The latest issue of Hoofbeats magazine has an article called Wasted Lives. Ive sent an email to the editor regarding the article, and it will be published in the next issue. Here is what I wrote: The article by Malanda Hyde in your recent issue called wasted lives is full of statistical errors with regards to the racing industry. During the 2010 breeding season, 16,117 foals were produced yet by the time the 2012-13 racing season came around only 7,353 two year olds were registered leaving 8,764 of 2010 horses failing to even make it to the racetrack. This assumes that if a horse isnt registered as a 2YO then they wont race. Incorrect. Only 20% of any foal crop will race as 2YOs and these horses are more mature than their peers, and also have longer racing careers and earn more prizemoney than the rest of the racing population. The vast majority of horses start their racing career as 3YOs, and over the course of time, over 70% of all foals born will race at some point in their life. With the numbers of foals bred increasing every year Incorrect. The foal crop has been falling every season since the late 1980s. This follows international trends, and Australias foal crop has fallen at a slower rate than many other breeding nations (who have been hard hit by economic problems). There is NOT an over-breeding problem in racing, rather an under-breeding problem that may result in smaller field sizes in the future. The number of Thoroughbreds sent to knackeries each year is hard to estimate Incorrect. The McGreevy/Hayek study estimated this to be 650 Thoroughbred horses per annum, with 6% of retired racehorses that they surveyed in 2004 being sent directly to a knackery. Further studies have found that this percentage has dropped over time, as the marketplace for retired racehorses as recreational horses improves. Further, a study done by RIDRC in 2001 that used economic, recreational event data and breed society data to estimate the number of horses in Australia. They estimate that there are nearly 180,000 registered Thoroughbreds in Australia, of which 32,000 are racing, 66,000 are breeding or young stock, 24,000 compete in registered non-racing events (eg the Royal Easter Show), and 57,000 are used for recreation. There are also 218,000 unregistered recreational horses in Australia (of which unnamed Thoroughbreds make up a significant proportion). There are plenty of homes for ex-racehorses in Australia, and while not all horses will be suitable for new disciplines, the vast majority find good homes. The issue of wastage is massively over-estimated by many groups who use it to gain emotionally based funding.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 05:32:16 +0000
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