Columbus, OH – The U.S. Trotting Association announced Wednesday (May 19) its support for the reintroduction of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act of 2021 by U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL) today.

The USTA’s Board of Directors made the organization’s position official in support of this legislation, which would permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States as well as prohibit the export of live horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses to be sold overseas, at the conclusion of their Annual Meeting last year.

“The USTA is a strong advocate for the care of our horses when their racing careers are over and passage of this legislation would effectively end horse slaughter in the United States by making it illegal for the transportation and export of horses for slaughter domestically or in other countries,” said USTA Executive Vice President and CEO Mike Tanner.  “The USTA has numerous programs to support aftercare and we were instrumental in the creation of and initial funding for the Standardbred Transition Alliance.”

The USTA encourages all of its members and everyone in the harness racing industry to express support for the SAFE Act by contacting their representatives in the U.S. Congress.  To find out contact information for U.S. Senators and Representatives, click here.

The USTA has a longstanding history of programs that provide assistance to retired Standardbred racehorses.

Support Our Standardbreds is a USTA program that provides financial assistance to public agencies and 501(c)(3) charitable organizations caring for registered Standardbreds that have been abandoned or subject to removal due to legal intervention.

Full Circle is an initiative that connects two or more people with a shared concern for a horse with the purpose of assisting that horse if or when it is ever needed. Anyone who wants to be contacted if a registered Standardbred needs help at any time in their life can enroll.

The USTA’s Pleasure Horse program allows a horse owner to designate and protect a horse that they are selling or giving away for non-racing purposes with their intention that the horse will no longer be raced and/or bred. Pleasure Registration is final and irreversible.

To read more on the USTA’s Life After Racing programs, click here.