A review of recent horse sales exposes the continued failings of the racing industry to protect its horses
Since May of this year, forty-three thoroughbreds were listed in the online QLD Triangle Sale – four of whom were return listings within that period.
Some observations:
Xaarinas Image was listed for sale even though she was registered as a so-called ‘breeder’ by the racing authority. Two of her foals have previously been registered as industry thoroughbreds and she had an unregistered at foot colt who was being sold with her. She was ‘passed in’ at $1500. We do not know of her current whereabouts, but she is still registered as a ‘breeder’ by the authority.
Secret Scribble, listed for sale in June, is also still listed as a ‘breeder’ by the authority.
The oldest horse listed for sale was fifteen years old, the youngest just four.
At least eleven horses were, at the time of sale, most likely in the hands of known kill buyers.
One such horse was six-year-old Spartan. At the time of his sale in June his status by the authority was ‘transferred’. Spartan was bred by the “prestigious” Arrowfield Stud and sold as a yearling for $180,000. Five years, thirteen races and $34,000 in winnings later, he found himself in the hands of a kill buyer and listed in the Triangle Sale where he was sold for $650.
On thirty-three occasions the horses did not meet the reserve price placed on them. Four went on to be listed for sale again, three of whom again failed to meet the reserve the second time around, one meeting their reserve at a lesser amount than first listed. All whereabouts and true status unknown.
The individual winnings made from the horses who were listed in the period reviewed, ranged from $0 – $209,000.
At least seven of the horses had never been raced.
Four-year-old gelding Butler’s Beach was listed in the August sale after being raced eleven times. In his final few races, he placed last or near last and had been embargoed for ‘poor performance’. At the time of sale his status, according to the authority, was ‘transferred’. Within three months his status had been changed to ‘deceased’. We do not know who bought him at the sale nor where or how he died.
At least eight of the horses had been predominantly domiciled in NSW, meaning their listing in this sale was a breach of the Racing NSW own rules of racing. As far as we are aware, no action was taken against the owners/trainers for breaching this rule.
One such horse is Adminman. The five-year-old gelding was listed in last week’s sale even though he is a NSW horse and therefore should not have been there. We contacted Racing NSW twice and made them aware but they failed to respond. He did not meet his reserve. We believe his seller is likely a known kill buyer – information we have also shared with Racing NSW but still, no response. Adminman remains listed as an ‘active’ racehorse by the authority, as do three other horses who have appeared at the Triangle sale over this period, including ten-year-old, Mcdaid, who has not been raced since 2016.
Another example of a NSW horse ending up in this unapproved sale is Naoko. The eleven-year-old mare was bred by NSW based stud, Umavale. She was raced 129 times, up until the age of ten, all in NSW, for $138,845 in winnings. Her final race was just seven months before she was listed for sale.
Why are Racing NSW not imposing penalties for NSW thoroughbreds being listed in the Triangle online auction when it is not one of their “approved” auctions? Additionally, why is Brian Munro, the man charged with animal cruelty during the Meramist investigation and clearly still heavily associated with the Triangle sales, not on the Racing NSW list of people excluded from having NSW thoroughbreds in their care, custody or control.
The fact of the matter is the racing industry across all jurisdictions has no idea where almost all the horses who have been bred into it are. And the just released recommendations by the National Horse Traceability Working Group prove yet again that they do not care enough to see this change.
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