Secretariats half Brother
 

Hope this is not allready posted and I missed it, a very nice story with a happy ending
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...702110375/1003

What a nice story! Thanks for posting that... thank heavens he was rescued.

Found more on the old boy there are some great pictures also.I can't get over how great the looks for his age after all he has been through. Such a happy ending for him
http://www.secretariat.com/brother.html

he looks incredible for his age...wow.
and a good story too...it's nice when there is a happy ending.

Yes, he most certainly does! It's nice to see horses like him. :)

Great piece by Greg Hall.. Here's a link to Straight Flush's Pedigree Query page.. There's a close up photo too...

http://www.pedigreequery.com/straight+flush

Interesting stat in the article.. 570 rescue facilities in U.S. with capacity for 6,000 horses.. Now, the TB industry is breeding 30,000 a year, and half make the track. Where are all these horses going that don't make it to the track? Besides those in the breeding shed, how many retire annually and where are they going?

Is it time for the industry to begin capping the amount of TB's that can be bred annually if there are no provisions for the aftercare of these horses? Is ANYONE taking any responsibility for the overflow of horses being produced?

And if The Jockey Club's 'principle concern' is the protection and flourishing of the breed, where are they in the equation? From TJC's website:

The Jockey Club is dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing and it maintains a leadership role in numerous industry initiatives, including the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA).

As it happens, TJC's REAL principle concern seems to be profit they can drive from their data and registration systems. Go to their website and TRY to find any connection they have to a rescue or aftercare provision policy. You'll find a list of TJC's 'family' of companies though... Equibase.. Equineline.. TrackMaster.. They do have the Grayson Foundation, but even that good group is more of a research grant giver concerned with horse health.

If TJC wants to improve the breed, they should act to create a qualifier of some kind to limit the number of thoroughbreds produced annually with an attempt to try and guarantee the WORTHINESS of the horses being bred.

actually the foal crop each year is closer to 35,000...and an estimated 9,000 thoroughtbreds pass through the slaughterhouse each year which means that while they make up only about 10% of the volume of horses slaughtered each year, it is actually almost 25% of an annual foal crop.