the horses slaughtered? The last audit by the EU in Canada was done back in 2011 and was only concerned with the residue of pharmaceutical medications in livestock, not the actual slaughter process. However, in the 2011 report, it indicates EIDs for horses imported from the United States are so lacking, there is a huger dependence in residual testing (testing after death for medications to see if any traces of medications remains in the carcass) to determine if the horse meat is acceptable for human consumption.. Here are the rules regarding medications used on equines:
So based on the reading of this previous section, if a drug is listed in EU Regulation 1950/2006, it must be six months since last administered to a horse. If not listed in EUR 1950/2006, but is listed in EUR 37/2010, residual testing must not exceed the limits published. Either way, the presence of a substance other than those in these two regulations would make the horse permanently ineligible for slaughter for human consumption. Certain drugs commonly used in race horses, such as phenylbutazone, are drugs which would make a horse ineligible for human consumption.
What does this mean?
It shows once again that American horses are not meant to be food animals and for food safety reasons alone, they should not be slaughtered. So what are the options? Even if the United States decided to resume slaughter within its own borders, the horse meat would not be acceptable for export to the EU as typical therapeutic medicating of race horses precludes their introduction into the food pipeline.
At present, the only way it seems horses from the United States will be able to be used for EU purposes would be if the United States started treating horses as food animals, meaning micro chipping the horse, and requiring the logging of each medication given to a horse and when administered as well as the tracking of each horse from birth till death. Should the animal have been at a particular farm when a contagious disease was identified, it is possible the government would destroy any horse that potentially came in contact with a contaminated horse. Otherwise, treated as if it was a cow. Is this going to happen? I know parties within the industry have opposed this type of tracking of horses.
So unless the government decides to treat horses as a food animal by July of 2013 when horse passports detailing their history becomes mandatory, it appears the time is coming where race horses in the United States will have no value to kill buyers as food animals. Like it or not, racing is going to have to deal with the unwanted race horse issue as there will be no one looking to take care of the owner’s ‘problems’ for them.
Of course, things can change. Don’t expect kill buyers to just walk away and go home. No doubt there will be lobbying to have the government talk to the EU regarding their standards in an effort to open the pipeline and keep it open and in what seems to be a long shot, attempt to get the USDA to classify horses as food animals with the same reporting requirements as cattle.
Another option may be an attempt by pro-slaughter forces to resume their attempt to get slaughterhouses in the United States opened for horses so the horse meat may be exported to countries which do not adhere to the EU standards for food safety; primarily Asian countries. Whether or not providing horse meat to Asian countries would even be profitable is not known.
But this good news (if you are anti-slaughter) comes with a down side. As distasteful and reprehensible slaughter is to many, it does provide a relief valve when it comes to unwanted race horses. With a growing number of post-racing horses available and rescue groups unable to handle the current population of unwanted horses, the plain truth is what has been treated as an individual problem is becoming an industry problem. No racing industry can expect to survive with no plan in place to address the plight of the unwanted horse.
To the USTA’s credit, certain programs are in place to help those seeking to rescue horses. The USTA has launched an effort to promote the versatility of the standardbred for off the track careers as well as operating the Full Circle program, a program where individuals who have a connection to a horse express their interest in obtaining a horse once its racing career has concluded. In addition to these programs, the USTA annual commits a certain amount of money available to take care of standardbred which have been rescued from situations of neglect. The Halters for Hope program, in existence for two years plus now is a way to get individuals to donate funds to horse rescues by purchasing halters of famous horses with the money going directly to a rescue. While worthwhile programs, their scope is limited as they help those who want to help horses. What is lacking is an industry-wide solution.
An industry-wide solution will require a multi-faceted approach. The industry needs to realize unwanted horses is everyone’s problem, not just those who wish to make it their problem. A program such as the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance needs to be established in order to provide funding to rescues of standardbreds, not only to tend to their existing horse population but to also allow rescues to expand their operations. Racetracks need to provide a means for owners/trainers to surrender horses who can no longer race without recrimination so the horses may enter the rescue pipeline safely, in a timely manner. Unfortunately, there are horses who are raced too long for which a post-racing career is not possible. For them, there needs to be a program to provide for humane euthanasia,
Let’s not forget the breeders. Breeding for speed needs to be reconsidered; perhaps a need to roll back the breed to the times when horses raced forty times a year, a day when the standardbred was more durable; meaning those horses who race more often and longer in order to keep horses on the track instead of in the rescue. No one is suggesting going back to the horses of the 1960s but the quest for speed has come at the cost of a less durable horse. In addition, breeding for quality instead of quantity is of paramount importance.
