[Laurierace]

http://www.jockeyclub.com/mediaCenter.asp?story=608

This could literally save thousands of lives! So happy the Jockey Club finally saw the light.

[Linny]

For so long I have that the JC has been more interested in the bloodline than in the animals. It took a horse of Earl Mack's finding his way back to the track after being sold for breeding, so clearly the JC wasn't listening to you or I Laurie! Either way, it is a great move.

[lpcutter]

Wow, great news.

[danceronice]

This does pretty much eliminate the "I don't want to pass papers along" excuse, which is nice, and while it doesn't do much for the 'journeymen' geldings with limited off-track value (not flashy, don't have squeaky-clean x-rays, so fewer "show" buyers want them) it does mean a lot more people like me would consider mares (as I have no interest in any mare as anything other than a breeding animal, and no interest in a TB mare whose offspring can't be registered to race.)

[Laurierace]

It helps with all sorts of things but I personally am happy to know that retired from racing means retired from racing finally. I bet Sam P would have appreciated that to mean something.

[Acertainsmile]

Very good news and about time!

[FalseImpression]

Do you think many owners will do that kind of paperwork?
"To sell a horse as retired from racing, the owner must send a signed and notarized Sold as Retired from Racing form, a set of photographs of the horse, and the horse’s Certificate of Foal Registration to The Jockey Club within 60 days of the sale."
I hope so... but again, do we really need more breeding TBs? I realize that not everyone who wants the papers will breed, but...

[Laurierace]

Breeding is only one part of the equation and is irrelevant for much of the TB population ie geldings. But it does protect all of them from being retired from racing then ending back up at the track. I can't even tell you how many times I have seen that happen first hand. It rarely ended well for the horses.

[Linny]

Having legit papers on retired horses can have many benefits to non breeding animals. Most obvious is that they cannot be returned to the track, but it is easier for buyers of sport horses to spot trends in breeding. Boards like this have made people aware that Dance With Ravens and Lido Palace sire nice horses for sport/show but if you have no way to know that a TB you might be interested in (or trying to sell) carries desireable breeding you are out of luck.
Tatoos fade and blur and make tracking identity hard. Many non racing people are not familiar with pedigrees and even terminology. I hear people tell me all the time that a TB is "by Seattle Slew" when they mean he's from Slew's sireline. A horse's identity necomes like a game of telephone.
The rule doesn't fix everything but it gives some peace of mind to owners who really want to do the right thing by their stock but are not in a position to keep a horse for life.

[FalseImpression]

I get that and hope that owners will be willing to go through the notarized phase, etc.

[witherbee]

This is great news. I for one as an owner will follow through with the paperwork.

[Laurierace]

The ones who were likely to withhold papers out of fear of the horse ending up back on the track would be the ones most likely to follow through to insure the horse's safety. The ones who don't care what happens to the horse, they just want him gone most likely didn't care what happened to the papers either so they would not withhold them.

[CharingHounds]

YAYOO!!!
Thanks for sharing this Laurierace. It's never made sense to me that the Jockey Club would only offer the "sold without pedigree" part.

[merrygoround]

Good rule change.

[Calamber]

Nice idea but I really doubt that the majority of people associated with the horses that come at risk will go to that length to protect them. There must be an easier way to make that designation.