New York Horse Racing & AIA Press Conference

This video is of the New York Horse Racing and Agricultural Industry Alliance press conference in its entirety from the Capitol Building on October 16, 2012. The purpose of the press conference was to  release the Economic Impact study conducted by the group which reveals that the horse serves as a "job creator" in New York and is responsible for billions of dollars of commerce.

My question is… what does this mean for the horse…?

New York will have a  huge number of unwanted horses in the state unless it FIRST addresses the drug abuse that takes place on racetracks and a comprehensive solution to care for horses bred in the state that have an average life span of 25 years after they retire from racing.

Racehorses that are subjected to multiple injections and painkillers leaves most limited as to their usefulness in second careers. The reason being, chips, stress fractures, arthritis, tendonitis, and a myriad of other ailments that trainers and veterinarians refer to as "racing sound" will not equate to soundness for other less stressful disciplines. It is absurd that the same veterinarians that administer joint injections and painkillers for a horse to race, will not pass that same horse on a vet exam for a simpler easier life. It is a backward system leaving the innocent horse as its victim.

The revenue from the VLTs that is increasing prize money and breeders awards serves as incentive to race unsound horses and breed without any measure of quality or control. Currently, 70% of the American thoroughbred crop ends up in slaughter....what is to stop this in NY?

The reality is there is no effective aftercare program in place that addresses thousands of horses that fall through the cracks from the time they retire from racing.

Please share your thoughts and comments…

CLICK TITLE TO VIEW: LIVE GOV. CUOMO TASK FORCE REPORT on NYRA Aqueduct breakdowns

Breaking Down Data & Drugs....a Holistic View

The recent article in the NY Times was a long overdue wake-up call to ALL thoroughbred horse industry participants. Thank you Joe Drape et al.

Breakdowns, catastrophic, and career ending injuries, have long gone unreported to the general public unless captured on camera during a major broadcast.

Thankfully, the NYSRWB has responded to this new found public awareness by making previously veiled industry reports readily available.

The Equine Breakdown, Death, Injury and Incident Database, and the Racing and Wagering Board Ruling Database are new resources for owners to investigate trainers and make informed decisions. Had this information been available in the past, I for one, would have selected different trainers to handle my beloved horses.

Over the past month, I have interviewed several trainers. I am abhorred by the number of prominent names who openly flaunt the rules by engaging in the debilitating practice of daily training on bronchodilators, pain-killers, muscle relaxers, and steroid-effect like drugs.

Abetted by profiteering veterinarians, trainers erroneously believe these drugs give them an edge. Sadly, day-to-day training on drugs creates a dependence on DRUGS, the ones that are illegal on race-day!

The problem with the use of training on controlled substances is that they mask the very subtle signs, symptoms, and pain that tell the educated eye it’s time for a change. They wreak havoc with horse’s own cellular intelligence which is designed to strengthen itself. Unnoticed, horses’ train onward only to collapse on race-day when their system hasn’t the integrity to withstand the demands of racing clean. While researching within the NYSRWB database I was surprised by the number of cardiovascular collapses reported; the workload on heart and lungs must be enormous on an animal suffering withdrawal on race-day.

Veterinarians addicted to profit, coupled with trainers addicted to finding an edge, are co-creating a generation of drug-riddled addicted animals. I see this first-hand as retired runners come to my farm for re-homing. Often, they go through weeks of withdrawal and depression while enduring the side-effects of long term drug abuse -- in the name of "therapy".

Shockingly, trainers I have spoken with justify the use of illegal-to-race-on-drugs siting, “that is what the other trainers do”. Unfortunately, I too see veterinarians, who are entrusted to ethically prescribe, instead simply filling orders for trainers. To which I ask, what authority licenses trainers to diagnose and prescribe controlled substances? And yet, the veterinarians who supposedly control the controlled substances, by supposedly writing prescriptions and determining dosages are held to the same malpractice laws as human doctors.

