By Jordan Gerrans
The newly-formed Queensland Thoroughbred Owners Association and their hierarchy will take a focus on education to the northern parts of the state through February.
Peter Tighe – a director and chairman of the QTOA – and CEO Ben Mannion will visit Townsville this weekend to spread the message behind the association before heading to Rockhampton the following weekend.
The QTOA are in their infancy and are aiming to visit as much of the Sunshine State as possible in 2022 to encourage thoroughbred owners to become members.
Tighe, who famously raced the mighty mare Winx through her career, believes the 20,000 owners across Queensland deserve a voice.
“We want everyone on a level playing field as there is a lot of issues that come up and currently the owners do not have a say as there has not been an effective ownership association, going into bat for the owners,” Tighe said.
“Owners in Queensland – we are a bigger body than the trainers and the jockeys – they all have a seat at the table and a voice and the owners did not have an effective seat until now.
“The association is trying to establish the owners, putting them on the map so they are included in all discussions around horse racing.
“The owners invest quite a lot of money and they are therefore entitled to put their point across through the association.
“We do not want to bang the table and stamp our feet and tell everyone what we want, we want to educate owners.”
QTOA’s vision is to be the number one thoroughbred owner body protecting and enhancing the rights of all thoroughbred owners while enjoying the thrill of racing.
According to Tighe, one of the key messages the association will aim to spread is the importance of rehoming race horses following their careers, including the Off-The-Track program.
The association will speak to owners around the significance of working with trainers to find suitable positions for gallopers once their days as a race horse are over, including disciplines like eventing and show jumping as well as potentially becoming therapy horses.
“Hopefully we can give the owners a voice and educate owners about their responsibilities of owning a race horse from the purchase of the horse until the end of their life,” he said.
“It is not just about buying the horse and then forgetting about it once it has finished racing, there is a lot more that needs to happen.
“We want to be really focussed on educating all of the owners of what their responsibilities around horse welfare is, we see that as one of our main objectives.
“It should be rewarding to give the horse a great life after his racing career because most owners love the experience of racing a horse when they are on the track and we should do the same once they are finished up.”
With trips to Cluden and Callaghan Park planned for this month, the Board of Directors of the Queensland Thoroughbred Owners Association want to ensure owners from around the Sunshine State are aware of the body.
“We are there to reaffirm with the racing owners in North Queensland that we do want them to have a voice as there is over 20,000 owners in the state and it is not all about South East Queensland,” Tighe said.
“It is about Cairns to Mt Isa and back to Brisbane and everywhere in between.
“We want to work with Racing Queensland as well as the bodies for the trainers and the jockeys as well as race clubs to help people understand what is expected for when you buy a race horse.”
QTOA is governed by a council which consists of seven members, who meet every three months, or when required, to consider the important issues which affect racehorse owners.
Tighe and Mannion will run a function on the Friday evening at Cluden Park as well as being track side on Saturday with Ben Culham, who is Magic Millions’ Bloodstock Consultant.