Four Trainers/One Owner Banned at Suffolk for Slaughter Policy

[DickHertz]

by Steve Myrick

Suffolk Downs has banned five people for violating the East Boston track’s zero-tolerance policy toward horse slaughter.

An owner and four licensed trainers were banished after track officials confirmed that five horses transported from the track in late October or early November were found in a kill pen at a livestock auction company in New Holland, Pennsylvania, several days later.

Racehorse retirement organizations say that horses sold at that auction often are purchased by agents from slaughterhouses.

According to several people familiar with the sequence of events, licensed trainer Pam Pompell approached several other trainers asking for horses who were candidates for retirement.

According to track officials, trainer Wayne Sargent Jr. turned over three horses to Pompell. They were Tiny Target, a three-year old that was winless in 14 career starts; Jimmy the Gov, a six-year old gelding that had been running in bottom-level claiming races; and Arrested Gatorgirl, a five-year old mare who won only two of 27 starts.

Pompell also acquired Tercia de Reinas from trainer Gerry LaFleur and Storm Up Front from trainer Tony D'Angelo. Both of those horses also were unsuccessful at the lowest claiming levels.

All three trainers said they accepted no money for the horses, and that Pompell told them she would send them to a children's camp or a therapeutic riding program, according to track officials.

Pompell then arranged transportation of the five horses to Chipaway Farm in Acushnet, Massachusetts, about an hour away from Suffolk Downs. Al Michelson, a licensed trainer who owned several horses trained by Pompell this past summer, said he drove the horses halfway to the farm, and turned them over to Dave Costa, the proprietor of the farm.

Pompell and Michelson said they accepted only reimbursement for fuel costs in exchange for the five horses. Both Pompell and Michelson say they had no idea the horses would wind up in a slaughter pen. They claim Costa told them the horses were intended for shipment to Florida to be retrained as polo ponies. Costa did not return a message left at the farm requesting comment.

On November 3, Suffolk Downs Vice President of Racing Sam Elliot confirmed the five horses were in a slaughter pen in New Holland. He made arrangements to purchase them, paying $2,700. According to track officials, the track split the cost and the shipping fees with the New England HBPA. The horses were sent to a Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation facility in Virginia, where they were quarantined because of exposure to other animals at the auction.

Chip Tuttle, chief operating officer for the track, said Suffolk Downs exercised its right to ban Pompell, Michelson, D'Angelo, LaFleur, and Sargent from the grounds.

“There are lots of different stories here and everyone has some plausible deniability, but what's the sense of having this policy if we're going to let people skirt around it,” Tuttle told THOROUGHBRED TIMES. “The bottom line is that these horses were endangered and en route to being slaughtered less than 48 hours after leaving here, and the people responsible for them have the responsibility to help us prevent that.”

In phone conversations with THOROUGHBRED TIMES, both Pompell and Michelson were defiant, insisting they did nothing wrong.

“Suffolk Downs could blow up as far as I care,” Pompell said. “Neither of us had any idea they were going there. I shouldn't be held responsible.”

She said she was not bothered by the banishment and that she never again would set foot on the grounds of Suffolk Downs.

“I'm out of the business,” she said. “I've lost all my horses. I've lost all my owners. They literally put me out of business.”

Michelson insisted he transported the horses as a favor to those involved.

“They came to us to get rid of them because they didn't want them,” Michelson said. “Suffolk Downs is looking to cause me trouble. I'll cause them more trouble than they've ever had. I'm not an amateur in the livestock business.”

While those involved say they were duped or deny the horses were ever intended for slaughter, many around the track have little doubt the trainers knew the fate that awaited the horses.

Lorita Lindeman is a licensed trainer who has been active in racehorse retirement issues for more than a decade. She is well known on the backstretch as the “go-to” person when a race horse needs a home.

“I think it's about irresponsibility,” said Lindeman. “They have the services and the people there to help them. So it's on them now. They should have questioned in their own minds who they gave the horses to.

“I don't think they intended the horses to go there. But they should have thought. The result is they ended up in a slaughter pen. There's no excuse. People know. This isn't new to everybody in the horse industry.”

Tuttle pointed out that the track supports several programs and events focusing on racehorse retirement, and that no horse had ever been turned away from the retirement organizations who work with the track.

[caffeinated]

Wow, they're really taking it seriously. I questioned how they were going to enforce this, I guess we know now.

[regret]

Good for Suffolk.

