NEWS
Recent rescues raise culpability issues for racetracks, owners, horsemen
Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 2:55 PM
MORINE'S VICTORY
Jill Marshall photo
by Teresa Genaro
The New York Racing Association enacted an anti-slaughter policy in December 2009 stating that any owner or trainer stabled at one of its three tracks found to have directly or indirectly sold a horse for slaughter would have his or her stalls permanently revoked from all NYRA tracks.
Last summer, following an investigation into a horse trained by John Campo that had been discovered at the Camelot horse auction in Cranbury, New Jersey, and that was nearly shipped to a slaughterhouse, NYRA changed the wording of its policy from “directly or indirectly” to “knowingly” selling a horse for slaughter. Campo’s brother is NYRA Racing Secretary P. J. Campo.
That policy was recently put to the test when two horses last trained by Neal Terracciano and owned by Edkat Stables—Morine’s Victory and B B Frank—were rescued from the Camelot auction.
Informed that Morine’s Victory, who had last raced in January at Aqueduct, was rescued from potential slaughter in April, NYRA conducted an internal investigation but was unable to determine who had brought Morine’s Victory to the Camelot auction, so took no action against either Terracciano or Edkat Stables.
But then last month a second Terracciano/Edkat horse, B B Frank, was discovered at Camelot. This time, however, a NYRA investigation deemed the owner responsible.
“As part of our anti-slaughter policy,” reads the statement, “we require our horsemen to conduct due diligence before selling or giving away any of their horses. During our investigation into the situation concerning Morine’s Victory and B B Frank, we were not satisfied that owner Edkat Stables did, in fact, conduct the proper due diligence. Until Edkat Stables does prove that the proper due diligence occurred, we are denying them the right to have stalls at any of our racetracks.”
Terracciano maintains his stalls because NYRA felt he had done his due diligence in finding a home for Morine’s Victory and B B Frank. The punishment is punitive for Edkat, as it has raced exclusively at NYRA tracks going back to 2009.
At his Belmont barn, Terracciano said that he was “disgusted” at what had happened to the horses and explained how they had come to leave his barn this past winter.
Morine’s Victory last raced on January 16, finishing fourth, and Terracciano had decided to retire him. B B Frank was claimed on December 30, 2010, by Terracciano for EdKat and suffered an injury before ever racing for his new connections, and, according to the trainer, needed some time off before coming back to the track.
Terracciano said that Edkat Stables had not paid its training bills for several months. As far as could be determined, Edkat Stables is the name under which Kathryn D’Agostino races her horses, but Terracciano indicated that it was her father with whom he dealt and who paid the bills, and who had asked the trainer to find a “cheap home” for the horses.
After informing NYRA steward Braulio Baeza, Jr., about the delinquent payments, Terracciano consulted with a local veterinarian, who suggested Freedom Reins Stable on Long Island as a possible home for the two horses. Both the veterinarian and Baeza, Jr. confirmed these conversations.
Terracciano arranged with D’Agostino’s father for the horses to be transported to Freedom Reins, owned by Dana Manker. Terracciano said that D’Agostino’s father visited the horses at Freedom Reins, but when the stable neglected to pay the farm bills, he told Manker to “do what she wanted” with the horses, according to Terracciano.
Attempts to reach Edkat Stables for confirmation were unsuccessful, and Manker did not respond to a message requesting comment.
How Morine’s Victory and B B Frank ended up at auction remains unclear. NYRA reported that Manker said that she had passed the horses on to someone else, but NYRA was unable to reach that person. Monica Carper, who owns and runs the Camelot auction with her husband Frank, declined to disclose the names of the consigners of the two horses, citing the company’s confidentiality policy.
“If I’d have known that they’d end up there,” said Terracciano, “I would have taken them back here. I’ve been doing this 20 years, and Morine's Victory was like my pet. I had him for two years, and I feel really bad.
“But when you have horses and you get stuck for $2500 a horse in training fees every month, you’re in between a rock and a hard place.”
Terracciano asserts that his intention all along was to find a good home for the horses and found it challenging, particularly without the support of the owners.
“We do spend money,” he said, referring to the donations that New York horsemen make to Thoroughbred retirement through NYRA and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s’ Association. “But when you want to put a horse into rescue or retirement, no one accommodates you.”
Morine’s Victory is currently living at Jill Marshall’s Blue Ridge Lane Farm in Boston, Virginia; Marshall adopted him after seeing him on Camelot’s website.
“Someone had posted on Facebook about him,” she said. “He was in a kill pen for $300. I needed another horse like I need a hole in the head, but as soon as I saw him, I knew I was getting him.
“I had no idea who he was; I looked up his tattoo on Equineline, and I realized that he was a hell of a racehorse.”
Morine’s Victory, a 10-year-old Victory Gallop gelding, raced for nine years, winning 21 of 78 starts, placing an additional 20 times, and earning $598,781.