Furthermore, the misuse of drugs like Clenbuterol, is on the rise. Traditionally, a medication prescribed to clear up an inflammatory irritation, it is now being administered en masse for its anabolic steroid like effect. A finding noted and acted upon in California at Los Alamitos.

As trainers and veterinarians fill horses with a continual stream of inappropriately classified “therapeutic” drugs such as clenbuterol, bute, banamine, magnesium sulfate, and naquasone...to name a few, they are setting up horses, and jockeys, for disaster.

It is my belief, that the excessive amounts of controlled substances in use on a daily basis are causal to the rise in breakdowns -- this was alluded to in Dr. Susan Stover’s in-depth report to Congress in 2008.

On race-day, most entrants are given lasix, a diuretic that further insults the equine athlete through dehydration. Now, with comprised bodies suffering drug withdrawal the horse is asked to deliver its biggest most strenuous effort. It is my fear for the safety of all involved, that unless measures are taken to eradicate drugs all together, the lack of them on race-day will lead to even more casualties.

If a horse is not allowed to race on certain substances, why then are they allowed to train on the same? This methodology implodes; each horse an innocent victim.

The problem with racing is not race-day medications, the surface, or the purse...it is rather the willingness of certain people to exploit horses at any price.

I have spent nearly everyday of my life in the company of thoroughbreds. I see no harm in racing strong, sound, healthy horses -- there is however, something seriously inhumane about drugging animals to “run through pain” as one trainer put it, and, “because they need to race” as a one veterinarian noted.

It is my hope that NYSRWB will see fit to place a ban on all drugs, all the time, and regularly conduct drug testing on the backstretch in between races. Between now and then, perhaps the Board will revisit the 2009 plan to disclose drug records, a truly effective way to regain the public’s trust. A proposal criticized only by veterinarians, none of which seem to have any difficulty with the same record-keeping when it comes to billing unsuspecting owners.

By Susan Kayne. Horse Lover, Animal Activist, Racehorse Owner.

Related Links:

Drugs banned by NYSRWB, see 4043.2 Restricted use of drugs, medication and other substances.

The Chemical Horse: Drugs in Racing

WinStar Lasix Study

Business of Racing on Lasix

Kentucky Derby Vet Records

Hong Kong & Horse Care

What do you think is an ethical and morally responsible behavior as the use of drugs to train racehorses?

Industry Insights: Let's be Frank (about drugs) - Thoroughbred Times

Industry Insights: Let's be Frank - Thoroughbred Times

I just read the above linked article written by John P. Sparkman, a quote from it:

“The struggling global economy, decline in public interest in horses in general, the attenuated attention span of the Internet age, public perceptions of widespread drug abuse, all these and other factors have combined to earthquake Thoroughbred racing, collapsing the house that generations of racing men built. We cannot control most of the factors that have negatively affected our industry. We can control our medication rules”.

My question to ALL interested parties:

Do industry participants really care enough about their horses to actually go drug-free?


The gross reality of thoroughbred racing is that horses are commoditized; to most they are not viewed as living, feeling, sentient beings. They are instruments to make money; when one horse breaks down, another waits to fill its stall. A horse no longer able to race becomes, at best, someone else’s responsibility.

The genesis of the problems that now plague racing began years ago in breeding sheds across the country. As with genetically engineered factory farming, we are now realizing the error of manufacturing animals for obsolescence. Thoroughbreds that were once bred for stamina, strength, and durability have fallen prey to human's shortsighted need for speed. When breeding began focusing on creating “sale” horses, those that could run early as two-year-olds and turn in a 20-second quarter at a breeze show, equine pharmaceutical companies jumped at the chance to market products to trainers struggling to keep up an unnatural pace.

Veterinarians, as the distributors of drugs, have everything to gain from advocating their use--the vet bills for pre-race, post-race, and everything in between, average approximately $2,000 a month, even for a sound horse. If a horse falls apart under the stress of racing, either on drugs or against horses who are using them, even more money goes to the veterinarian.