[Quinn]

Major kudos to Suffolk.

http://community.webshots.com/user/ballyduff

[Laurierace]

I do think its good that Suffolk is taking it seriously and not just paying lip service to the ban as I personally believe the race tracks who have followed suit are doing. That said, people lie like crazy. I know when I was first starting out in the business I sold a real cute horse to a guy who said he would put some training into him and then sell him for a childrens hunter. I didn't even know slaughter existed at that point. I later found out that guy was a known killer buyer and that set off my personal crusade of saving horses from slaughter and perhaps even more importantly, offering an alternative to the meat man. Its one thing to say you are a bad person and will be thrown out permanently if a horse in your care ends up in the kill pen. Its another thing altogether to say give your horses to us and you won't have to worry about anything bad happening to them. My guess is these people involved with the exception of the lying bitch would have gladly taken them up on their offer.

[MintHillFarm]

ALL tracks need to do this. Race tracks in this country should have the same policy/rules on horse slaughter, and replicate Finger Lakes in NY and place these horses out for adoption. F.L. has a web site and posts the horses that need a home. There should be a small percentage taken from purses and used for this purpose at all race tracks...I bought one out of a sale years ago that had run several weeks before, won and was still dumped for 700.00 to a dealer that was going to ship him to Canada, I offered him 50.00 more and took him home. Unbelievable. These "horseman" need to be held accountable. Kudos to those tracks and true TB horse people that are concerned with the welfare of these horses.

[jetandmegs4]

I'm really glad they're sticking to this. One of the horses I bought from Suffolk '06 the trainer said he'd sell to whoever came first (and said it was more likely to be a meat man!) Luckily i had the money, and just came back and bought him the next day. I was very nervous before I exchanged the money wondering if he'd end up at a slaughterhouse.

[AppJumpr08]

Every track needs a Sam Elliot and Lorita Lindeman.

:yes::yes::yes::yes:

[Blinkers On]

Absolutely fantastic!!

[Frog]

Call me crazy, or call me a (free market-loving meat-eater), but I just don't see how Suffolk Downs can or should have any jurisdiction over New Holland auction. So you just can't sell a horse at auction any more from the track? How can it be proven these horses were going to slaughter if they weren't at the slaughterhouse? And how much money is Suffolk Downs wasting hunting these people down? And are these horses, as they are right now, worth any more than what was paid for them at New Holland? Rules like this are ridiculous, and I feel sorry for a person that has to make money, has mouths to feed, and has lost the ability to do so because a track entity says you cannot sell your horse at auction for what he's worth.

[Barnfairy]

I don't think there's a shovel strong enough to dig away that much sand.

[maxxtrot]

frog- if they were at new holland, they were going to slaughter. i think what suffolk is doing is great. i buy a lot of tb's when their career's are over racing. have several i have put training on and resold as very nice hunter/jumper or event horses. i do not feel sorry for the meat man that can't pay his bills, sorry. find another line of work then.

[Frog]

[QUOTE=maxxtrot;3638242]frog- if they were at new holland, they were going to slaughter.QUOTE]

As I understand it, people from this very message board have purchased horses from New Holland and in fact did not eat them.

I just don't see how this is enforceable or beneficial to anyone.

[AppJumpr08]

Those trainers DID have other options. The TRF and CANTER are available at Suffolk, and I'd also wager that if those trainers had contacted the farm in Deerfield NH, David Sears would've taken them too.
I've taken 2 loads to the TRF in the last 2 weeks, and there are more slated to go. Those horses could've been on one of those rigs. Costa said he got $1500 for 5 horses. Was the $300 per horse really worth the ban when he could've done the right thing? I doubt it. I also doubt that the trainers made much, if any, money off of selling the 5 to Costa.

Besides, the last time I checked, people trying to do the right thing by transitioning OTTBs to a new job don't overnight them at an auction yard. :no:


At the end of the day, I realize this sport is a business for many, but just because it is a business doesn't mean you shouldn't do your utmost best to do right by the animals that make your business possible.

[Cherry]

What is enforceable (at this time) is that these trainers will not be allowed to practice their craft at this particular race track. If you race a horse there and know that this is one of their conditions (not sending a horse to New Holland) for racing a horse there then you are breaking that contract (real or implied) by getting rid of a horse and having it end up at New Holland. It's all about accountability now!

