Cover image courtesy of Racing Photos
Watching Astral Flame (Overshare) fly home to victory in the Future Stars Series heat at Pakenham earlier this month was a special moment for Jennifer Krawczyk, equine welfare consultant and previously the manager for Equine Welfare at Racing Victoria.
The 3-year-old filly’s win was the continuation of a story that began in 2016, when her dam Antares (Starcraft {NZ}) had been rescued by Racing Victoria from a property in Bulla, Victoria, and Krawczyk was tasked with finding her a soft landing.
In a time before Racing Victoria established its broad spectrum Post-Racing Framework and the advent of the RESET retraining programme, Krawczyk had to come up with a solution.
She was in luck; when former owner Enver Jusufovic was contacted, he agreed to pay $500 to take Antares back. The mare has since given him and co-owner Danny Power two winners from two foals.
Starcraft (NZ) | Image courtesy of Arrowfield
“I was quite emotional after they said they would take her back,” Krawczyk wrote in a LinkedIn update after Astral Flame’s win.
“We had a hunch that most owners and trainers wouldn't want to see their horse in a poor welfare situation, so I just called up out of the blue and we were right.”
It was not just a win for one mare - it was also proof that the racing industry did care about their horses, and would care about them long after they finished racing.
“I have used that story a lot when I’m trying to promote a program or a campaign,” Krawczyk told The Thoroughbred Report.
The cogs were already turning in her mind about how to reproduce the result. The story has been the catalyst for Full Circle and continues to inspire initiatives like Acknowledged Rehomers, just one of a suite of programs and safety nets that Racing Victoria have since put in place to ensure the welfare of horses during and after racing.
Facilitating the next step
Things have come a long way in nine years since Antares’ rescue; Racing Victoria now has a team dedicated to addressing welfare both during and after their careers on the track, and numerous post-racing programs to cater to horses’ needs as they leave the track.
“Our equine welfare team sits within the integrity services department,” RV General Manager for Equine Welfare Melissa Ware told The Thoroughbred Report. Ware took over the managerial role in August of 2023, and has been at the helm as Racing Victoria’s welfare department has hit some big milestones; as of this month, their online off-the-track community platform has reached 10,000 members, and nearly 6000 ex-racehorses have been claimed by their new homes.
“We want to drive demand, we want to ensure longevity for horses in their next home, we want to provide a safety net if they ever find themselves in a poor welfare scenario. And, of course, we want to have traceability and visibility of where these horses are going once they retire from racing. We are governed by our five-year equine welfare strategic plan and that's our North Star that directs where we go next.”
“We want to provide a safety net if they ever find themselves in a poor welfare scenario.” - Melissa Ware
Most recently, that 'North Star' lit the way to Racing Victoria launching the Acknowledged Rehomers program earlier this month, days before Astral Flame’s big win. The program’s $150 payment for each thoroughbred successfully placed in a new home by a registered rehomer is to reward a practice already happening in the industry.
Krawczyk had a hand in developing the framework that has produced the idea, and is pleased to see it being implemented, “(direct rehoming) is already being done on a mass scale, and it needs to be acknowledged.
“I spoke to a lot of different welfare organisations for different projects at the end of last year, and they were all talking about how, if you think about the amount of horses that retire from racing, most don't end up in a poor situation.
“If you think about the amount of horses that retire from racing, most don't end up in a poor situation.” - Jennifer Krawczyk
“There's a lot that's going well and you don't want to break a model that's going well.”
“We find lots of stable staff already work really closely with owners and trainers to find that horse the next home,” Ware said. “We really wanted to bridge that traceability gap.”
An acknowledged rehomer is a trusted intermediary who places retired racehorses into suitable new homes. By formally acknowledging the system, it becomes easier for Racing Victoria to track and collect data on horses exiting racing.
“I think a lot of people think, ‘oh, that horse has retired and that’s it’,” Ware said.
Jennifer Krawczyk | Image courtesy of The Victorian Wakeful Club
“But we have specifically designed our programs around the different ways horses retire from racing and the support they need. We want to ensure a good transition.”
Acknowledged rehomers are beholden to a set of terms and conditions when they sign up, and must keep accurate records of horses they have facilitated a new home for. New homes must be suitably vetted and supported if needs be, and rehomers are required to renew annually to keep their accredited status.
“It's very clear and set out in the terms and conditions (what) Racing Victoria's expectations of people in those programs (are),” Ware added. “We review our programs annually, but we do have quite strong terms and conditions to protect participants, and to look after horses, and to make the programs robust.”
