Traceability Initiative Underway

The Jockey Club Release

LEXINGTON, Ky.—The Jockey Club’s traceability initiative, which was announced at the 2023 Round Table Conference (bit.ly/3YiHCH7), launched this summer with email prompts to racetracks and sales companies with digital certificates of horses that have had no Interactive Registration (IR) activity and no Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) number in the past two years. 

“We have reached out to many tracks and sales companies and have had a good result with certificates being transferred to the correct parties,” said Rick Bailey, registrar of The Jockey Club. “If anyone has a digital certificate of foal registration in their account for a horse they no longer possess, we encourage them to transfer the certificate to the current owner or appropriate certificate manager.”

Starting this week, The Jockey Club Registry is sending an email to individuals listed as the certificate manager of a horse that has had no IR activity and no T.I.P. number in the past two years.

The email directs certificate managers to a portal on Interactive Registration with several options to update the status of the horse and to take action to move the certificate out of their account if necessary.

Among the options for those horses where the status may be unknown is to assign the certificate back to The Jockey Club.

The Jockey Club encourages all certificate managers to log on to IR to see if they have horses flagged under the Traceability Initiative. If so, there will be a link at the top of the page directing them to a listing of those horses.

“The Jockey Club Traceability Initiative will enable us to gather information on the current status of Thoroughbreds that are no longer active racehorses, and do not appear to have begun a new career as breeding stock, sport horses, or recreational riding horses,” Bailey said. “It is our hope that owners and certificate managers will be responsive to these prompts so that we can more effectively direct information and resources regarding a horse’s transition from racehorse to a second career.”

Please visit bit.ly/3zfRHe2 to view a video on the Traceability Initiative. 

Resources for horse owners looking to find new careers for their Thoroughbreds can be found on The Jockey Club’s website at bit.ly/tjctbcareers.

Owners of Thoroughbreds with paper certificates of foal registration are also encouraged to file a transfer of ownership with The Jockey Club in preparation for future traceability initiatives for older horses. There is no cost to file a transfer of ownership, and the report can be filed online at registry.jockeyclub.com.

Owners wishing to retire their horse from racing should utilize the Transferred as Retired from Racing process, which will permanently retire the horse.