Читать книгу Beyond the Track - Anna Morgan Ford - Страница 29

Most trainers and owners cannot afford or do not want to spend time and money on a horse that is not a productive member of the racing string, so they begin considering their options as soon as it is decided to retire a horse from racing. These include sending the horse to a Thoroughbred breeding stock sale—a common choice for mares with good pedigrees and respectable race records—or selling him at a general all-breed auction. The latter are typically held at venues where other livestock are sold, as well, and happen on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. These are heavily attended by dealers who “flip” horses, buying them cheap and reselling them privately for more money, as well as buyers for slaughterhouses (see more about this issue on p. 33).

2.2 One viable option for OTTBs is becoming breeding stock. For example, this lovely Thoroughbred mare was approved to have Hanoverian foals.

If an owner chooses not to sell a retired horse at auction, he may instead try to sell the horse himself (see p. 33) or send him to an adoption or rescue program, like New Vocations (see list on p. 245).