It used to be an easy thing to shuttle a horse off to NH but now that the dirty little secret has been exposed there are just too many "goody two shoes" rescue people (thank you, all you goody two shoes people, by the way :yes: :) :winkgrin: ) flipping lips, asking questions and chasing down the stories behind these horses on a real time basis! ;) Excuse them for trying to keep horses from being sold to slaughter simply because they have become an inconvenience and for trying to get these horses into loving homes instead.... :rolleyes:

I feel sorry for a person that has to make money....
So, who here--exactly--is the poor person who was kept from making money????
All three trainers said they accepted no money for the horses....
Huh????

Perhaps a trainer could plead ignorance if they had just fallen off the turnip truck but I sense all these trainers knew what was going on! :yes: I'm sure the track is just like every place else--if you want to get something done you know the people to go to.... Unfortunately they allowed the wrong person to sucker them in, and now they pay the price for it. This smacks of a "don't ask, don't tell" conspiracy to me....

I just don't see how this is...beneficial to anyone.
It is beneficial to the horses!

No one is stopping anyone from selling their TBs at legitimate Thoroughbred auctions, but they are trying to stop people from dumping TBs at the New Holland Sales Auction which is known all over the U.S. for being the largest horse auction east of the Mississippi, and an auction that meat dealers frequent. :(

In the past there were limited ways to dispose of a TB if it was injured or couldn't run fast enough. Today there are many, many groups who will take your horse and place it or keep it until it can be placed in a loving home. Some of those programs require a small donation but if you are a responsible person you will pony up the money. You are also free to sell the horse at a legitimate auction--it's all about choices. If you make the wrong one you just have to suffer the consequences.

[Eventer13]

Call me crazy, or call me a (free market-loving meat-eater), but I just don't see how Suffolk Downs can or should have any jurisdiction over New Holland auction. So you just can't sell a horse at auction any more from the track? How can it be proven these horses were going to slaughter if they weren't at the slaughterhouse? And how much money is Suffolk Downs wasting hunting these people down? And are these horses, as they are right now, worth any more than what was paid for them at New Holland? Rules like this are ridiculous, and I feel sorry for a person that has to make money, has mouths to feed, and has lost the ability to do so because a track entity says you cannot sell your horse at auction for what he's worth.

Hey, I'm a free market-loving meat-eater, too, but I think what SD is doing is GREAT. And, if this idea takes off at other tracks across the US, I do think it will help the public image of racing.

[kcmel]

Call me crazy, or call me a (free market-loving meat-eater), but I just don't see how Suffolk Downs can or should have any jurisdiction over New Holland auction. So you just can't sell a horse at auction any more from the track? How can it be proven these horses were going to slaughter if they weren't at the slaughterhouse? And how much money is Suffolk Downs wasting hunting these people down? And are these horses, as they are right now, worth any more than what was paid for them at New Holland? Rules like this are ridiculous, and I feel sorry for a person that has to make money, has mouths to feed, and has lost the ability to do so because a track entity says you cannot sell your horse at auction for what he's worth.

They were found in the "kill pen" at NH, which I think means that they weren't going through the auction but were already slated for slaughter. Perhaps somone more familiar with NH can elaborate.

[maxxtrot]

frog- it is a known fact all over that horses at new holland will be on that slaughter truck. and i do think they were found in the kill pens! that my dear would mean slaughter.


[quote=maxxtrot;3638242]frog- if they were at new holland, they were going to slaughter.QUOTE]
frog wrote-
As I understand it, people from this very message board have purchased horses from New Holland and in fact did not eat them.

[Acertainsmile]

I think it's great... it's all about accountability... you'd better make damned sure you know where your horses are going.

Good for Suffolk!

But still, I cant help wondering what will go on when a trainer or owner with a barn full of horses has one show up at New Holland? Hopefully I am wrong, but I do see where there might be a margin for forgiveness when it comes to the "bigger names".

[AppJumpr08]

Frog, read the account here: http://thoroughbredchampions.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=0c22cc5db71d5401df572d97c9c77f 1c&topic=30003.0 Doesn't leave much doubt... :no:

[caffeinated]

[quote=maxxtrot;3638242]frog- if they were at new holland, they were going to slaughter.QUOTE]

As I understand it, people from this very message board have purchased horses from New Holland and in fact did not eat them.

I just don't see how this is enforceable or beneficial to anyone.

That's one of the things I've been wondering about too. At this point in time going to New Holland isn't a guarantee of going to slaughter. I know a bunch of people who have bought horses there for personal horses (often at or even below the "kill" price). And then there are also rescues attending NH on an almost weekly basis.

