Saving Ginobili

Nearly a year ago a sad, skinny, broke–down, four-year- old bay gelding was bid away from a killer buyer in a livestock auction by Southern CA Thoroughbred Rescue at the request of Tranquility Farm. His name was Ginobili, and he was the veteran of 14 races with earnings of $157,448, who was vanned off in his last race at Hollywood Park on Dec. 20,2008. It would have been a crime to let this honest little horse go to slaughter. Of course,in California,it is actually a crime to let any horse go to slaughter. But that is a story for another day,a day when the state judiciary and racing authorities decide to enforce our laws responsibly. A day when the excuses and denials of those who abandon their injured horses to slaughter are finally stripped away. But Ginobili’s story is told today not because of his rescue, but because his stay at Tranquility Farm has come to a happy conclusion. Over many years we have worked closely with Plasvacc in Templeton, California,a veterinary supplier that produces the plasma transfer products which save the lives of countless newborn foals and ailing horses every year. Here healthy horses that are not adoptable can still lead useful, normal lives. Ginobili has been accepted as a donor horse there, and today he is headed for the green pastures and long life that he so deserves.

Ginobili will join an elite band of nearly thirty former racehorses rescued by Tranquility Farm that are now living out their lives at Plasvacc. Among them are: Speak Firm, a son of Affirmed who raced 112 times with earnings of $177,000 who was saved from starvation on a pack string in Arizona; Sabalucious, the veteran of 55 races with earnings of $181,707 who was rescued from Los Alamitos; Speedy Pick, a stakes-placed winner of $211,000 who became an “unwanted horse”; and Force of Nature, who after 43 races with earnings of $119,000 and was a starvation case rescued from Los Angeles County Animal Control. He is about to make some great new friends.