Industry attitudes anger racehorses charity
A Canterbury charity that re-homes harness racehorses has spoken out against harmful practices in the industry, and says organisations taking care of animals down the track could use more support.
Stable to Stirrup rehabilitates and retrains standardbred racehorses from its site in Swannanoa for new careers as riding horses.
Canterbury’s harness racing industry has been blighted by doping and race fixing incidents in recent years, starting with the Operation Inca investigation in 2017, which initially involved 17 properties being raided and 10 people being arrested.
In February, Racing Integrity Unit investigators raided trainer Jesse Alford’s stables at Woodend Beach, where they found equipment used for tubing – an illegal process that allows a chemical solution to be administered to improve a horse’s stamina.
Alford admitted injecting formalin into two horses, which were then stood down from racing.
One of the horses, 5-year-old trotter Jimmy Cannon, was listed as dead on the Harness Racing New
Zealand (HRNZ) website last month. The other horse has since been cleared to race again.
Stable to Stirrup chairman Carl Markham, who also breeds standardbred racehorses, said most in the industry cared a lot about their animals.
‘‘People think we make all this money from the horses, then we dump them, and they get shot. But there are people [like the trust] who do care, and who will give them that second chance.’’
Markham did not have a lot of time for trainers who drugged their horses.
‘‘It’s just greed. Their horses usually wouldn’t win without
cheating, so it’s unfair for all the others who aren’t willing to compromise on ethics.’’
Offenders should get a life ban from the sport, ‘‘plain and simple’’.
Rebecca Nairn, one of the trust’s trainers, said doping could have a lasting impact.
‘‘The drugs will mostly pass through their system, but mental scars remain from being pushed past their limits.’’
She said this could leave them with physical injuries too, and breeders and owners had an ethical responsibility to the animals they brought into the world.
‘‘There’s a thought process, where people decide to breed a racehorse. Only 1 per cent of racehorses make any money, [so] you need to account for the 99 per cent.’’
Markham said it would be ideal if HRNZ could charge a $10 levy when breeders register horses, with the money going towards retraining and re-homing standardbreds after racing.
The trust has a comprehensive rehoming process, but it is not cheap. Each horse is assessed for anything that could stop it becoming a riding horse before they take it on. They house only six horses at once, which stay a minimum of two months.
Prospective owners then have to apply for a horse, so a perfect match can be made, and Stable to Stirrup has a right of return clause in case the home does not work out. The whole process costs about $2500 per animal.
‘‘We’re approached all the time by people wanting us to take in horses, but sadly we have a massive waitlist,’’ Markham said.
He said more financial support, including donations from owners sending a horse, was vital to continue their operation.
‘‘At the end of the day we all want the same thing, to see these horses succeed. The nature of these wonderful animals, they’ll give you their hearts on a plate . . . They’re great horses.’’