B B Frank is a six-year-old Came Home gelding who won seven of 26 starts and earned $188,560. He began his career with owner Robert LaPenta and Racing Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito before Amy Tarrant’s Hardacre Farm claimed him for $62,500 out of a maiden race in which he won. The 2008 Triple Crown nominee finished last of 12 to eventual dual classic winner and champion Big Brown in the Florida Derby (G1) that year before returning to the claiming ranks.
Monica Coville of Cooperstown, New York, adopted B B Frank and said that the gelding’s injury requires surgery or he will need to be euthanized. Several donors have volunteered to help pay for the cost of the operation.
B B FRANK following his rescue
READER COMMENTS
|
|
|
Posted by: Jill, Culpeper, VA on June 27, 2011 at 11:50 AM
As the owner's of Morine's Victory here at Blue Ridge Lane Farm in Virginia. We would like to thank everyone for thier care & concern.
A very special THANK YOU, to Teresa & Thoroughbred Times for this wonderful article, shedding light on the uncertain lives that these amazing animals face after giving thier
all. Thank you to the NYRA for taking action. We all have a long way to go, but this is a step in the right direction.
Victory is learning to be a "real horse", he spends his days out in a field, with grass that reaches his belly, hanging out with a herd of other rescues that were thrown away, because they were to slow, or took a bad step.
Like the wonderful BB Frank, Victory has a VERY bad ankle, his X-rays can be seen on his facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1219717115#!/pages/Morines-Victory-Rescued-from-Slaughter/152700261462807
He has calcifications from an old distal cannon bone fracture with Moderate to severe arthritis. Everytime he steps it sounds like snapping a cap on a marker.
I know there is something that we can do for him, he is only 10 years old. If you would like to find out more about Victory please feel free to visit his page on our website:
www.blueridgelane.com, or you can e-mail us at blueridgelane@yahoo.com. Again, thank you to everyone, and always remember every horse rescued makes a difference.
Sincerely,
Jill Marshall
Report Abuse 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Jenn Lake, Newtown, PA on June 25, 2011 at 10:49 PM
My name is Jennifer stisted Lake. My husband is Scott. A. Lake. I am very good friends withAnthony Dutrows wife Kim. When we heard that Morine's Victory had been retired. We tried very hard to get hold of him.. He has made both all of us money. And would have gladly given him a good life on a farm.. He's a special horse..
No one ever contacted us back.. We were told that he was at a very nice farm being welll taken care of.
I sincerely hope "Kathryn & her father pay a heafty price for what they did! I am at a loss for words for what they did to that horse" I would love to see him. Or help out any way I can..
Report Abuse
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Dottie, Sunshine Ranches, FL on June 25, 2011 at 12:35 AM
I agree with Terry of NJ ~ the Thoroughbred racing industry is what causes much of the heartaches involved with racing horses at such an early age ~ I have never believed in 2 yrs old races ~ they are still growing and their bones are very fragile ~ racing should begin at end of third year or later depending on the horse ~ naturally a January foal has an advantage over a June foal ~ five months makes a huge difference in the developement of the horse ~ not sure if gender plays a part or not ~ fillies sometimes can be more delicate than a colt ~ I honest believe that the Triple Crown races should be for 4 yr olds NOT 3 yr olds
~ that's WHY we haven't had a Triple Crown Winner in 33 years !!! It is way tooooooo demanding of a campaign for today's 3yr olds ~ plus they need to have at least three weeks spacing between each race ~ Derby to Preakness is only two weeks with a five week total !!!
Report Abuse
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Sharla , Arcadia, CA on June 23, 2011 at 01:26 PM
As the purchaser of BB Frank from the auction lot, The Second Race, is happy to hear that a spotlight is being placed once again on the subject of what needs to be done responsibly with an ex-race horse once their racing career is over. We are thankful to Monica for taking BB Frank in and wish him well with his upcoming surgery and know that he is in good hands.
Sharla Sanders, Founder
The Second Race
www.thesecondrace.com
Report Abuse
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by: Cindy, Vincennes, IN on June 22, 2011 at 11:24 PM
I wish I could help with BB Frank and many, many others. I bought two TB's off the track in late 2009 and one has a chip in the knee that fused over, except when the farrier trims or she is overly active is then lame, but comes out of it I think because she usually doesn't hype-extend her leg as a farrier might, but she comes up lame for 1-3 weeks. During this time, I use heat/ice therapy, liniment, extra supplements and stall rest with hand walking. I give my horses my all and wish I had the space to take on more. Maybe in a couple years I can.
As for the industry itself-these creatures MUST be cared for during AND after racing or the whole thing needs to shut down!
If you owned a resturant and it had rats-you'd take care of the problem, or you'd shut down. SAME for the horses! Take care of them or shut down! I hear all the time "what is this world coming to". Hello!!! It's not the world-it's the people!! It's our fault that people get away with crimes again and again; our fault that animals are abused and neglected-they don't do it to themselves! It's our fault who is in athority, in county, state, and country. Everything that is bad is OUR FAULT because we do not stand up and take the responsibility! I could've bought trained horses in whatever disipline I wanted but I chose OTTB's BECAUSE I love the TB's and love to see them run and want to support those horses in anyway I can.
Report Abuse
|
|
|
|
|
|
