SRF announces “A Solution Effort”

Cream Ridge, NJ – October 2, 2021 – There are many inhumane issues the horses of harness racing face and have been for decades. One is the lack of a humane outlet for them when no longer profitable. What they face next is slaughter, or grueling work in the rural areas where machinery is not permitted, the Amish and Mennonite communities, and then slaughter.

The Standardbred Retirement Foundation, (SRF) sees firsthand the conditions of these animals as it annually diverts between 600-800 trotters and pacers from the slaughter line to safety, most coming from these rural areas. They are emaciated, sick, sore, lame, and suffer from chronic and acute injuries.

Racing organizations in the position to address these issues have been asked for three decades to give attention to the plight of these trotters and pacers, but they continue to turn a blind eye. Trying to find solutions, SRF is implementing a test program, a spin-off of an effort made by Ellen Harvey and Karin Karlsson.

The program will enter into these rural communities to provide workshops and useful information on proper care. It will address feeding and nutrition; adequate water intake; dental care; correct hoof care; road use limitation; proper fitting of tack; veterinary care; diseases and much more.

Three of SRF’s Board members along with racehorse owners initiated this effort.

The state of Pennsylvania was chosen for the pilot program in February 2022.

It’s a great first step toward a solution. It was expected that the formation of the Standardbred Transition Alliance (STA), prompted and steered by directors of the United States Trotting Association (USTA), would address the vile ongoing situation that SRF has pleaded with them to attend to for 32 years.

Instead, stakeholders in racing, breeding, sales, and racing businesses were appointed, and slaughter still has not been addressed. The STA will not accredit organizations helping Standardbreds in these dire situations, facing slaughter, and it is one of the greatest needs in racing today.

From the Standardbred Retirement Foundation