Michael Owen Calls for 'Shared Responsibility' in Thoroughbred Aftercare

SAPPORO, Japan — “Wherever you are, the important thing is that aftercare is recognised as a shared responsibility for owners, breeders, participants and the authorities.”

So said Michael Owen, the keynote speaker at the eighth annual conference of the International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR). The words of the former England footballer underlined the message that has been at the forefront of IFAR since its inception in 2016 under the drive of the charitable wing of Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum's Godolphin operation. Its formation has brought about a more unified approach from racehorse retraining charities in different countries, including Britain's RoR, Treo Eile in Ireland, the American-based Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and France's Au-dela des Pistes.

During that time, the retraining movement in Japan has gained serious momentum, from being almost non-existent to this year's host nation now being one of the leaders in this field. In April 2024, Japanese racing launched the Thoroughbred Aftercare and Welfare (TAW) operation, which receives a mouthwatering level of funding–there is ¥1.7 billion (approximately €10m) in its budget for 2024–from the Japan Racing Association (JRA) and the National Association of Racing (NAR) to promote and assist the second careers of retired racehorses.

Owen, whose daughter Gemma is a dressage rider and patron of the World Horse Welfare charity, was not present in Sapporo but appeared via a video filmed at his Manor House Stables in Cheshire. He drew a parallel with his own early retirement from football at the age of 33 and the life of a Thoroughbred racehorse.

“In my football career I had to win the league, I had to win whatever trophy […] there was that motivation to win,” he said. “To be a star at the World Cup at 18, I knew no different, and to be a two-time Golden Boot winner in the Premier League by the time I was 19, that was just what I was living, and that all came very naturally to me.

“I suppose, to coin a racing phrase, I was that early 2-year-old, I was that classic 3-year-old that possibly didn't train on, maybe got an injury, a setback as a 3-year-old, and struggled to sustain the level, so dropped back from Group 1s to listed.”

Owen continued, “Any athlete has got to retire at some point, and normally it's at an early stage. And rather like people, every horse is different, and there are traits that the professionals will notice in a horse when we are deciding where to retire them, how to retire them, and what they should be doing afterwards.”

The owner-breeder employs 45 staff members, including trainer Hugo Palmer, and has 135 horses in training for various owners at his stable–a project he started 10 years before he stepped out of one sporting spotlight and into another.

“We take great pleasure and pride at Manor House in really making sure that our horses, once they have finished racing, the aftercare is spot on,” he added.

“We take it very seriously, and I feel that our owners demand that. One of the most frequently asked questions when someone comes to Manor House Stables is, 'What happens after their racing careers?' It definitely spikes peoples' conscience and we are only too pleased to give them the run down on what can happen.”

Prior to an afternoon conference with speakers from around the racing world, the morning session of the IFAR gathering was a field trip to Sapporo Racecourse to view at first hand the efforts being made in Japan to ensure useful secondary careers for those Thoroughbreds leaving racing.

“It has become increasingly important for the racing industry to properly address the issue of horse welfare,” said Masayoshi Yoshida, president and CEO of the JRA, in his opening address to the conference.

“Horse racing is an exciting and enjoyable sport with a very long history. I believe that addressing the issue of welfare and aftercare of racehorses is an unavoidable challenge that must be met to sustain the sport and sports betting worldwide.”

Around 16,000 former racehorses are used in approximately 700 riding clubs around Japan, where there is not the same level of sport horse breeding as in other nations. In fact, the majority of the 74,000 horses in Japan are Thoroughbreds.

The JRA itself owns more than 330 former racehorses for use in various roles, including 100 as 'ponies' or lead horses on race days across its 10 tracks. At the equestrian centre in a built-up area of Sapporo across the road from the racecourse, schoolchildren are taught to ride and learn the skills of horsemanship. It was here that the IFAR delegates were treated a dressage display by the former Grade 2 winners Decipher (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Cryptogram (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), each ridden by members of Japan's Tokyo 2020 Olympic dressage team, followed by a round of showjumping by Sahara Desert (Jpn) (Wild Rush). The latter, a three-time winner, had been ridden during his racing career by Christophe Lemaire, who spoke during the morning session, along with Hiroshi Kitamura.

“The racehorses deserve a second chance and I'm very glad to see horses showing different talents, either in dressage, jumping or as therapy horses,” said Lemaire.

His weighing-room colleague Kitamura added, “Trainers, owners, breeders and jockeys must share the responsibility. Jockeys [in Japan] help retired racehorse charities and also help to spread the message through social media.”

With the array of speakers during the afternoon including JRA director Dr Atsushi Kikuta, World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers, and Helena Flynn from the BHA's Horse Welfare Board, much of the discussion focused on steps that must still be taken by racing authorities in order for the sport to retain acceptance among the public–its oft-referred to 'social licence'.

It may be more usual to start at the beginning, but ahead of the three-day Asian Racing Conference, which starts on Wednesday, the focus in Sapporo was very much on the end of horse's racing career and what comes next. And it is clear that working backwards from that point to ensure proper funding for aftercare provision is the only way that horseracing can continue to move forward.