animal welfare

Two animal wellness groups condemned the Louisiana State Racing Commission for passing an "emergency rule" going into effect June 8 which loosen medication rules at Louisiana tracks, according to a press release from Animal Wellness Action and Center for a Humane Economy. "It's no surprise, since Louisiana has refused to join the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control program (HISA), which is a federal racing authority working to establish national medication rules that will eliminate race-day doping of horses and establish other reasonable horse-safety standards," says the...

The California Horse Racing Board is working with The Jockey Club's InCompass Solutions to create an automated system that will correlate official workouts at California racetracks and training facilities with confidential veterinary submissions for the purpose of verifying compliance with CHRB Rule 1878. Rule 1878 states in part that "a horse shall not be permitted to workout (unless) the horse has been examined by the trainer's attending veterinarian during the 72 hours immediately preceding the workout for the express purpose of evaluating the horse's fitness to work out." Furthermore, "The...

It's been another devastating month for horse racing. Even the most hardened racetrackers needed a few minutes to gather themselves when Maple Leaf Mel, steps away from a first Grade I, broke down in the Test at Saratoga on the Whitney undercard. It was a similar story on Saturday when the unbeaten New York Thunder, seemingly on his way to a spectacular victory in the GI H. Allen Jerkens, went down in mid-stretch and, in front of a crowd of 48,292, was humanely euthanized. It was the second fatality on...

As the legal saga that is HISA continues to be bantered around the courts horse racing fans have heard some common themes develop from those in support of and in opposition of the legislation and regulations. Those in opposition have raised many points they have repeated used as arguments for what is wrong with the entire idea and process. One of the themes that has been made as part of every opposition argument is that there is a better way to go about this, and a better set of uniform...

Breeder and vet Dr. Jerry Bilinski and trainer Gary Contessa, along with their wives Darlene Bilinski and Jennifer Contessa, have founded the I Think I Love You Animal Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit formed to serve the welfare of animals in memory of David Cassidy. The David Cassidy Memorial Legacy Group provided some minor assistance with this project. The goals is to help animals in need everywhere through the support of Cassidy's friends and fans. Cassidy was a lifelong animal lover and often donated to animal welfare groups, including those that...