Opportunities for an industry-wide response to unwanted horses has been muted in the past. Thanks to the EU, this discussion is going to draw attention. Is racing up to the task of address this issue? We will soon find out.
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New Jersey Law to Outlaw Horse Slaughter Signed by Governor Christie, As … – Practical Horseman Magazine (blog)
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New Jersey Law to Outlaw Horse Slaughter Signed by Governor Christie, As …
Practical Horseman Magazine (blog) He is the son of the legendary Standardbred horseman and race driver Stanley Dancer. The cause of fighting horse slaughter in New Jersey was boosted when American showjumper and prominent New Jersey resident Jessica Springsteen appealed to … |
View full post on standardbred horse – Google News
Breaking – Christie Signs Horse Slaughter Ban
Governor Chris Christie has signed a bill banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption in New Jersey meaning no slaughter plants will be established in the state for such purpose. In addition to this ban, it is also against the law to transport a horse out of state for purposes of slaughter for human consumption. Of course, this will not stop the transport of horses through the state without stopping for slaughter, but it means no horse will be sold in New Jersey and sent to slaughter in Canada or Mexico.
Additional information may be found here.
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Prize Winning Horse Saved From Slaughter – WIBW
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Prize Winning Horse Saved From Slaughter
WIBW Those figures do not include other breeds of horses that also race in the United States. "When you extrapolate that to quarter-horse racing and standardbred racing, you realize the numbers are astronomical," Perry said. The ASPCA is pushing for federal … |
View full post on standardbred horse – Google News
An end to Canada’s horse slaughter industry – Harnesslink
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An end to Canada's horse slaughter industry
Harnesslink Horses from all directions enter the slaughter market. They come from trail riding businesses, family farms, the rodeo circuit, and other facets of the racing industry, such as Standardbred harness racing and Quarter Horse racing. |
View full post on standardbred horse – Google News
Posted in Harness Horse Racing |
Tags: Canada's, Harnesslink, Horse, industry, slaughter |
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New Jersey trainer aids slaughter horses – Harnesslink
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New Jersey trainer aids slaughter horses
Harnesslink Anouk Busch, a 36 year-old harness racing trainer originally from the Netherlands, founded Horse Rescue United (HRU), a New Jersey-based rescue specializing in Standardbreds, but open to all breeds. Her rescues came from various backgrounds: Some were … |
View full post on standardbred horse – Google News
Posted in Harness Horse Racing |
Tags: aids, Harnesslink, horses, Jersey, slaughter, Trainer |
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Racehorses could end up going to slaughter – Peterborough Examiner
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Racehorses could end up going to slaughter
Peterborough Examiner “It's sad. I've always found it disgusting … some of these horses worked their butts off for us. They have earned people money and now they are just disposable,” But Tony's talents are limited to small harness racing venues such as Kawartha Downs. |
View full post on harness horse racing – Google News
Posted in Harness Horse Racing |
Tags: could, Examiner, going, Peterborough, Racehorses, slaughter |
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For sale or slaughter – The Sudbury Star
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For sale or slaughter
The Sudbury Star By RITA POLIAKOV, THE SUDBURY STAR There are books about horses, portraits of horses, statues of horses, and then there's McConnell himself. In the industry since the 1970s, the standardbred horse breeder is completely immersed in his farm. |
View full post on standardbred horse – Google News
Local horse rescue illuminates slaughter nightmare – Gulf Islands Driftwood
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Local horse rescue illuminates slaughter nightmare
Gulf Islands Driftwood Chance is a five-year-old Standardbred female, parented by race horses Austin Carr and Bet a Buck Bets and recently adopted by Salt Spring resident Nola Sater. Sater is an animal lover who had three horses in her early teens. Her decision to take home … |
View full post on standardbred horse – Google News
Posted in Harness Horse Racing |
Tags: Driftwood, Gulf, Horse, illuminates, islands, Local, nightmare, rescue, slaughter |
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- Alabar wins five of six Southern Cross HeatsSouthern Cross Heats last Friday night at Globe Derby Park Alabar stallions sired 5 of the 6 2yo heat winners - Colts: Major Secret (Art Majot), Major Cruiser (Major In Art) and the Fillies: Flagbearer & Dougs Courage (Courage Under Fire), & Revered (Village Jasper). […]
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- The Hambletonian fire burns again for MinorDon't get him started. Like so many horsemen, harness racing trainer Deshawn Minor understandably can barely contain his enthusiasm when you mention the Hambletonian, especially with a prospect in one his stalls at Magical Acres in Chesterfield, NJ. […]
- No live racing on Memorial Day at MonticelloThere will be no live harness racing at Monticello Raceway on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27th . However, simulcast wagering will be available both day and night. […]
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