The sport of horseracing has been a part of American culture for hundreds of years, and everyone who sees a Thoroughbred horse is somehow touched by the breed.  

 

These horses are bred to run. They know when it’s race day, when it’s time to go out to compete.  Some become household names—Man O’War, Seabiscuit, War Admiral, Secretariat, American Pharoah—and their bloodlines live on in horses racing today.  

 

The Georgia Horse Racing Coalition, many of whose members are Thoroughbred owners themselves, is dedicated to protecting this heritage and the horses that make it possible. The Coalition supports the following:

 

Track Safety and Integrity
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Safety & Integrity Alliance is one of the Thoroughbred industry’s key mechanisms for implementation of important safety and integrity initiatives on a uniform basis nationwide. 

 

The Alliance’s Code lists all standards with which accredited racing facilities must comply, and any track built in Georgia would meet these standards of safety for horses and jockeys.  Each year’s Code contains new standards and protocols, thereby continuously raising the bar for accreditation, compliance and excellence in racing.

 

Horseracing Medication

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium: Striving to develop and promote uniform rules, policies and testing standards at the national level; coordinate research and educational programs that seek to ensure the integrity of racing and the health and welfare of racehorses and participants; and protect the interests of the racing public.

The Coalition for Horseracing Integrity, made up of stakeholders from inside and outside the Thoroughbred industry who are acting in the best long-term interest of the sport, support the Thoroughbred Horseracing Integrity Act of 2015.

 

This legislation before Congress would encourage the adoption of a national, uniform standard for drugs and medication in American Thoroughbred racing, and the granting of rule-making, testing and enforcement oversight to an entity created by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.  In a sport built on the integrity of competition, nothing is more important than a level playing field for the horses, jockeys and trainers who compete, as well as the fans who wager on the races.

 

Race Horse Retirement
While there are many retirement farms for racehorses, the Georgia Horse Racing Coalition is affiliated with Old Friends, the non-profit Thoroughbred retirement center.  Old Friends now cares for more than 150 horses at facilities in three states whose racing and breeding careers came to an end. A “living history museum of horse racing,” the Georgetown, KY, farm attracts 20,000 tourists annually.

 

Second Careers for Race Horses
Thoroughbreds whose racing careers are over often go on to achieve success in other equine sports such as eventing, hunter/jumpers, dressage, barrel racing and other disciplines. 

 

Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance a 5010(c) (3) non-profit organization, accredits, inspects and awards grants to approved aftercare organizations to retire, retrain and rehome Thoroughbreds using industry-wide funding.

Funded initially by seed money from Breeders’ Cup Ltd., The Jockey Club, and Keeneland Association, Inc., the TAA is supported by owners, trainers, breeders, racetracks, aftercare professionals and other industry groups.

 

Thoroughbred Charities of America raises and distributes money to charitable organizations in Thoroughbred retirement, retraining and rehoming; research; backstretch and farm employee programs; and therapeutic riding programs.  Its mission is to provide a better life for Thoroughbreds, both during and after their racing careers, by supporting qualified repurposing and retirement organizations and by helping the people who care for them.

 

The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program: To encourage the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers in racing or breeding, T.I.P. offers sponsorship for Thoroughbred-only classes and divisions, high point Thoroughbred awards at open horse shows and competitions, a Thoroughbred of the Year Award and a Young Rider of the Year Award.