Granted, them being in the kill pen does make a difference in this case, I think.

[maxxtrot]

now a lot of rescues and people do go to new holland. but not long ago, it was the place that the meat man did a lot of business. i am glad to hear that people are buying horses for personal use. thanks god. those race horses deserve more than death. they have worked hard all of their lives.

[ThisTooShallPass]

AppJumpr08, I posted that link earlier today & my post removed. :confused:

[AppJumpr08]

AppJumpr08, I posted that link earlier today & my post removed. :confused:

You posted it on the other thread, and I just snagged it to post here too :)

[ThisTooShallPass]

Oh! *embarassed*

Well, at least the story is getting out amongst ALL the threads! :)

[lolalola]

I read in another forum that trainers are sending their TBs to direct to slaughter holding farms, as well as using chemicals to make the tattoos unreadable. Very sad.

[Equilibrium]

I think this is a very admirable policy which most racetracks are adopting. And I think, at the moment, there are enough rescues to handle the horses, but will there always be enough?

And does this new policy allow you as trainer/owner to make the decision of putting one down with dignity? I ask this only because some horses are not adoptable for the general public. Some horses may require expensive upkeep treatments such as joint meds which not all could afford. I mean should rescues be filled with 5yo box walking, cribbing, 2 arthritic knees, has to be turned out on it's own, or can't be turned out at all type horses? It's a fact some of these don't come right despite the fairytale endings you all want. I think these should be put down with dignity leaving a space for a horse who has a chance of getting a decent home.

We hear of rescues having to then be rescued because funds have run dry or funds have been misspent leaving other hard working rescues filled to capacity or over filled. Are tracks going to start more rescues funded by racing?

What happens if a year down the line a horse from one of these tracks ends up in a kill pen? Then what happens to trainer and owner? Maybe they did all the could to get said horse a good home and still it didn't work out.

Look, I know most of you will come on here and just slam me away, and that's fine. And while I think it is a very good policy, I think it's a bit like the ban slaughter bill. Very good intentions but not well thought out. As in, now horses are shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter in more horrific conditions.

I am not in favor of slaughter, but I am in favor of quality of life over quantity of life. Ive said before anything I breed is welcome back to me at any stage and so far I have tabs on everything. I am able to deal with problems, as many of the rest of you are, that the general public may not be able to deal with. And I do believe if a horses problems are affecting his/her quality of life, I will put them down with dignity at home and know I saved them from a much more horrible fate if I gave them away for free. I consider this responsibilty.

Flame Suit On,

Terri

[Barnfairy]

The zero tolerance policy has been enacted to prevent Suffolk horses from going to slaughter; it was not intended to prevent a horse's connections from opting for humane euthanasia should the situation warrant.

Suffolk supports CANTER and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and continues to make financial contributions to both organizations.

[Equilibrium]

Thanks for clearing that up. And believe you me, I do think it's a very good policy and very much worth it.

Terri

[MintHillFarm]

They got what they deserved. They either knew what was going on; thought they were smarter or plain didn't care. Good for Suffolk! The trainer quoted below deserves to be out of business...
"Suffolk Downs could blow up as far as I care,” Pompell said. “Neither of us had any idea they were going there. I shouldn't be held responsible.”
She said she was not bothered by the banishment and that she never again would set foot on the grounds of Suffolk Downs.
“I'm out of the business,” she said. “I've lost all my horses. I've lost all my owners. They literally put me out of business.”

[texang73]

So very happy to see that Suffolk is backing up what they say. Good for them! I wish all tracks would do this.

[Summit Springs Farm]

Finally someone doing the right thing!

Good for Suffolk!!

[Badger]

Really impressed with Suffolk's follow-through on this. Great policy and I hope we find, in several years down the road, that it has been truly effective and that their program is the flagship but no longer an excetion to how tracks opperate.

[Saskatoonian]

I'm really pleased about this policy, but have to play a little devil's advocate here, because I'm not sure that it offers any protection for the well intentioned trainer who really does try to do the right thing, and what happens then?

Take me as an example. I bought a horse from Suffolk last year. Went down, looked at a bunch, talked to lots of trainers, grooms, everyone I met. Ok, there was one I tried to avoid. ;) Anyway, ended up buying a horse as an event prospect, from a trainer who'd had him since he was a yearling, obviously cared a lot about him, etc. Bought him, drove down, picked him up, brought him home.

