For those of you who have been readers of this publication for the last few years, you know I am an advocate of horse owners giving money in support of equine research. Without money to pay for personnel, animals, equipment, and all the other things that make research possible, there will be no solutions for the new or age-old health problems of our horses.

There are many ways that researchers can obtain funds–through a university, breed or specialty organizations, or national groups. The most prominent of the latter has been the Grayson/Jockey Club Research Foundation. I say “has been” because many are worried about the direction that organization is taking after the recent resignation of the entire Scientific Advisory Committee. The industry leaders of that committee resigned after they were notified that their committee no longer existed and were invited to join a “combined” new committee. (See news item in the Up Front section, page 7.)

I long have felt that the Grayson/Jockey Club Research Foundation was the key funding group for equine research because it not only had an assembly of top research experts reviewing whether the science of the proposed project was good, but had people with the experience to know if the project was practically relevant. The Grayson/Jockey Club also had input from practicing veterinarians and horse industry leaders in the form of a Veterinary Advisory Committee. That committee was created to assist the Scientific Advisory Committee in ranking the necessity of research proposals to meet current needs.

While the Grayson/Jockey Club Research Foundation has the appearance of being a “Thoroughbreds only” club, that is not the case. Some of the research is directed specifically at Thoroughbreds, but there is very little “Thoroughbred” research done that cannot benefit all athletic horses, whether they be racing Quarter Horses, event horses, or working horses. The reproductive work has none of the breed-specific boundaries