A lot of work goes into training a racehorse. In order to ensure that a runner arrives at the racetrack at the peak of their physical powers, the well-being and fitness of the animals are always at the forefront of a trainer’s mind. From the minute planning of training regimes to the more rudimentary tasks of providing comfortable stables and a relaxing environment, those entrusted with the care of these noble animals leave no stone unturned.
This rigorous approach to welfare also extends to providing horses with a balanced and nutritious diet. If they are to live well and perform to a high level at the track, racehorses require a diet rich in fats, protein, fibre, and starch, which provide a good mix of fast and slow-release energy sources. Most of these requirements are met by a diet containing forage, such as grass and hay, and grains, such as oats, corn, and barley.
As it is beyond the remit of the vast majority of trainers to grow their own foodstuffs, a huge horse-feed industry has developed to nourish the thousands of racehorses in training in the UK. Almost all trainers will have a running contract with one or more such companies, ensuring that suitable food flows into the yard throughout the year.
Most of the time, this process goes by without a hitch – with stories regarding problems with feed rarely making the news. However, whilst infrequent, the horse-feed industry has not been entirely immune to hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with several high-profile contamination cases exploding into the limelight in relatively recent times. Here we take a look at how this potentially financially disastrous – and occasionally deadly – problem may arise and highlight a selection of those cases to have placed the industry under the microscope.
How Might Feed Be Contaminated?
Thanks to rigorous testing procedures – and the sad sight of horses becoming sick – it is relatively straightforward to identify that feed has been contaminated. Zeroing in on the source of the contamination is often a more difficult task. However, there are specific stages of the feed journey which may be examined, including:
- The pre-harvest environment of the ingredients
- The processes in place and any possible cross-contamination issues at the manufacturing plant
- The feed storage facility
- How the feed is transported from supplier to customer
- Storage facilities at the yard
- The potential for cross-contamination when feeding the animals
The introduction of an unwelcome substance, either naturally occurring or man-made, at any of these stages, can result in horse feed becoming contaminated. Thankfully, this tends to almost always be accidental or negligent, rather than a deliberate act.
The analysis of the above, particularly regarding the sourcing and manufacturing of ingredients, can become complicated, as most feed manufacturers source their ingredients from several different suppliers. Many grains grow naturally in the UK and Ireland, but others are imported. For example, most of the maize used comes from France, whilst soya thrives in North and South America. With so many strands coming together, all standards must be rigorously adhered to at every stage to create a product fit for use.
Given the potential health and financial implications of producing a bad batch of feed, the top suppliers will always conduct tests before approving distribution. This testing process usually consists of taking a 300g sample from each 10-ton batch and sending it to the laboratory to check for unwanted or prohibited substances.
If this test comes back clear, the feed will be approved. If the test sample fails, the related batch is destroyed, and an investigation will follow. 300g may sound like a relatively small sample from such a large batch, but to test even this amount costs in the region of £120. Larger scale testing would therefore be financially unviable.
Impacts of Contaminated Feed
Considering the vast amount of horse feed consumed each year, the relatively small number of contamination cases is reassuring. However, when it comes to health and well-being, many will believe that even a single case is one too many. If a contaminated batch does make it into the system, the results can be devasting and include the following:
- Horse sickness and death
- Loss of earnings due to the withdrawal of a horse from a race
- Loss in breeding value should a horse miss a race, which may otherwise have increased its stud price
- Loss of earnings at the sales ring – any yearling purchased at an auction which subsequently fails a drugs test may be returned to the seller for a full refund
- Damage to the reputation and income of the feed provider
- Damage to the reputation of the affected yard
- Damage to the reputation of the horseracing industry as a whole
Famous Cases
When weighing up all of the potential negative effects, it is not surprising that the issue of horse feed is taken very seriously and generates a significant measure of column inches whenever problems arise – as evidenced by the following trio of cases from recent times.
