… And Goodwill Towards Equines
{{monthName}} {{day}}, {{year}} {{hour12}}:{{minuteTwoDigit}}{{dayPeriod}}
Yes, recent events in the news have been difficult to
believe, understand, and comprehend. It shows that we may not be as far along
as a society as most of us would like to be. Still, through all of the pain and
strife in this world it’s good to know that there are a few good souls
attempting to do the right thing. In this case, I’d like to focus on a horse
named Silver Option, and a colt named Magna Fortuna and his amazing journey to
the starting gate this upcoming Wednesday at Hawthorne.
So it all started with an e-mail I received from
Gail Vacca
who is the President and founder of the
Illinois Equine Humane Center who gave
me the tip on this story. Let me give you some background.
A couple of years ago, Gail was in the process of doing what
she normally does; finding Illinois-bred horses destined for the kill pen. That’s
where, in 2009 in Indiana, she found an extremely lame mare whom she didn’t
know much about at the time. Unfortunately, the mare was purchased by another
buyer (a very commonly known "kill-buyer" or a buyer that routinely
purchases horses that he sells to slaughter plants in Canada) whom Gail
successfully tracked down and was able to ultimately buy the mare for just $300.
Gail mentioned to me that this mare (aka “Lulu”) had a broodmare look about her
and wondered if she was in foal. And wouldn’t you know, she was.
Gail and her team did all they could to keep the mare alive
and kicking and to give the colt a chance at life. Because of Gail and the
group’s unquestioned persistence, “
Taxi” was born on April 15, 2010, (aka tax
day) with a striking conformation. Now with a live foal, Gail needed to find
out who the father of this colt is and attempt to determine the pedigree. With
detective-like abilities, Gail was able to locate the old consigner’s slip from
the auction, and after some additional digging, found the consigner on
Facebook! After even more digging and due diligence, she discovered that the
stallion was
Magna Graduate. So now we have a new colt by Magna Graduate out of
Silver Option.
Fast forwarding two years to today, the former trainer and
her crew now found themselves in a dilemma. You see, the board members of the Illinois
Equine Humane Center are racing fans and wanted to show what the colt was bred
to do (where most horse rescue are anti-racing and wouldn’t want to race the
colt.) A partnership was formed with the group’s closest supporters and
volunteers (called Rescue Me Racing) who sold shares of “Taxi” and proceeds
from the sales were reinvested in the rescue mission. Currently 16 partners
have bought into the organization including Gail’s longtime friend, colleague,
and trainer,
Michele Boyce.
Michele has now entered this colt (named Magna Fortuna
which is latin for great luck or great fortune) to run his first race at
Hawthorne this Wednesday in race 6. Coming out of the 11 slot he already opens
up as 6-1 on the morning line in an Illinois-Bred maiden special weight going
six furlongs. And to note, this horse, according to Gail, will never be seen in
the claiming ranks. If after a few races this horse doesn’t have what it takes
for racing, he will be retired. The group is hoping for a successful career
moving up through the Illinois-bred allowance conditions. For this race
however, Hawthorne’s Jim Miller practically had to reserve half of the Gold Cup
Room for all of the connections and fans of “Taxi!” The group just may
celebrating a victory for this first time starter too as his recent workouts
have all been very good including two bullet works on December 8th
and 19th!
(Photo courtesy M. Burlingham)
This story has already gained national attention from CBS,
the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Paulick Report, the Daily Racing Form, and now of course Horse Racing Nation. Many
outlets have been tracking the progress of this colt over time and now we
finally get to see him race. Gail and I agreed when we were speaking that just
to have this colt cross the finish line is success enough. When you think of
all the bad things that could have happened along the way, this story is truly
amazing. A colt, from a pregnant mare left to die, from an unknown stallion,
purchased for $300, will actually be running in a maiden allowance race just
two years later.
(Photo courtesy L. Donohoe)
This also reminds me of the hard work and dedication of 5R Racehorse Stables out in New York. Sean and Angelika Kerr themselves had rescued a filly left
to die, and raced her at Aqueduct earlier this year. Their entire (AMAZING) story was featured on
ESPN and you can watch it HERE. I was so
moved by their operation that I actually bought a share about one year ago and
am very proud to be a member!
It’s folks like Gail and Sean and Angelika that embody the
good side of horse racing. You see, the horse works hard for us and when they
are unable to race any longer (or even while they are racing) we should ALWAYS
do right by the horse. The thought that any horse is sent to the kill pen after
they are done racing is completely inexcusable! I am not naïve either and I
know that this kind of activity does happen in racing. However if we can expose
it and put a spotlight on this activity and create some awareness, perhaps it
would force racing leaders to be more proactive in this arena. After all, it IS called HORSE racing... and they deserve the best from us.
This is the 17th and final installment of a weekly feature exclusive to Horse Racing Nation tracking the...
Forever Young earned a sparkling 140 Horse Racing Nation speed figure for his victory in Saturday's Breeders' Cup...
The Fasig-Tipton November Sale, held Monday at the Newtown Paddocks in Lexington, Ky., posted sales of more than...
Owen Almighty , the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby winner who most recently placed third in the Perryville...
A decade after Michelle Payne became the first woman win Australia's most famous race, Jamie Melham has etched herself...