by Joe Nevills

The Pennsylvania Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association showed their commitment to retiring racehorses by providing funding to help launch the Retirement Assistance and Care for Equines (RACE) Fund.

Based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the fund supports nonprofit rescue farms that receive retired racehorses from Penn National Race Course, paying them a per diem amount to handle the expenses for each one in their care. Also covered in the fund is the cost of euthanasia when necessary, educational programs, and some administrative costs.
 
“The RACE Fund is so very proud of the Pennsylvania HBPA board of directors and its general membership for stepping up to the plate for the horses at Penn National, and we appreciate their support in helping to launch the program,” said RACE Fund President and co-founder Marlene Murray.
 
“The RACE Fund Inc. was created for the horses, and no recipient could be more deserving than these gallant creatures that are the essential fiber of the racing industry.”

Murray said the cost to feed a retired Thoroughbred could range between $1,800 and $2,300 per year. The fund will provide up to $5 a day per horse to participating farms.

“We’re hoping that people will choose a more positive alternative like this rather than send them to slaughter,” she said.

Most of the horses supported by the fund will be placed with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. However, some will be placed in smaller rescue farms in Pennsylvania and nearby states.

“This is a positive step in the right direction concerning the welfare of racehorses and providing a safety net for them after their racing careers have ended,” said Pennsylvania HBPA President Joe Santanna. “While many of our owners and trainers already provide private placement to retire their horses, the RACE Fund becomes yet another valuable resource available to honor the effort that our Thoroughbred racehorses make during their competitive career.”

While Santanna declined to disclose details of the Pennsylvania HBPA’s funding, he stressed the importance of the RACE Fund to retired racehorses and said a donation would become a regular part of the organization’s budget.

Joe Nevills is an editorial intern at Thoroughbred Times