ASPCA Grants $200,000 to Equine Rescue Groups to Assist Retired Racehorses

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that it has granted $200,000 to 18 equine rescue groups across the country to assist their efforts to rescue and rehabilitate retired racehorses. The grants were awarded as part of the ASPCA Rescuing Racers Initiative, a major grants program that launched in 2010 and provides funding for equine rescues and sanctuaries that protect retired racers by offering alternatives to slaughter. Now in its seventh year, the program has awarded over $2 million to retired racers to prepare them for life after their racing careers come to an end.

“The ASPCA Rescuing Racers Initiative allows us to provide much-needed grant funding to the many equine rescue groups around the country who provide critical resources to former racehorses, offering them medical rehabilitation, re-training or sanctuary to prevent them from being sent to slaughter,” said Jacque Schultz, senior director of the ASPCA Equine Fund. “Their racing careers may have ended, but these retirees still have much to offer as they transition into new and varied careers – a process that requires significant time and resources.”

Selected recipients include a wide range of equine rescues from 12 states, who will each be awarded a grant ranging from $5,000–$24,000, to help the groups increase their capacity for rescuing more horses. The organizations joining the list of rescues and sanctuaries as part of the ASPCA Rescuing Racers Initiative for 2016 are:

• After the Homestretch, Ariz.
• CANTER/National
• CANTER, Mich.
• CANTER, OH
• The Exceller Fund Inc., Ky.
• Foxie G Foundation Inc., Md.
• Friends of Ferdinand, Ind.
• Kentucky Equine Humane Center Inc., Ky.
• Makers Mark Secretariat Center, Ky.
• MidAtlantic Horse Rescue, Inc., Md.
• Neigh Savers Foundation Inc., Calif.
• New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program, Ky. and OH
• Old Friends Inc., Ky.
• Racer Placers, Wis.
• ReRun Inc., N.Y.
• Safe Harbor Equine and Livestock Sanctuary, Tenn.
• Standardbred Retirement Foundation, N.J.
• Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Ky.

In 2015, the ASPCA awarded over $1 million in grants to support 124 equine rescues and sanctuaries across the country. The grant money supported several areas of equine welfare including large-scale rehabilitation, emergency relief grants, safety net programs, and ASPCA Help a Horse Day, a nationwide grants competition of equine rescues and sanctuaries that is designed to raise awareness about the year-round lifesaving work they do to care for local at-risk horses who’ve been abused, neglected or find themselves homeless.

Horses have been central to the ASPCA mission since the organization’s founding 150 years ago. The ASPCA’s efforts to further equine protection include supporting equine welfare through legislation, public advocacy, professional development, horse rescue and targeted grants. Most recently the ASPCA launched a broad “Adopt a Horse” public service campaign featuring “2 Broke Girls” actress and horse advocate Beth Behrs and her rescue horse Belle, to encourage potential horse owners to make adoption their first option. The campaign highlights the many benefits of adopting a horse from one of the nation’s hundreds of equine rescue groups. It also aims to connect the many horses in need of permanent homes with the 2.3 million Americans who, according to a recent survey, say they have adequate space, resources, and strong interest in adopting a horse.

To learn more about the ASPCA, please visit www.aspca.org.