The Shame of the Sport of Kings

Gambling on Horses' Lives


ISSUED ON THURSDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2013



CONTACT: MIKE ALLEN on 082828 0349

Visuals are available upon request to Mike Allen as above



Ex-Track Racers Neglected and Dying

The ghastly reality of what happens to horses when their racing days are over came to light this week when the NSPCA uncovered the horrific situation on a farm in the Harrismith area. "What we found is a damning indictment – proof indeed – that image and reality with regard to racing are far apart,” explained NSPCA Equine Inspector Mike Allen.

The NSPCA responded to information received regarding thin and dying horses in the Harrismith area. The horses were being advertised for sale and the accompanying visual was enough to convince the NSPCA that assistance was urgently required.

A warrant was obtained to allow Inspector Mike Allen access to the property where around 33 horses were being kept. The NSPCA Inspector was accompanied by a veterinarian and a qualified farrier.

The majority of horses on the property were thoroughbreds, including the off-spring (blood-lines) of Al-Mufti, Western Winter, Tiger Ridge, London News and Model Man.

Such was the emaciated condition of the horses that 9 had to be humanely put down on 16 September and a further 9 horses were humanely put down the following day. Two of these horses had serious injuries that had not been treated and which were untreatable at that stage. A mare and her foal were removed by one of the owners and taken to a property in another province.

It is alleged that the horses were kept as blood donors for a company that manufactures blood culture media.

Criminal charges will be laid in terms of the Animals Protection Act against the two owners of the property whose residences are in Potchefstroom and Kibler Park. The manager of the farm in Harrismith will also be charged.

"This is the shocking reality of what happens when horses can no longer race. The term "retired from the track” is misleading. They are traded.”

The NSPCA opposes animal racing, stressing that there is more to racing than the race itself.

"This is the bigger picture and the part that the public who support horse racing simply do not see. We have to step in when owners can no longer afford to keep the animals or if they have been sold on to individuals who take inadequate care of them or who simply do not care about them.”

Animals are not commodities.

~ Ends ~

WARNING - NOT SUITABLE FOR SENSITIVE VIEWERS:
Referring to the Ex-Race Horse media release, we thought it suitable to present this overview of the horses. Letters to both the National Horse Racing Authority and the Jockey Club was dispatched, requesting assistance in the investigation.

Attached files

Would like to know how they came up with the breeding??

@Titch, they probably used a scanner for ID purposes. The SPCA would love to give more bad publicity to racing and note it is only big name stallions mentioned...

Wonder if this is the farm that advertised in lots of horse magazines and on sites as "perfect retirement home" for horses?

terrible pictures - What can be done to stop this? Giving money to animals in need is one thing but to try to stop the animals from reaching such levels is perhaps more important. I suppose that many humans treat each other with very little dignity so to think that animals would fare better is delusional on my part.

A very SAD story .(td)

Owners have to THINK about the future of a horse before they buy one .
The SPCA do good work ! and if they have a go at racing ,this give,s them all the more reason !!

I think the Breeders need to play a bigger part in all this
just an opinion

The title of the thread says it all - and there is no easy way around this - we just donated our latest non-runner to the Horse Care Unit, but we have no control over what happens to him now - so beginning to think that a better way is maybe just to lease a filly for her racing career and then return her to her birthplace :S

Why donate horses to the horse care unit who keep begging for money?rather put them down

respect to you frodo nothing personal

Its about time that all involved in Racing realise that without the HORSE ,
There are no Breeders , Owners , Trainers , Jockeys , Grooms ,
There is no NHA , there is no Phumelela , There is no Bookies , there is no Tellytrack .

Don't we owe these magnificent beasts more much more than the above?

The breeding of thoroughbreds should be controlled if this was put in place horses might
start racing as 3 yr olds instead of immature babies of 2. And then for horses to be racing till 11 + yrs
would be the norm and by limiting the amount of horses that are bred we will then be compelled to look after
our horses because there isn't thousands on sale every year , isn't QUALITY better than Quantity ?

soodum Wrote:

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> Why donate horses to the horse care unit who keep
> begging for money?rather put them down
>
> respect to you frodo nothing personal


Why put down a perfectly healthy animal...:S

@SUPERSTAR:

'....by limiting the amount of horses that are bred '

With due respects, if the bottom line is profits for shareholders, to hell with the welfare/interests of the horse! Very few will admit to that as so many have their fingers in the pie (talk about the ANC and Juju!).

If we are all so concerned and mortified by the recurrent plight of 'retired horses', then we should petition Government (DTI, Gambling Boards, etc), to impose a levy on turnover (like the HRDF of days gone by), strictly to ensure that retired horses don't end up this way. Part of the levy can go towards Ondesterpoort, as it was funded previously.

Also, the levy could include operating costs for the NHRA to set it up apart from the RA, P, GC and others.

Since such action is a pipe-dream, we await the next chapter in this cantankerous 'shame of the Sport of Kings', since it does operate for a handful of commercial kings!