The TAA Prepares For A New Decade in Thoroughbred Aftercare

Since its inception in 2012, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), has awarded more than $17.2 million in grants to accredited aftercare organizations. These groups are registered 501(c)3 organizations that have applied for and have been accredited by the TAA. In 2019, the TAA gave 40 organizations certification, including 32 that were applying for re-accreditation and eight that received the badge for the first time. The TAA is the only accrediting body focused solely on Thoroughbred aftercare. They have a network of 74 accredited organizations with approximately 160 facilities in North America. The organization has a staff of seven and a volunteer board of 23 members.

We caught up with TAA Operations Consultant Stacie Clark Rogers for an update on where the accredited and funding body finds itself at the start of 2020.

DP: In closing out the decade, do any of the aftercare milestones that TAA has reached stand out among the others?

SR: Yes, increased awareness is one of the most important achievements in our history. This is best illustrated in the fact that two of the biggest events in horse racing, the Breeders' Cup and [GI] Pegasus [World Cup], now list the TAA as their designated charity. It is great to see more and more people outside of racing seeing the benefit of riding or working with Thoroughbreds. Veterans, people with disabilities, and all people who are benefitting from working with Thoroughbreds are seeing why we love these horses. Everyone needs to feel that.

DP: It has often been asked how Thoroughbred aftercare can be part of the industry business rather than a charitable effort. Do you feel that the TAA has been able to remedy that situation?

SR: The key is to have it both ways and I think we have been successful to some extent, but still have a way to go. We want everyone to feel welcome in providing for the horses when they retire–from the biggest owner or institution to the smallest bettor or fan. But we need funding that is consistent and substantial enough to take care of the need. So, the model that generates industry-derived regular income and people who want to make charitable donations is the best system. At this time, there is not enough funding to support the need and we need to grow every aspect of the funding activity.

DP:How has the need changed or evolved since TAA came into existence and how is the industry addressing the need?

SR: The need is still great. If we are going to live by the premise that the horse comes first, then the industry needs to be responsible for knowing where every horse went when it left racing or breeding. When a horse does go to a TAA-accredited organization, we can track that horse. I don't believe that the industry or the racing owner shouldn't be held responsible when a third or fourth owner drops the ball, but we should be responsible for every horse when it leaves racing or breeding. Lucky for us there are many groups–and that number is growing–that want to address the need and we are developing a growing and stronger infrastructure to help those organizations. Twenty five years ago we did not have all of the great organizations retraining Thoroughbreds for second careers and the growing network of groups that are helping to drive demand such as the Thoroughbred Makeover, Take2 and The Thoroughbred Incentive Program. Plus, the number of ways in which Thoroughbreds can give back to the community through therapeutic programs and prison programs is increasing. Funding is still the key to meeting the need. We are only funding 15-20% of the budgets of the groups we support. But we are helping them to run better and raise more on their own. One of the greatest things about the TAA (the founders of the organization deserve credit for this) is the dedication of resources and volunteers to do due diligence in accreditation and follow up on and support organizations that are doing good things and providing a good outcome for horses and the industry. We now have 74 organizations accredited and with our infrastructure. Ee can grow this number and maintain the important due diligence with accreditation. This is how we will meet the need.

DP: Are you seeing results on the aftercare organization end from the programs at the racetracks that employ ways to help owners to retire the horses quicker and easier?

SR: Yes, when the owners and trainers don't have options, the horses can get in trouble. The programs at tracks that give the owners and trainers a good and simple option to have a horse placed in a TAA-accredited facility have been really effective in providing for more horses being safely placed.

DP: Have there been changes over time in the number of horses that have to go to sanctuary versus the number of horses that can be retrained for second careers?

SC: We are seeing a decline in the number of horses that are ready or just need a short time off before they go into retraining. More frequently, those horses are getting sold directly from the race barn. It is evidence of a new demand for Thoroughbreds. That is good. But it helps our industry and the charitable organizations when they can promote one of the really good competition horses as one they retrained.

DP: What do you see on your agenda for the next decade?

SR: More funding is our goal. We need to continue that process of increasing the business-based funding while growing the voluntary donations.

DP: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

SR: The industry should be very proud about where aftercare stands in the Thoroughbred industry. Without the overall cooperation of everyone in the industry and the mindset that they were going to make it work, we wouldn't be where we are today. It is complex and what we do is very involved between funding and accreditation. We need more people in our own industry to understand better what we do and we need the general public to know more about the size of the job and the success we have achieved.

For more information about the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, go to: https://www.thoroughbredaftercare.org/.

Diana Pikulski is the editor of the Thoroughbred Adoption Network.