Champions of making a gentle retirement for aging harness racing horses are looking to Maine’s two casinos to provide funding.
The career of a successful harness racing horse ranges from age 3 to 14. Yet horses can live to be 30 or older. But after they retire from racing they can face daunting futures. The worst that can happen is to be euthanized or shipped to Quebec or Mexico for slaughter. Those countries are among dozens where horsemeat is considered a delicacy.
A feature by the Portland Press Herald shed light on the often-sad lives of horses that no longer race. The article highlighted Yankee, a horse that earned $50,000 during his five-year career, only to face death three years after he stopped racing.
The article estimates that each year 200 horses in the state retire. None of the money that the state collects from the gaming industry and pays to subsidize the racing industry is set aside to care for retired horses.
Some animal lovers in Maine operate farms that rescue such horses and try to give them a second chance. They tell the Herald that often dozens of horses in the state suffer the fate of being put down or sold for meat. A few luckier ones end up pulling buggies for the Amish in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but the work is hard.
Robyn Cuffey, founder of the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of Maine, advocates retraining the animals for the saddle. She says that people in the racing industry close their eyes to the plight of the horses. She told the Herald, “I’ve been working with these horses for 30 years, and I’m still trying to figure out why the people who made all the money off these horses are not putting a dime back into taking care of them afterward.”
Other advocates call for a specified fund to set up using casino profits. Some see an opportunity created by the possible closing of the state’s largest racetrack, Scarborough Downs, whose revenue fell from $4.2 million in 2004 to $2.8 million in 2015.
The 483-acres that includes the Downs went on the market in November. If the racetrack closes its disbursements, currently about $3 million annually would go to the Maine Harness Racing Commission instead.
Horse advocates want to lobby the legislature to use some of the money to fund a retraining facility—which, if it became a reality, would be the first in the U.S. Supporters of this idea estimate that it would cost $500,000 to create and, allowing for fundraising, would need an initial endowment of about $4.5 million.
Last year the industry was given $8.44 million, with the Downs receiving $3 million, of which $2 million net for purse money. The state’s other racetrack, the Bangor Raceway, is operated by Hollywood Casino.
Members of the horse racing industry view the situation differently. Lawmaker Don Marean, who also serves on the Maine Harness Horsemen’s Association, calls the idea a “pipe dream.” He told the Herald, “The entire industry is struggling to stay afloat with the competition from the casinos and … online gambling. So this probably isn’t a good time to be redistributing an already declining revenue stream.”
He is the author of a bill that would revise existing law to divert any funds from Scarborough’s closing to the Maine Harness Racing Commission.
Harness racing is in decline and the money that has so far been diverted to subsidize it doesn’t seem to have revived the industry. In 2003 Maine voters authorized slots at the two racetracks, although local voters in Scarborough killed the idea for that track.
Instead of a racetrack, the southern part of the state ended up with the Oxford Casino, which doesn’t operate under the same law as Scarborough Downs, and only pays 1 percent of its revenues to subsidize harness racing. The Bangor casino pays 8 percent.
Marean thinks that the figures for how many retired horses need help have been greatly inflated based on emotion.
Diann Perkins, president of the Maine Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association, agrees, saying “I wouldn’t call it a problem. We have some great organizations that are trying to revitalize them because they make excellent retirement horses for people.” She says no one keeps track of how many horses retire nor what happens to them. There isn’t a database for this, she says.
The industry does maintain a database to help former owners keep track of horses and help them purchase them if they are at hazard. Marean led the creation of Support Our Standardbreds, which supports nonprofits that rescue horses.
Such programs don’t begin to address the problem, say horse rescue advocates. Mostly they help horses that have been taken away from abusive owners, but do nothing for horses headed for the slaughterhouse.
Steuart Pittman, of the Retired Racehorse Project, says there is a good potential demand for former racehorses and that such horses are ideal for recreational use. He told the Herald: “Standardbreds are a fantastic trail-riding horse, because they’re comfortable to ride, have a good temperament and tend to be a little less high-strung than thoroughbreds. The trail-riding and expedition market is the bigger one than any of the sport markets.”
