After several rounds of testing last spring, Oaklawn ParkFundraising efforts for local Thoroughbred aftercare began in earnest on December 9 with the opening of the scheduled 68-day live racing season.
The $14,000 raised over the last six days of the 2021-2022 meeting is through the new “Ring the Bell” program, which gives the winners of each race the chance to donate at least 100 dollars for aftercare.
The money raised is going to the Arkansas Thoroughbred Retirement and Retirement Fund, a partnership between the Arkansas division of the Horse Protection and Benevolence Association and Oaklawn. It was recently established as a safe route to a second career for Oaklawn racehorses after retirement.
Donations are signaled loudly by ringing a large bronze bell that hangs at the back of the Larry Snyder Winners Circle. The idea of interweaving a bell with aftercare was the brainchild of Hot Springs coach Ron Moquett, best known for his work with Whitmore seven-time Oaklawn stakes winner and 2020 Eclipse Prize winner as the country’s champion male sprinter.
“I wanted to attract attention and give people the opportunity, when they were happiest, to be able to help at that moment,” Moquett said. “Ring that bell and it starts a conversation. ‘Hey, that bell is ringing out of respect and love of the horse.’ The bell is iconic and it teaches people in the entire stands that whenever you hear that bell, it means someone has donated money to the retired racehorse program. want to hear the bell ring every race, every day. What it means is we’re helping retired racehorses.”
The Bell Ring program officially launched after Tuesday’s race on April 29, when Oaklawn president Louis Cella and Bill Walmsley, longtime Purebred owner and president of HBPA Arkansas, each donated 5,000 dollars on behalf of their respective groups. Cella is also a Thoroughbred owner and the son of late Oaklawn president Charles Cella, who campaigned for the 1995 Northern Spur equine champion.
Louis Cella, who was appointed president of Oaklawn after his father’s death in December 2017, said: “It’s hard to start something that’s hard for other drivers to follow in Arkansas. “They are involved in other jurisdictions. , not as large and capable of taking care of horses as in Kentucky, Florida, and Texas. So we need to give them a little jog. I think the bell is a great idea to give people that last pause to say, “You know what? This is so important to Arkansas.” “
Moquett said his inspiration for the bell came from Saratoga, a historic site in upstate New York. According to the New York Racing Association, a bell in the winner’s circle will be manually rung five times, “exactly” 17 minutes before the end time of each race. Oaklawn’s version features three prominent lines— “This bell rings for the love and respect of the horse!!!”
“We thought it would be a really good deal to help raise awareness and fund to do good,” Moquett said. “Nobody does it like this. They think this is going to spark a number of things across the country.”
Moquett and Jeanette Milligan, the Arkansas HBPA executive director, both said they had hoped to start the program earlier in the 2021-2022 meeting, but the project was delayed because the bells were shipped from Pennsylvania and It takes time to install it properly. Milligan said the bell was purchased by the Arkansas HBPA.
The Arkansas Thoroughbred Retirement Program uses a nearby ranch run by longtime Oaklawn breeder Jan Pettinger and her husband, retired jockey Don Pettinger, as a foster home for pending adoptions.
Milligan said 15 horses were on the ranch by the end of the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting in early May. That number is now six, according to Oaklawn racing director Jennifer Hoyt, who is in charge of the Arkansas Thoroughbred Retirement Program. Hoyt says it costs at least $500 per month to properly care for the horses waiting to be rehabilitated. A second career for retired Thoroughbreds can start from a stable pony like former intern Moquett medium bone an event horse such as the winner of Oaklawn Handicap (G2) 2017 straight inside to a simple pleasure horse to ride on the trail.
“I think as the game goes on everyone knows that there are a lot of horses out there and you have to find a home for them when they compete,” said Robert N. Cline, an Arkansas owner/coach. accomplished”. donated three times after winning the last two days (May 7-8) of the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting. “I have been feeding the horses for many months, waiting to find them a good home. So we will do our best. If we can all join in and help for this cause, I think all We all benefit from that. It’s not difficult to say a person earns a hundred dollars after he wins a race. Everyone is happy and having fun. The wallets here are big enough to hold. if you’re lucky enough to stagger across ahead, how much is a hundred dollars?”
To draw attention to post-pure care, Oaklawn created this year’s $150,000 Ring the Bell Stakes. The long-distance 6 race is Saturday.
For more information about the Arkansas Thoroughbred Retirement Program, visit www.ArkansasThoroughbredRetirement.com.
This press release has been edited by BloodHorse Staff for content and style.