Coming full circle
“It’s like an emergency contact for horses that people can opt into,” is how Ware described Full Circle, another recent initiative rolled out by Racing Victoria.
Over 3000 horses currently have a Full Circle contact - someone that can be contacted if the horse is in need of assistance and could provide anything from funding for transportation or retraining, to giving the horse that soft landing themself.
“It’s like an emergency contact for horses that people can opt into.” - Jennifer Krawczyk
“It’s brilliant,” Krawczyk said of the initiative.
“It's a very easy way to feel a little bit better about your horse’s future. You don't have to pay any money, you don't have to put anything in place - but you know if the welfare team at Racing Victoria get a call from the RSPCA about a thoroughbred, one of the first things they'll do if they need to rehome this horse is check Full Circle and they'll go, ‘oh, someone is pretty keen to help this horse’.”
It could make the next Antares case a lot smoother - and it is not just restricted to members off the off-the-track community, as current owners and trainers are encouraged to sign up as well.
“One of our messages to owners is that it’s never too early to consider your horse’s retirement plan,” Ware said. “There has been a change from owners; among the owners that I speak to, they really want to set their horses up for success post-racing, and I think that's really reflected in a lot of trainers’ rehoming programs.”
Krawcyzk still thinks there is work to be done with encouraging trainers to utilise what’s on offer.
“It's the selling it to the trainers that is the hard bit,” she said.
A common issue with traceability arises when horses leave a stable but remain in administrative limbo instead of being officially retired. Racing Victoria assured The Thoroughbred Report that the national body, Racing Australia, is taking steps to address this, ensuring trainers properly update a horse’s status and whereabouts.
“It's such a complex industry... I think we'll get there in the end. It's just going to take a bit longer than I would like,” Krawcyzk continued.
“Some people are so frightened to tell owners that there's a responsibility after racing, because they're frightened they might not become an owner. But once you explain it to them, most people would probably be more engaged in owning an animal, rather than just a machine that races for them.”
“Some people are so frightened to tell owners that there's a responsibility after racing, because they're frightened they might not become an owner.” - Jennifer Krawcyzk
She added, “(Full Circle) is an easy one if you don't have the capacity to do anything else. I think if you do the (horse’s) first transition really well, then (lifetime care) really shouldn't be your problem after that. But if you put yourself down for the horse’s Full Circle, at least you've got some sort of safety net in place.”
Enabling the industry to do the right thing
“We never want to take our foot off the pedal with welfare,” Ware said. “That’s also the same with communications.”
The industry body already distributes information and educational media as part of trainer licensing procedures, industry publications, and racehorse owner on-boarding, and Ware is always looking for new ways to improve their reach. The more industry participants they can get to, the more horses can benefit from their support.
“We're constantly trying to push that message out there,” she added. “I find speaking to people directly about their own personal circumstances almost helps the most, when they actually need our assistance. That's when they really learn about our programs and what's on offer, because it's really applicable to them at that stage.
Melissa Ware | Image courtesy of Racing Victoria
“The biggest message we have is Racing Victoria's equine welfare team is here to help.”
Ware and the team will be on-site for the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale this week, and she was keen to point out that, as well as the industry and horses, the team “loves a chat”. The changing perceptions amongst owners about looking after horses’ longevity has buoyed Ware, and she is pleased to see ownership groups taking extra steps above and beyond what Racing Victoria offers.
“Racing Victoria is an enabler to set these programs up and to help the industry, in some ways it's a bit like public education or the public hospital system,” she said.
“We run really solid robust programs to help horses, but if you as an owner want to contribute further and help your horse go even further, you have that option. You can pay for the retrainer, or retain a percentage of ownership in the horse’s second career, or pay for lifetime retirement.”
“We run really solid robust programs to help horses, but if you as an owner want to contribute further and help your horse go even further, you have that option.” - Melissa Ware
“That's what the Racing Victoria Post-racing Framework is all about - enabling the industry,” Krawczyk said on LinkedIn.
She reiterated that later to The Thoroughbred Report, “that’s probably the overarching theme. It’s set up so that when an owner’s horse retires, the owner has guidance on what to do next.”
Jusufovic lines Astral Flame up in the Future Stars Final on Friday night, and Antares has a yearling full brother waiting in the wings to bring the spotlight back to her name.
After her win, Jusufovic told Racing.com, “I love my animals and I think they deserve every chance they get.”
Success stories like that is what gives Krawczyk hope, “if an owner is willing to take that responsibility, it takes a lot of the pressure off those centralised programs. Those are the stories we should be shouting about.”
