There are many ways to raise awareness and money for Thoroughbred aftercare, and at the recent Barretts October Yearling Sale one idea proved very successful.
Jan and Jerry Hawthorne of Double J H Stables and Madeline Auerbach teamed up last year to breed a horse for the benefit of retired Thoroughbreds. The idea was to sell a foal at the Barretts Yearling Sale and donate all the proceeds to CARMA. Luckily, they got a beautiful chestnut filly by Unusual Heat out of Practically Perfect and yesterday she sold for $57,000.
“I want to thank everyone for all their hard work to make this happen,” said Madeline Auerbach, CARMA Chair. “Thank you to Jan for donating a beautiful mare and taking the responsibility of raising a wonderful baby at her own expense, to the Unusual Heat Syndicate for donating the stud fee, and to Harris Farms and Barretts Sales Company for waiving their commissions on the sale. Without everyone’s support we could not have done this.”
“A key part of CARMA’s mission is to promote industry support for aftercare, and yesterday we saw that in action,” said CARMA Executive Director Lucinda Mandella.
“When the auctioneer said all the proceeds from the sale would benefit retired racehorses, applause broke out in the pavilion, and when the hammer dropped everyone cheered. It wasn’t about the money; it was about the idea that, as a community, we could work together for an important cause,” she said.
The filly was purchased by agent Tim McMurray in the name of Fleetwood Bloodstock and was scheduled to be shipped to Kentucky for training.
CARMA, a 501c3 non-profit, raises money for retired Thoroughbred racehorses that have raced in California. It is a member of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and has a seat on the NTRA Safety Alliance’s aftercare subcommittee, which works toward a national solution to issues surrounding retired racehorses.
CARMA is run by an independent board of directors and is responsible for hosting fundraising events, educating owners and trainers on equine retirement, and working to unify the industry in support of retiring equine athletes.