Racehorse Sanctuary News

30th November 2006

CHANGING TIMES

With the sad loss recently of Desert Orchid who has to be classed as one of racing’s all time greats along with Best Mate and Persian Punch it makes one aware that racing’s superstars will soon be nothing but memories as opposed to household names that the public can stand alongside and admire. The likes of Hello Dandy and Deanos Beano are still out there promoting the sport and thank goodness Moorcroft Boy is here with us hopefully for a few more years to come. However, it does open my eyes to the fact that so many horses almost on a daily basis are simply expendable to both the sport and the individual horse’s followers without any form of recognition for their efforts throughout their lives.

How often do we stop and think about the horse that month in and month out keeps plugging away around Fakenham or Plumpton in the £1800 handicap chases to finish well down the field but never the less exhausted and sore until their next time out. It could be said that without these horses that provide the bread and butter of the sport the superstars wouldn’t exist as they would be unable to prove themselves to be the best yet they receive no recognition for their input in any respect. Whilst I’m not living in cloud cuckoo land and appreciate that there are far to many to allow us to give them a grand send off when they retire from racing I do feel that we at least owe them the respect of monitoring their progress throughout their careers and ensuring during that period that their generosity isn’t abused and recognising the fact that having given their all they are retired with some dignity, perhaps a list published weekly in the Racing Post simply naming those horses that have been retired from the sport.

If this step were to be taken then the next step would be to make it compulsory that as and when the owner of a racehorse makes the decision to retire him or her the passport should be returned to Wetherby’s immediately and stamped whereby this horse would not be allowed to be entered in any race under rules again hence safeguarding its future. Unfortunately for those horses who’s owners are not concerned as to their future many horses that quite obviously are not going to make the grade as a racehorse will still end up going under the hammer at the sales ring for a few hundred pounds to the small trainer who believes he is the one who can squeeze a little more blood out of the stone and turn things around. Could the answer to this problem be raising the minimum bid which would also counteract the dreaded meat man?
Food for thought.