The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) announced it has granted $250,500 to 12 equine rescue groups to assist their efforts to rehabilitate and retrain retired racehorses. Launched in 2010, the ASPCA Rescuing Racers Initiative has awarded more than $2 million to prepare horses for new homes and second careers once their racing careers end.

“Now in its 10th year, the ASPCA Rescuing Racers Initiative provides focused and impactful grant funding to the many groups around the country that provide critical resources to former racehorses,” said Emily Weiss, PhD, CAAB, ASPCA’s vice president of equine welfare. “While their racing careers may have ended, these retirees still have much to offer, and we are proud to support these innovative groups as they effectively, humanely, and efficiently rehabilitate and rehome retired racers.”

Selected recipients include a range of equine rescues, each receiving a grant ranging from $10,000-50,000 to support their work. Recipients of the 2019 ASPCA Rescuing Racers Initiative include:

• CANTER USA;
• Friends of Ferdinand (Indiana);
• Hope for Horses (North Carolina);
• Horse and Hound (Oklahoma);
• Kentucky Equine Adoption Center;
• MidAtlantic Horse Rescue Inc. (Maryland);
• New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program (Kentucky, Louisiana, and Ohio);
• Redwings Horse Sanctuary (California);
• ReRun Thoroughbred Adoption (New York);
• This Old Horse (Minnesota);
• Beyond the Roses Equine Rescue and Retirement (Michigan); and
• Racers Placers Inc. (Wisconsin).

The ASPCA Equine Welfare department is focused on ensuring horses nationwide have good welfare, which includes working collaboratively with stakeholders in both the rescue community and equine industries to help at-risk horses transition safely to new careers and homes, increasing safety net support for horse owners, and enhancing anti-cruelty efforts. In 2018, the ASPCA awarded more than $800,000 in equine grants to assist 56 equine organizations across the country