The Standardbred Retirement Foundation today announced a new program to allow standardbred owners to share in the earnings of their racehorses with non-competitive standardbreds in need of a home
. The SRF has partnered with numerous racetracks to accommodate owners, trainers, and drivers in the ‘Win*Win Program,’ making it easy to authorize any per cent of winnings they choose as an automatic tax-deductible gift to SRF.
Showing the way for owners to help these animals transition off the racetrack in a dignified manner is United States Harness Racing Writer’s Association’s 2010 winner of the Unsung Hero Award, Fran Azur, and Jeff Gural, standardbred owner, lessee of the Meadowlands Racetrack and owner of Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs.
Azur, owner of some of racing’s great top horses, like Hypnotic Blue Chip, Noble Falcon, and Blue Ridge Western, is the first owner to step up and set the pace for others to join the program. “I would be pleased to donate two per cent of any winnings my horses earn to such a good cause,” said Azur. He has also generously guaranteed a minimum gift, should his current stable fall short of the $1.9 million in earnings his horses won last year. Gural, a longtime supporter of SRF, jumped right in to support the program both as an owner of horses and has pledged the assistance of the tracks he runs, Tioga and Vernon.
Among others that quickly signed on are Arden Homestead Stables, a newly formed partnership, All Together Now, and Dr. Patricia Hogan who responded with, “I’m in!”
Trainers have pledged to reach out to their owners to encourage their support of the program. “It’s a great way to give back. We all benefit from racing, from these tough miles these horses go,” explained SRF President Paula Campbell. “With no endowment to speak of and the need for our work growing in leaps and bounds, we are depending on this program. We will no longer be here if we can't raise more support for the horses that make it all happen for us.”
Every month, the cost of care for 175 horses ranges from $40,000 - $60,000 for this unique organization which leads the way helping only one breed across the country, standardbreds. While most horses placed with the SRF finds an adoptive home, the program’s lifetime follow-up feature means that many also return for care and re-placement when their adopters lose interest, suffer financial difficulties or fail to properly care for the horse. The SRF is caring for 102 standardbreds which are unattractive to potential adopters due to age or injuries. The mandatory follow-up program ensures that every horse in the SRF program receives lifetime care, a financial challenge in serving animals that routinely live to age 30 or more.
SRF has high hopes for this voluntary program. “For the average race horse owner, a one-per-cent donation can equate to a meal, even a cup of coffee, hardly an amount that will be missed in a purse cheque,” said SRF Co-founder Judy Bokman. “But they add up and that will fill a hay rack, exactly what we need.”
Gifts are tax-deductible and can be cancelled or adjusted up or downward at any time. The authorization card is on SRF’s website. Presently, most of the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania tracks are supporting the program, and support from others is in the works as SRF services horses from as far as California, Ohio, Canada and Florida. Other tracks and owners that would like to participate can also call the SRF at 609-324-1500. Information and authorization cards as inserts for those that wish to encourage support by including them in their mailings are also available by contacting SRF.
(SRF)