So how does one get new owners and fans into a sport that is perceived as drug-riddled, cruel, funded by gambling, embroiled in political hold-ups, only for the super-rich, and generally doesn’t allow for hands-on interaction with the horse?

The drugging and substance abuse America’s thoroughbreds are subjected to has landed the industry in a quagmire. I am ashamed of the actions of the HBPA. What’s benevolent and protective about permissive, unsafe medication rules? Is the HBPA proud of enabling horses to race that otherwise would not be on the track? Why are people breeding or racing any horses that need drugs to perform? If a horse bleeds it shouldn't be running; breed them stronger, condition them better. Steve Zorn has a super informative blog, here is the link to Lasix as it relates to bleeding: http://businessofracing.blogspot.com/2011/06/lasix-what-is-to-be-done.html

I am a lifelong horse owner and breeder; I have brought many new owners into NY racing. I truly love horses and have spent every day of my life with them.

I grew up winning with horses across multiple disciplines as a result of excellent horsemanship, superior care, and conscientious training. Horses have given too much to me personally to ever consider practices that would detract from the quality and length of their lives--they would NEVER do the same to us.

Racing needs to consider its principles first, and let public relations follow.

What's your opinion? I'd value your insights and love to hear from you. Together, lets find ways to make life better for horses. Susan

A CALL TO ACTION -- Support the disclosure of horses' medical records.

Dear Friends,

I was outraged when I learned in Joe Drape's NY Times article that members of our industry who are making their living looking after the welfare of horses have risen in opposition of the most positive proactive step racing officials have taken to ensure the future of racing......

I have therefore created an online petition to support the New York State Racing and Wagering Board’s proposed rule requiring disclosure of racehorses' medical records for 45 days prior to their race-day. As a lifelong thoroughbred owner and breeder, I fully endorse this rule. It is a safety measure for horses and jockeys, and an assurance of integrity for the betting public, prospective owners, and other new arrivals to the sport.

If you are involved in horseracing in any capacity, this rule change is designed to improve the quality of racing, by separating unhealthy horses from those ready to race. Full disclosure is the only way to move horseracing forward.Ultimately, it is the abusive practice of drugs that results in unfit horses running on the track, and making poor contributions to the thoroughbred bloodline. Drugs compensate for crooked legs, poor shoeing jobs, lack of conditioning, and an inability to breathe, among a host of other problems. Concealing these realities has created numerous problems for both people and horses; overpopulation with few humane plans for equine retirement and rising veterinary costs for overtaxed, unhealthy horses are serious issues.

Honesty, transparency, and a genuine love and respect of the horse is the only way racing will thrive. This new rule is the first step in answering the question, "What's wrong with racing, how do we fix it, and how do we market it?". The more available information becomes on horses and their health, the better decisions we can make about what will benefit everyone-- humans and horses. The only people who will not benefit are those that would manipulate, deceive, and actively practice animal cruelty through the secret use of drugs to push horses on the track who do not belong there--all in the name of profit.

Veterinarians who oppose this suggested rule should examine their own motives. Stephen Selway‘s claim in the NY Times that time and paperwork would be wasted on the measure, as well as the AAEPs statement that what medications are administered to racehorses is privileged information are both highly absurd!

Personally, I am disappointed that those who supposedly have dedicated their lives to the care of animals are more concerned about protecting private revenue streams than improving conditions for the horses that make their jobs possible. How many drugs are being administered, and in what possible combination and frequency, that it will take "hundreds of thousands of hours" to record by veterinarians? Just because the state isn’t testing for a drug yet, doesn’t mean that its use is ethical, in the best interest of the horses, their caretakers, or the public, let alone that it isn't in their right to know. Personally, I have 30 years of detailed medical bills that veterinarians were never too short on time to send.

The implementation of this new rule will make life better for racehorses and the people who work with them. If you really care about the future of racing and the welfare of horses I encourage you to sign this petition. Click here to read and sign.