March 2023 Issue

Page 60 March 2023 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN www. EquineColicReliefUSA.com • Email: zebecash2@hotmail.com Staff The New Jersey legislature has introduced an act for the 2022-2023 session establishing a five-year, $1 million grant program for the care of retired Standardbred and Thoroughbred horses. Bill A4455 currently sits in the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee. Its identical Senate bill 3091 also sits in committee. The bills establish a five-year grant program to provide funds to assist with the care of retired horses to be administered by the New Jersey Racing Commission, which will develop an application process for accredited organi- zations and develop the criteria used to award the grants. Applicants would be re- quired to have 501(c)(3) status and be fully accredited by the Standardbred Transition Alli- ance, Standardbred Retirement Foundation, or Second Call Thoroughbred Adoption and Placement. Applicants would be re- quired to provide a statement of need; demonstration of financial stability and operational trans- parency; evidence of qualified and experienced horsepersons attending to each horse’s needs; documentation of well-devel- oped screening policies to ensure proper placement of horses; evidence that the applicant main- tains national standards of best practices for the industry, which may include the Care Guidelines for Equine Rescue and Retire- ment Facilities promulgated by the American Association of Equine Practitioners; and written commitment to ensure funds pro- vided would only be used for the care of New Jersey-bred horses, or horses with a New Jersey-bred sire or dam. Each year, the New Jersey Racing Commission would award $100,000 to a qualified organization dedicated to the care of retired Standardbred horses and $100,000 to an accredited organization dedicated to the care of retired Thoroughbred horses. Those grants would be issued in each of five years following passage of the legislation. If the New Jersey Racing Commission determines that the applicants in a given year do not meet the requirements of the act, the funding for that year may be distributed in equal shares as determined by the commission to promote the care of retired Standardbred and Thoroughbred horses. The wording of Act 4465 notes that the horse racing indus- try is economically important to New Jersey. In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the horse racing industry conducted over 2,000 races and the total handle wagered in New Jersey amount- ed to approximately $1 billion. The horse racing industry gen- erates millions of dollars in tax NJ Legislature Introduces Bill to Fund Racehorse Aftercare (Continued on page 62)