I am working on a couple of posts about the Triple Crown Class of ‘07 and their ‘run-ins’ with the law, but I saw this article on MSN this morning and thought it would be a good segue from horse welfare issues (my ‘drug’ posts) to human welfare issues.
The article addresses illegal immigrants, and speculates on the impact a mass deportation would have. It would certainly have a dramatic impact on the Thoroughbred industry. I’m not going to point fingers, and it’s hard to find accurate statistical evidence (mainly I just find estimates in articles like these), but maybe we can all just agree that undocumented hispanics play an enormous support role in the horse industry in general (check out the grooms at a “AA” horse show if you get a chance), and in particular the Thoroughbred industry.
The good news is that the Thoroughbred industry supports the immigration reform legislation that tends to be vollied around Congress, largely because the industry realizes the value of workers who are actually willing to do a job that is dangerous, dirty, and that tends not to result in “moving up in the ranks” to a job with more responsibility and higher pay. Unfortunately, the last attempt to pass an Ag-Worker bill, which would give around 12 million undocumented workers legal status, was killed indefinitely.
Following that, the Department of Homeland Security implemented new regulations on its own, effective in September of last year. The program will theoretically expedite the process for undocumented workers to gain documented status, but it also effected a crackdown on those who employed illegal immigrants, including those in the horse industry (see pages 1 and 2).
In May of this year, John Hickey, president of the American Horse Council, said the passage of this year’s version of the Ag-Jobs bill was unlikely.
In the meantime, horse farm workers and backstretch workers face a pretty tough life due to their undocumented status. They are often reluctant to seek medical care or help from law enforcement, for fear that their undocumented status will be discovered. Their status can certainly be used as leverage to provide them with dismal wages. This is a particularly illuminating article, and it only deals with one track – these issues and conditions are prevalent in all racing jurisdictions.
In the absence of legislative action, industry insiders are stepping up to assist backstretch workers and horse farm workers. NYRA provides the Backstretch Employee Service Team, which does things like provide counseling or on-site dental care. Churchill downs has enabled backstretch workers at Churchill Downs to improve their education and English language skills at the Klein Family Learning Center. Racetrack chaplaincy’s have long provided aid to backstretch workers. And the Race for Education is a great nonprofit organization that provides need-based scholarships to the children of Thoroughbred industry workers. Owners can even nominate their horses so that a portion of their winnings go to the organization. Six Kentucky Derby contenders participated this year. Street Sense, Bluegrass Cat, and Bernardini also contributed. These are just a few examples of valient efforts on the part of the industry, but undocumented workers in the Thoroughbred industry still face many problems.
The recent media focus on horse welfare has been a great motivator for the industry. But we can’t let the human element get lost in the furor.
3 responses so far ↓
Brooklyn Backstretch // July 9, 2008 at 11:50 am |
Such a big issue–I remember there being a lot in the press upstate about the problems at the Oklahoma training track because of immigration issues.
I doubt, too, that the sorts of jobs in the racing industry are ones that U.S. citizens would be flocking to, if the immigrants weren’t here, even if wages were higher.
Kerry O'Neill // July 9, 2008 at 12:10 pm |
Exactly. What I didn’t mention, because I realized this post was getting obscenely long, was that these jobs were previously held by another largely uneducated group with little political power – African Americans. But blacks have made such positive societal gains, and become a much more urban group, which is one of the main reasons that immigrants have become necessary to fill their place.
Meanwhile, we are moving further and further away from the time when there were a lot of people who grew up on farms, who were familiar with working with horses – which adds to the general reluctance to do these jobs.
Don’t Hate the Players, Understand the Game - The Lenders « The Thoroughbred Brief // July 21, 2008 at 10:26 pm |
[...] racing industry, the immigrants who fill the ranks of backstretch workers and horse farm workers (Si, se puede … and as a follow-up, the Paulick Report noted today that B.E.S.T, John Hendrickson, Mary Lou [...]