IFAR Webinar Focuses on Traceability of Racehorses
Image:
Description:
The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses continued its 2021 virtual series April 13 with presentations on aftercare perspectives from racing administrators and regulators representing Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This session is the second in a series of four webinars that comprise the 2021 IFAR Conference.
Tuesday's session was moderated by Australia-based broadcaster Caroline Searcy, and the panelist group consisted of Aidan Butler, COO of 1/ST Racing and president of 1/ST Content (U.S.); Martin Burns, general manager of Welfare & Sustainability at New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing; Simon Cooper, director of Weatherbys' General Stud Book (UK); and Dr. Anna Smet, animal welfare manager of Racing and Wagering Western Australia.
All four speakers discussed the traceability measures that their organizations use or have developed to keep track of racehorses throughout their lives. Additionally, they suggested that having a dedicated individual or resource to contact through an administrative or regulatory body was an instrumental part of driving change toward prioritizing aftercare.
Butler talked about the efforts of 1/ST Racing to track horses at its racing facilities and to coordinate with accredited aftercare organizations to place horses that need homes. 1/ST operates Gulfstream Park, Golden Gate Fields, Santa Anita Park, and Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park under the umbrella of the Maryland Jockey Club. All of 1/ST's racing sites have a full-time Thoroughbred placement liaison who is accessible to horsemen 24/7.
"It is fundamentally important to aftercare to know where horses are going when they have left the racetrack," Butler said.
Butler also remarked that "things have changed" for the positive in terms of how the Thoroughbred industry considers aftercare and "elongating our duty of care to the horse."
Burns discussed the aftercare landscape in New Zealand and the increased investment in traceability measures in that jurisdiction, where the "culture of compliance" on the importance of submitting this data is developing. He also emphasized how effective aftercare practices, including stories of post-racing successes, are part of the strategy of repelling anti-racing sentiment.
"Communications must convey accountability and responsibility," Burns said. "Robust data is important but not everything. Anecdotal stories are compelling. … We must be able to convey information that ensures ongoing public trust in racing."
Cooper lauded the benefits of the Weatherbys e-passport over paper documentation, which he described as the key barrier to effective traceability. The digital passport enables immediate documentation of major events in a horse's life, from an owner change and traveling to notification of retirement and vaccinations. Cooper believes documenting these events in a horse's life should be mandatory and be submitted to a horse's records within a certain time frame of their occurrence.
"Education and communication is an incredibly important part of this," he said.
Smet described the racehorse welfare plan established by RWWA in 2019, which has resulted in the creation of the Off-the-Track WA Retraining Program and a digital passport to track horses. The goal of the retraining program is to complement established pathways for rehoming post-racing and to provide an alternate option for horses that are not selected by retrainers or sold/gifted easily, such as those in remote locations.
"At the end of the day, the horses are really the champions of the sport," said Smet. "It's really important that we're doing everything we can to set them up for success after racing."
The third session of the 2021 IFAR is scheduled for April 20 at 12 p.m. GMT (1 p.m. in the UK) and titled, "Global Insights on Aftercare (Aftercare Providers, Equine Charities)." All sessions are free, but registration is required. Those who attend each session live will be able to ask questions to presenters.
Moderated by Donna Brothers, who is part of the horse racing coverage team for NBC Sports in the U.S., panelists will include Stacie Clark, operations consultant for the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (U.S.); Lisa Coffey, founder and director of Racing Hearts (Australia); John Osborne, director of Equine Welfare and Bloodstock for Horse Racing Ireland; Dr. Ignacio Pavlovsky, veterinarian, owner, and breeder (Argentina); and Kristin Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and administrator of the Thoroughbred Incentive Program (U.S.).