What did that trainer know about me? Nothing. He had no idea what I'd do with the horse, and certainly no control over it. And guess what? The horse didn't work out, and I needed to find him a new spot 4 months later. Should the trainer have been banned from Suffolk based on my decision to send him down the road?

It never came to that because he and I both cared about the horse and worked something out, but what if the stars hadn't aligned? That trainer tried his best to do the right thing - what if I hadn't had the nerve to call him and tell him it wasn't working out, or hadn't had the money to put him on a van and send him south, or - better yet - hadn't known that sending him to the area dealer would probably not be the right thing for him?

The policy is a little tricky if you play it out that way. I'm just not sure how that works. I'm not saying that there are some who shouldn't be hung out to dry, and I know nothing about the people named in the article, but I guess I'm not so quick to judge.

[Barnfairy]

Ssktnn: There is a distinct difference between casting off a horse and rehoming/selling in earnest.

People's reputations tend to preceed them. I do think that's a factor which would be taken into consideration should a horse, after having been legitimately sold/given away to a private home, turn up some time later in the kill pen. Keep in mind the five Suffolk horses rescued from New Holland last week ended up there just a few days after leaving the track, and prior to that no attempt had been made to place these horses in retirement with the TRF or through CANTER's adoption program.

This banning sends out an important message loud and clear: ignorance is not an excuse.

The policy is not infallible. There are gray areas. At the same time, trainers and owners who ultimately don't care where their horses end up also have the option of not returning to Suffolk next year.

[USAGPJumper]

Suffolk will continue to need the assistance of vigilant horsemen in order to intercede as it did in this case. And let's be realistic, the policy cannot be intended to follow the horses for the rest of their lives. It is clearly intended to inspire the trainers to not transfer horses to dealers and transporters that would put a horse's life at risk.

[MintHillFarm]

It is a horrific end for these horses that go to slaughter, and what does it say about the racing industry in general if they look the other way and horses continue going for slaughter? The business of racing needs to be involved with TB trainers and owners who try to get rid of horses in this manner. It is not good for racing.

[Glimmerglass]

It is a horrific end for these horses that go to slaughter, and what does it say about the racing industry in general if they look the other way and horses continue going for slaughter? The business of racing needs to be involved with TB trainers and owners who try to get rid of horses in this manner. It is not good for racing.

Many tracks have for some time worked with people and organizations to ensure horses are not ending up a rendering plant simply because they couldn't go the first 1/4 mi in under 0:25. The NSA route has been pitched as a second chance in steeplechasing for those horses who perhaps never cared for running on the dirt.

That said the sport/business as a whole will always have some folks who are without morals, without remorse and will do the wrong thing because it’s cheap and easy.

The same is true in every walk of life. There are some scammers and cheaters on Wall Street and also on the beloved 'Main Street' too with cooked little business people. Teachers who embezzle, official who take bribes, and so forth.

As Barnfairy said nothing is foolproof and clearly if someone is bound and determined to move a horse off any track in the US - be it Saratoga or Zia Park - to eventually sell the horse for meat in Canada it will happen. The industry can only do so much to keep a deliberate and professed ignorant owner/trainer off track grounds.

The best steps are to ensure clear rules are known by all, proper vigilance to ensure a defined code of conduct is adhered too and constant education to eradicate the "I didn't know that was an option" response after the fact.

[Barbara L.]

Suffolk, Philadelphia Park, the Maryland tracks, etc. -- all who forbid horses going to slaughter -- have to also start at the base of the problem and continue to work on medication rules, track surfaces, continual tapping of joints, shock wave therapy overuse, better breeding, etc. or else we just become dropping off places for horses that have been used too much.
When some trainers know there is an outlet, like ours at Pha, or from the other organizations, it is all too easy to move one wrung out horse to caring non-profits, and move another horse into his now empty stall.
Unfortunately, it will be a slow change, but I think the proceeds from The Jockey Club's new registration check off idea could help if the money were to be used at both ends of the problem. Just finding homes for "unwanted horses" will create more unwanted horses because we are all out there saving them and NOT enforcing policies to stop the huge numbers and encouraging trainers and owners to be responsible.

[solargal]

They are posting fliers at Hoosier Park that any owner/trainer caught sending a horse to slaughter will not be allowed stalls. The sign did not say they couldn't still ship in though, so I don't know if they would still be allowed to race.