It is a hard truth to swallow, but I can no longer argue that this industry cares about its core customer—the bettor. While I don’t like it, I’ve learned to live with it, just as most players have; some are oblivious, and others simply don’t care. But when it becomes harder and harder to believe that the leaders and stalwarts of this game care about the horses, that is where I draw the line. I cannot ignore it, I will not stand down, and there is definitely no “quit” over here. The hits keep coming, and at this point, we aren’t just dealing with bad leadership—it’s a total vacuum. It is a complete lack of leadership, and that is exactly where we find ourselves today.
The recent exposé on the “Wild West” of horse racing in Guyana—a landscape of undocumented imports and zero regulatory guardrails—is a chilling reminder of how easily the North American Thoroughbred can slip off the grid. While much of the industry’s ire has been directed at sales companies and middlemen, the ultimate responsibility for the integrity of the breed lies with the keeper of the American Stud Book: The Jockey Club.
We have highlighted the systemic welfare gaps in Puerto Rico, where horses often vanish into a cycle of over-racing and abandonment. In our Open Letter to the Board of Stewards, we demanded that The Jockey Club treat these high-risk shipments with the gravity they deserve. To date, those demands have been met with administrative silence.
The “Domestic” Deception
Under Rule 10 of the Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book, strict “Certificates of Exportation” are required for horses moving to international jurisdictions. However, because Puerto Rico is classified as “domestic” territory alongside the U.S. and Canada, horses are shipped there with no more oversight than a van ride across state lines.
This is a legal fiction. Once a horse reaches Puerto Rico, it enters a jurisdiction plagued by documented welfare crisis. By refusing to treat Puerto Rico as an export destination, The Jockey Club is effectively facilitating a pipeline to a ghost zone where traceability goes to die.
The Guyana Precedent
The situation in Guyana is even more dire. As reported this week, Guyana has no approved studbook and its racing authority remains a body on paper only. Yet, North American Thoroughbreds continue to arrive there via handshake deals. While individual tracks like Gulfstream Park have shown leadership by banning individuals who ship to these areas, the breed registry remains a passive bystander.
A Call for Action: Three Mandates for The Jockey Club
We are calling on the Board of Stewards to exercise its authority to protect the breed and its participants:
- Amend Rule 10: Require a mandatory Welfare Export Certificate for any horse moving to Puerto Rico. This would subject these shipments to the same rigorous identity and health tracking required for any other international export.
- Trigger Rule 19 for High-Risk Shipping: The Jockey Club recently used Rule 19 to deny registration privileges to individuals for cruelty violations. They must now expand this enforcement to include anyone who ships a horse to an unregulated jurisdiction like Guyana.
- Establish a “No-Export” Registry Flag: For horses sold with aftercare-focused “no-export” covenants, The Jockey Club must provide a mechanism to flag these horses in the registry, making them ineligible for transfer or registration in high-risk jurisdictions. Not voluntary, mandatory.
The industry cannot claim to be committed to aftercare while it continues to provide the raw material for unregulated racing circuits. The Jockey Club must stop being a passive record-keeper and start being the guardian it was built to be. If a jurisdiction cannot guarantee the safety of our horses, they should not have access to our Stud Book in any way shape or form.
It’s time. Lead or step aside:
