The petition
To All Stakeholders Involved in Thoroughbred Racing:
The catastrophic breakdown and death of the filly Eight Belles following the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby cast a spotlight on the need to provide greater levels of protection for the racehorse. In the media and on blogs and forums throughout the country, horse lovers and racing fans have been asking "what can we do?"
The Thoroughbred racing industry has been looking at some of the issues currently being raised for some time. The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, coordinated and underwritten by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club and hosted by Keeneland Association, convened a wide cross-section of the breeding, racing and veterinary community for a two-day workshop in October, 2006 concerning the safety and soundness of the Thoroughbred racehorse.
The second Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit was held Monday, March 17, and Tuesday, March 18, 2008, at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion. The resulting group of recommendations (as well as the initial strategic plan) can be viewed at the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation website .
The initial session brought together members of the racing community and identified a broad range of issues affecting horse racing. The second session and the recommendations focused on a smaller range of critical issues, identifying objectives, action plans, time lines, stakeholders and responsibilities. While these recommendations are not totally encompassing, they represent a major beginning in unifying resources to improve several major aspects of racing that affect the welfare and safety of the racehorse and will serve as starting points for further action by the Jockey Club's newly formed Thoroughbred Safety Committee.
Catastrophic breakdown and death on the racetrack - whether viewed on national TV or occurring in the background during training - can be prevented. Racing owes this legacy to Eight Belles, Barbaro, George Washington, and others before them. Every preventable racetrack death that occurs from this day forward is one too many.
We, the undersigned, support these recommendations, and urge all Industry Stakeholders to fully support the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit Recommendations, and to take immediate action by providing needed funding and active participation so these recommendations may be researched and implemented in the most expedient and timely manner.
Stakeholders include, but are not limited to, those businesses, organizations and individuals identified in the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit Recommendations as "Responsible Participants and Funding Resources", as well as individual supporters and fans of racing. All horses have benefitted from the research and knowledge gained in the racing industry; many of us simply appreciate the awesome being that is the horse. (See Racing Industry Contacts at http://deserthoofprints.blogsp... for a full list of identified Stakeholders.)
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