Texas Thoroughbreds Largely Spared

Houston SPCA

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As heavy tropical downpours Tuesday continued to submerge parts of Houston, pushing rain totals in coastal Texas and Louisiana toward 50 inches, local and national equine entities banded together in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey to help save horses imperiled by the rising, state-of-emergency floodwaters.

There have been numerous news reports and dramatic internet photos and videos of horses being moved from flooded ranches, stables, and paddocks in the deluged region. But no firm number of equine rescues, injuries, or deaths has yet been reported by any animal welfare agency, mainly because tallying and communicating such figures is a difficult, secondary task as the potentially deadly waters continue to rise.

Yet the Thoroughbred population in the region seems to have been spared by the worst of the damage and danger, at least according to various racing and breeding entities in Texas and Louisiana that the TDN was able to reach via phone on Tuesday.

And nearly every Thoroughbred industry person contacted for this story had the same message to get out to the larger equine community: We're here to help–not just right now, but in the difficult weeks and months ahead as the cleanup begins and a “new normal” settles in.

“Right now it is truly a rescue and recovery sort of mode, so unless people are physically there, there's not a lot we can do other than make sure we are prepared, both monetarily and with supplies to try and help any way possible,” said Eric Hamelback, chief executive officer for the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. “I do know from talking to folks on the ground there that Sam Houston Race Park (SHRP) is not a part of the flooding zone, and as a matter of fact the racecourse is accepting horses as a refuge spot if–and I stress if–they can get there safely. That's a big 'if' because my understanding is it wouldn't be an easy trek to get there.”

The primary reasons Thoroughbreds avoided the brunt of the disaster are that no Thoroughbred racing is scheduled at this time of the year in Texas and very few racehorse farms were in the hurricane's path.

“So from that standpoint, horsemen have been fortunate that not a lot of horses are on the grounds of [Texas] racetracks,” Hamelback said. “But again, if there's a positive side to it, [the empty stables] give us a little bit of a spot for refuge for recreational horses, if they can get to those tracks.

“Having lived through many hurricanes myself, I know it takes a little bit of time just to kind of get your feet on the ground and know what the next step is,” Hamelback continued. “So we may even be a little bit too early to get a grasp of what folks need because there's not a lot of communication that's able to come out of that area.”

Mary Ruyle, the executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association, said that she too was surprised how few Thoroughbred owners have reached out to her organization for assistance.

“It's kind of odd, but we are not hearing anything right now from people who are requesting help to move their horses out,” Ruyle said. “I'm hoping that is because people paid attention to the evacuation notices and made provisions for their animals. And because there is not a live meet running yet at SHRP, I'm hoping that there just weren't a lot of horses in the area at this time, and that those that were, got out. At this point we're just asking everybody if they know of a resource or can be a resource to let us know and we'll get that out there for people to see. I'm expecting as things go along over the next few days we'll begin to get more requests for help.”

Some 240 miles east of Houston in Louisiana, Evangeline Downs is in the midst of the closing week of its Thoroughbred season. As a precaution because of anticipated roadway flooding, the track has canceled Wednesday evening's program as rain moves into that region, said JoAnn Comeaux, the track's program coordinator.

Delta Downs, situated roughly between Evangeline Downs and metro Houston, doesn't start its Thoroughbred season until Oct. 18. There are no horses stabled on the grounds, and no horse owners have requested refuge in the track's stable area, said director of racing Chris Warren.

But Karl Broberg, the nation's leading trainer in terms of wins (320), has a Thoroughbred farm about a mile form Delta Downs, and he told TDN there is a possibility he might have to evacuate his horses.

“The water has actually gone down in the last 24 hours, but we are supposed to get blasted again beginning [Tuesday] evening, so the verdict is still out,” Broberg said. “Fortunately I'm blessed with a lot of good help and couple of drivers on standby if [flooding] were to actually become as issue. I know there are a lot of people in the area that have it far worse off than I do.”

Vanning his horses to slightly higher ground at Delta Downs, Broberg said, “was considered as a possibility, [but] has not even been addressed yet, which is actually a little surprising to me.” Plan B, he added, is to “ship them all up to the Shreveport area.”

SHRP initially took in about a dozen horses when it opened its barns earlier this week. But two large incoming shipments on Tuesday swelled the number to about 100. Roland Tamez of the track's security department said SHRP still has room to offer emergency stabling.

“In this approximate area we don't have any high water. It's a higher elevation. There is no flooding or wind damage to the racetrack,” Tamez said. “It is wet and it was raining, but that's about it. Most of Houston, the downtown area versus the outskirts, a lot of the freeways and the interstates are flooded still. Today we took in about 10 to 12 owners. One had 50 (horses) and another had about 40. One had several big trailers following each other. The other group, they made multi trips to bring the horses here.”

Teo Mallet, who owns Century Acres in Hempstead, some 55 miles northwest of Houston, said the 24 Thoroughbreds at his farm were not affected by flooding, even though neighboring ranches were.

“I'm high and dry. Luckily, I have some pretty high property next to the old Lane's End Texas. My hundred acres and paddocks are dry. I've almost not even been affected besides the rain,” Mallet said.

“I feel guilty, because I've got family and friends in Houston that have lost everything, and luckily, thanks to God, we've been not affected,” said Mallet. “We've taken in a bunch of horses from other people that weren't so lucky. I have room for anybody who needs help. We've been putting it out, that I've still got some room to take in more horses. We've taken in six so far; we rescued some yesterday from a neighbor whose barn has flooded. I wish I could do more.”

Mallet said that the grim economics of racing in Texas have taken such a toll on Thoroughbred owners over the past several years that there are not too many racing operations left for the hurricane to wipe out.

“Unfortunately, with the state of racing in Texas, most of the farms have left,” Mallet said. “My farm used to be part of the original Lane's End Texas that the Farishes owned, and they sold out last summer. So the stallions left here and we lost all our broodmares. It's been pretty rough for us. There's probably only half a dozen Thoroughbred farms left in Texas.”

Once the rains stop, the rescue efforts will not be over. Even after floodwater recedes, it can leave behind sewage and chemicals that can cause infections and diseases in both horses and people.

How to help

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation's Equine Disaster Relief Fund is accepting aid to help horses in Texas and Louisiana affected by Hurricane Harvey. Donations will be distributed among credible programs and organizations that are helping with recovery and rebuilding efforts in the aftermath and towards preparedness efforts for future disasters. To donate, click here.

If you instead wish to offer assistance with supplies or other resources, please email the AAEP's Keith Kleine at [email protected] and you will be contacted with further instructions.

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is also accepting donations to its disaster fund here. Since noon on Tuesday, donations have exceeded $50,000. A generous donor has pledged to match the next $25,000 in donations, and the USEF is aiming to reach $100,000.

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