Since 2004, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Second Chances Program at Wateree Correctional Facility in South Carolina has provided a home for over a hundred former racehorses and has trained nearly as many inmates to be grooms through Groom Elite's onsite certification course. It's a win-win for both horses and men: horses have a forever home if they need it, and inmate participation reduces the recidivism rate at Wateree from 40% among the population at large to 12% among program graduates.
Sounds wonderful, right? How could a program like this fail to capture the imagination and pocketbooks of those in a position to help within our industry? As a freelance turf writer living in South Carolina, the more I learned about the Wateree program, the more evident it became that it is facing funding challenges threatening its ability not only to maintain current services, but to survive. Wateree is one of nine prisons who are part of TRF's national Second Chances program, which cares for over 700 former racehorses. Wateree's Second Chances program hoped to be self-sustaining and, until recently, it was. With the reduction of matching funds and the death of a major benefactor, Wateree has struggled to maintain past funding levels. With the assistance of TRF National, the program will be stepping up its fundraising efforts at both the national and local level.
South Carolina is not a racing state, and aside from pockets of horsemen in Camden and Aiken, there seems to be little general awareness of the issue of rehoming off track Thoroughbreds. The aging herd at Wateree is becoming unadoptable and fewer inmates can be served due to lack of funds and fewer horses to care for. The program graduates certified grooms, but aside from the efforts of concerned individuals, there is minimal formal assistance with job placement. In an industry suffering from a shortage of trained, reliable help, this seems a shame.
In an interview with a Wateree graduate released four years ago and currently looking for live-in work as a groom (I'll call him Mike), I asked him what was the hardest thing he had to do in the Second Chances program. I expected an answer like, “confront a horse in a round pen for the first time,” or, “halter a horse in an open field.” Instead, Mike said, “The hardest thing I had to do was leave the horses. I wanted to go home, but I missed them. I still think about them. They helped me get through.”
It truly astonished me that someone in prison might actually consider, even if just for a moment, staying there rather than leave horses he's cared for behind. I'm guessing it's a quality most trainers and farm managers would like to have in their barn. To me, Mike's response captures the essence of what's best in our sport: love for the horse, and desire to help the horse.
Programs like Second Chances shouldn't struggle for funding. It benefits racing and society at large for the Wateree program to continue. It benefits our industry for Groom Elite to train potential grooms, both inside and outside prison walls, to be as educated and professional as possible. There needs to be a well funded, secure place in the OTTB aftercare spectrum for unadoptable horses, who deserve loving homes as much as those with the talent and ability to thrive in successful second careers. Although funding is of course the primary need, the Wateree program could also profit from creative and energetic brainstorming among those with experience and connections in the industry on how to help it not just survive, but flourish.
Both horses and men deserve a second chance, and it's up to us to make sure they get it.
For more information on Wateree's Second Chances program, please visit here. If you are interested in hiring a Wateree graduate or wish to contribute funds, ideas or time to the Wateree program, please contact William Cox at [email protected] or visit www.trfinc.org.
Mary Perdue
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