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When winners circle hopes grow dim, woman gives

racehorses chance to outrun slaughterhouse


BY DIANA LASKO
dlasko@heraldstandard.com
When theyre no longer the front
runner, racehorses can face a
bleak future. A German Township
woman is changing the fate for
some animals nearing the home-
stretch of their racing careers.
Vicki Vicheck operates The
Thoroughbred Connection, a
racehorse rescue farm, for the
sole purpose of giving race horses
respite and a safe home when
they are no longer able to win and
bring in cash.
They cant speak for them-
selves, and someone has to help
them, said Vicheck. The horses
look like, Please help me.
The Adah womans efforts
began in 2006 while watching her
own horse race at Thistledown in
Cleveland. At the end of the meet
she saw horses being loaded onto
a kill truck after which, she
explained, they would be taken to
auction where a broker would try
to resell the animal if the horse
cannot be sold, it is crammed
onto a cattle trailer and taken to
Canada or Mexico for slaughter.
I knew my horses were safe,
but what could I do for the other
ones that were dying or breaking
down in the truck because some
trainers are greedy? she asked.
Vicheck came home from the
track that day with her horse,
Northern Gala, and four others.
Life in the race
A thoroughbreds life as a race-
horse begins while still a foal,
when it is taken from its mother
to begin a training regimen. As a
yearling, the horse is auctioned
off to a trainer, where it will train
on average for a year and begin
its racing career between 2 and 3
years of age, which critics say is
too young as their frames are not
developed enough for the rigors of
training and racing.
On average, horses race about
Out to
pasture
In the top photo, Vicki
Vichek walks her horse
Grafton across a pasture at
her racehorse rescue farm
in Adah.
Directly above, Vicheck pets
Olympic Election, a retired
racehorse, at her rescue
farm, The Thoroughbred
Connection, in Adah.
At left, Vicheck shows the
lip tattoo on one of her
rescue horses, Nericon King,
at her racehorse rescue
farm in Adah. All racehorses
are branded with a tattoo for
identity purposes.
At right, Gaby
Vicheck reaches
for her favorite
horse Connie
at her mothers
horse rescue
farm in Adah.
HERALD-STANDARD
PHOTOS BY
AMANDA STEEN
Section E
FEATURES
SUNDAY, J ULY 21, 2013
HORSES, Page E3
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JULY 25
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JACKPOT
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IN 54#S
EB 6:15
three years before being
retired. Some mares
and studs are retired
for breeding, but many
wont find lush pastures
at the end of their racing
careers.
Since 2004, hundreds
of thousands of thor-
oughbred horses and
foals in the U.S. have
been sent to slaughter
and their meat shipped
to Europe and Asia for
human consumption, ac-
cording to the Humane
Society of the United
States (HSUS).
Even before the
rescue farm got its of-
ficial start, Vichek had
already rescued several
horses from what HSUS
calls the slaughter
pipeline.
Creating the
connection
The Thoroughbred
Connection Inc. was
formally formed in
July 2011, when Vichek
rescued Cracked Cup, a
20-year-old gelding.
A friend from Cali-
fornia followed Cracked
Cup from rescue to
rescue and called me to
take him. He was fea-
tured in a racing mag-
azine as the horse no one
wanted, said Vichek.
Cracked Cup earned
a mere $36,131 in his
racing career, far less
than Vichecks other
rescue Grafton, which
earned over $353,000.
Both are now retired
to pastures at the rescue
farm.
Among Vicheks
rescues of well known
ancestry is Chill Out,
the granddaughter of
Spectacular Bid; De-
fault Judgment, grand-
daughter of Seattle Slew;
and Plasma Beam, sired
by Smarty Jones. The
combined earnings of
the retired rescues are
more than $1 million.
Vichek receives re-
quests from racing
stables to rescue, re-
habilitate and re-home
racehorses which are
injured or past their
prime.
I take many horses
directly from trainers,
so they wont get to a
broker, which would
essentially end their
lives, said Vichek.
Rescues like The
Thoroughbred Con-
nection are serving
a greater effort for
a safety network for
horses, discarded be-
cause their earning
potential is no longer as
great.
Ultimately what
drives the sport is
money. Its one of those
things where you have
good players and bad
players, said Valerie
Pringle, equine pro-
tection specialist, HSUS.
Pringle said many
racetracks and trainers
have set up safe stalls
and different funding
mechanisms for res-
cuers like Vichek to save
the horses from demise.
There are many won-
derful rescues that are
doing the work saving
them from slaughter,
said Pringle. Thorough-
breds are wonderfully
athletic horses and can
be retrained to do almost
anything.
From track to rescue
Vichek works closely
with a training center in
Louisville, Ky., which
has horses that run at
Turfway, Churchhill
Downs, Mountaineer,
Beulah Park, Penn Na-
tional, Presque Isle and
Thistledown.
Right now there are
many more waiting to
come, said Vichek.
When horses arrive
at The Thoroughbred
Connection, Vichek im-
mediately assesses the
horses needs and has
it re-shoed and begins
the retraining and
sometimes rehabilitation
process.
A lot of these horses
have never seen the
outside world other than
a racetrack. It takes
them time to get ad-
justed to outside life,
Vichek said.
According to Pringle,
the acclimation process
for former racehorses
depends on how the
horse was handled by
previous owners, how
hard the horse was
ridden, and the level of
force used in the horses
previous training.
Vichek has discovered
for racehorses who know
little beyond trailers,
stalls and racetracks that
it takes time to get them
adjusted to a new life.
The Thoroughbred
Connection is a labor
of love for Vichek,
who gets by with just a
handful of volunteers.
The cost, however, to
care for the more than
24 horses is great. Hay,
feed and bedding costs
alone are nearly $2,000
a month, she said, and
veterinarian costs can be
staggering for the horses
if they are in any way in-
jured or require special
medical attention.
Among the items on
its wish-list, Vichek said
she is constantly in need
of items such as feed,
hay, baled shavings,
buckets, fly spray,
water-proof blankets,
fencing posts and sup-
plies, heat lamps and
volunteer assistance.
Vichek said there are
other ways to help with
information found at
www.thethoroughbred-
connection.org.
Building trust
With a bit of help from
her 6-year-old daughter,
Gaby, Vichek builds
trust with the horses
and decides whether the
horses are suitable for
adoption.
They need to get used
to the fact that youre
not going to hurt them,
she said.
Adoption and re-
homing of the horses is
done on a very selective
basis. The adoption fee
is $250, and adoptive
owners enter into a legal
agreement that horses
can never again be raced
or auctioned. The new
owner must also agree
to not sell the horse
for a certain period of
time, and if the horse is
eventually sold, the pa-
perwork from the rescue
farm must follow the
animal.
Vichek follows up with
new owners and asks
them to keep her up-
dated on the progress of
the horse.
I have success
stories of horses injured
through racing that can
now be saddled, ridden
and some can jump,
said Vichek.
To date, The
Thoroughbred Con-
nection has re-homed 38
horses.
Vichek currently
has 22 horses, six of
her own, a yearling
and a foal. Many of the
horses are available for
adoption while others,
like 23-year-old Cracked
Cup, will live out his
days in Vicheks pasture.
Sometimes they get
a taste of freedom and
they just want to be left
alone to enjoy it.
HORSES
Continued from E1
AMANDA STEEN| Herald-Standard
Vicki Vicheck stands with her horses, Cracked Cup and Grafton, at her racehorse rescue farm in Adah while her daughter, Gaby, reaches for a kiss.

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