Follow Up To HBO Slaughter Episode

[Cangamble]

http://hooflinks.blogspot.com/2008/0...follow-up.html

Gives names and background of a few of the horses who were sold for meat.
Many were owned by the Estate of Dale Baird.

[Shenanigans]

Originally Posted by Cangamble

http://hooflinks.blogspot.com/2008/0...follow-up.html

Gives names and background of a few of the horses who were sold for meat.
Many were owned by the Estate of Dale Baird.

Not one bit surprised. That is how that operation has run since it was started. That man (and his sons) didn't/don't spend time "finding homes" for their broke down horses. (Some people want to see him inducted in the HOF. For shame. )

[bigmack]

Interesting:
Dale Baird has been heralded as the most winning trainer in US history, winning over 9,000 races before his death in 2007. Baird has been twice nominated for consideration by Racing's Hall of Fame. Thankfully, he was denied entry both times. What a lot of people didn’t know about Dale Baird was that while he was no doubt America's winning-most trainer, he was also a man who thought nothing of sending hundreds if not thousands of horses to slaughter, once they were no longer of any use to him. He may very well have been the trainer who in his lifetime sent more horses to slaughter than any of his counterparts.

The sale of Balachour Prince, Crow Autumn, Arranged Marriage, and Point of Attack to slaughter on April 18, 2008 proves that despite Dale Baird's death, his legacy of cruelty and total disregard for the welfare of horses, continues on with his son, Bart Baird. The Baird family reign of equine cruelty must end. Dale Baird must never again be considered for entry into racing's Hall of Fame. To do so would be an insult to all true horsemen. "Trainers" such as Dale and Bart Baird have no place among the many fine horsemen within the racing industry, and they along with others like them, should be banned from racing.

[GlenninOhio]

Originally Posted by Shenanigans

Not one bit surprised. That is how that operation has run since it was started. That man (and his sons) didn't/don't spend time "finding homes" for their broke down horses. (Some people want to see him inducted in the HOF. For shame. )

I distinctly recall Mountainman as the point person on this board for waxing poetic about Dale Baird as being deserving of HOF status.

Might Mountainman have anything to add to this thread?

[Shenanigans]

Originally Posted by GlenninOhio

I distinctly recall Mountainman as the point person on this board for waxing poetic about Dale Baird as being deserving of HOF status.

Might Mountainman have anything to add to this thread?

He can wax all he wants, it won't change my opinion of that stable.

[DrugS]

Originally Posted by GlenninOhio

I distinctly recall Mountainman as the point person on this board for waxing poetic about Dale Baird as being deserving of HOF status.

Once they build the equine slaughter house Hall of Fame I think DB will be in on the first ballot.

[cj]

I don't have an opinion one way or the other to be honest about horse slaughter. I certainly don't champion it. However, I don't know enough of the facts from both sides to decide if it is a necessary evil of the sport or not. I do know that some countries here in Europe, including Belgium where I have lived for almost five years, eat horse and it doesn't seem to be a big deal.

I would imagine Baird did what he had to do make a living back in the days when he was running horses in $1,000 claiming races at Waterford Park. Maybe old habits are hard to break.

[Tom Barrister]

The man won 9,445 races, about 3,000 more than the next trainer on the list (Jack Van Berg).

Out of those, exactly eight were in stakes races, none in graded stakes.

There must be a reason that he was never elected to the Hall of Fame.

There must be a reason nobody gave him a top-flight horse to train.

He did get a special Eclipse Award in 2005; no clue why.

Baird led the country in wins by owner 17 different years.

I wonder how many years he led the country in thoroughbred racehorses sold to slaughterhouses?

[PaceAdvantage]

If you're going to hang Baird out to dry (and at this point, what IS the point? The man is dead for crying out loud....give it a rest), then what about all the OWNERS of these horses? They share AT LEAST equal blame.

[bigmack]

I don't know that anyone is posthumously being hung out to dry. The facts is the facts.

Would a strong nudge on the shoulder of his son Bart be out of line?

[cj]

Originally Posted by bigmack

I don't know that anyone is posthumously being hung out to dry. The facts is the facts.

Would a strong nudge on the shoulder of his son Bart be out of line?

All I was saying is the guy has most likely handled (by far) more bottom of the barrel horses than any trainer alive.

Serious question, as I honestly don't know the answer: what is someone supposed to do with a 2k claimer that can't earn a nickel anymore. I imagine there are far less people willing to adopt a horse than there are horses that can't run. Am I wrong?

[JBmadera]

We ended up donating all of our horses to a local college which had a robust equine program - the horses got a nice home and we got a decent tax break.


JB

[FunkyMonkey]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

If you're going to hang Baird out to dry (and at this point, what IS the point? The man is dead for crying out loud....give it a rest), then what about all the OWNERS of these horses? They share AT LEAST equal blame.

I guess the question here is how many of the horses sent out to slaughter were indeed owned by owners other than the Baird family? Not sure. Anybody?

[Cangamble]

Originally Posted by cj

All I was saying is the guy has most likely handled (by far) more bottom of the barrel horses than any trainer alive.

Serious question, as I honestly don't know the answer: what is someone supposed to do with a 2k claimer that can't earn a nickel anymore. I imagine there are far less people willing to adopt a horse than there are horses that can't run. Am I wrong?

Unfortunately, supply does exceed demand most of the time. People who want riding horses generally will pay at least a few thousand dollars for a good looking ex thoroughbred, and yet many horses I assume that are sent to slaughter are capable of becoming great riding horses (maybe some need a little time to get over their ailments). The fact is that anyone could go to these slaughter auctions and buy an ex race horse for less than a thousand dollars, yet because of the demand issue, they don't.
And the other problem is that if you give away a horse for free because the new owner doesn't want to spend any money to buy it, you have to think, how much is that owner going to spend to take care of it properly.
But I do know for a fact, if an owner/trainer wants to avoid getting a horse meated, and is willing to give it away or sell it for a small sum (to someone who has intentions of keeping the horse for a long time), they usually can do so within a week or two.

I think in the case of Baird, his owners (including himself) were not interested in feeding the horse for one extra day. And probably the proceeds of the sale at the meaters sadly went towards the training bill.

[GlenninOhio]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

If you're going to hang Baird out to dry (and at this point, what IS the point? The man is dead for crying out loud....give it a rest), then what about all the OWNERS of these horses? They share AT LEAST equal blame.

My understanding is that 99% of the horses Baird trained he (or his immediate family) also owned. I may be wrong, but I don't think so.

As for his being dead, I think part of the reason for this remaining a "live" issue is that there are those who have been pulling for him to be elected to the HOF posthumously.