2020 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
Given the vast arsenal of classy animals at his disposal, Aidan O’Brien is a regular visitor to Longchamp in October, as the Paris track plays host to its signature event of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. With a whopping £2.5m in prize money up for grabs, the 1m4f event represents one of the standout targets of the season, not only for O’Brien but for the connections of the top middle-distance performers anywhere on the planet.
All appeared to be running smoothly for O’Brien in the lead-up to the 2020 race, with team Ballydoyle stumping up a £72,000 supplementary fee to add Derby hero Serpentine to a team which already included Mogul, Japan, and Sovereign. Then, on the eve of the race, it all went wrong.
Upon arrival in France, O’Brien stuck to his usual procedure of having his horses tested ahead of the big day. Usually little more than a routine process, this time the results were different, with all four Arc contenders testing positive for the substance Zilpaterol. Used to promote growth in cattle, Zilpaterol is not licenced for use in Europe and is toxic to horses in large doses. All of which posed the question of how it came to be present in the systems of O’Brien’s team of stars. With no possibility or reason that Zilpaterol would be in evidence at the O’Brien yard, the feed appeared to be the only realistic source.
Upon receiving the positive test results, O’Brien immediately withdrew all four runners from the Arc. However, Ballydoyle were not alone in purchasing the GAIN Feed product from Glanbia Foods Ltd Ireland. O’Brien’s two training sons, Joseph and Donacha, also used the supplier, leading to the withdrawal of all of their runners from the Longchamp meeting, whilst Roger Varian also withdrew his horses as a precautionary measure. When all was said and done, that batch of contaminated feed resulted in 11 contenders missing their engagements at one of racing’s biggest events, depriving the meeting – and the headline event in particular – of much of its lustre and prestige.
Following the Longchamp debacle, the eye of scrutiny quickly turned upon the feed provider, who released a statement confirming they were investigating “the potential presence of a contaminant in some batches of our equine feed range.”. They also added that “Zilpaterol has never formed part of any formulation in any of our animal nutrition range.”
Eventually, a €516,000 batch of a molasses product known as Molasses Cane 72 Bulk, purchased by Glanbia Foods Ireland Ltd from ED&F Man Liquid Products Ireland Ltd, was identified as the source of the contamination. It was felt that the issue seemingly came about as a result of cross-contamination at the ED&F Mann production facility.
Having determined the source, the battle for compensation began. Glanbia Foods Ireland Ltd claimed they had suffered €9m in lost earnings due to the issue, denied responsibility, and sought to lay the blame at the feet of ED&F Mann. Meanwhile, O’Brien and co sued Glanbia Foods Ireland Ltd for €30m, citing loss of earnings on the day and damage to the stud value of the three-year-old colt Wembley, who missed his engagement in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes as a consequence of the contaminated feed. A lengthy and expensive court battle looked to be in store, but in the end, all parties came together to reach an undisclosed out-of-court settlement.
2014 Ascot Gold Cup
Back in 2014, the issue of contaminated feed struck perhaps the most famous owner in the sport – HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Always an enthusiastic visitor to Royal Ascot during her reign, the Queen enjoyed one of her most famous racing moments in 2013, when her star mare Estimate stormed to victory in the Ascot Gold Cup. Twelve months on, Estimate lined up in that same race – putting up a bold defence of her crown to finish second to Aidan O’Brien’s Leading Light. However, the dust had barely settled on that gallant effort when a significant problem emerged.
Following a post-race drugs test, Estimate’s sample returned a positive reading for morphine! The pain relief substance is permissible for medicinal purposes but must be out of a horse’s system by race day. After an investigation, contaminated feed was pinpointed as the only realistic source – turning the spotlight on Dodson & Horrell Limited, who had served as horse and dog food suppliers to the Queen since 2006.
This time, the culprit was identified as poppy seeds, which naturally produce low levels of both morphine and codeine, and were suspected to have grown amongst a batch of linseed sourced for the production of the Alfalfa Oil Plus product. With further cases identified in Estimate’s stablemate Russian Realm and in the yards of Tony Carroll, Eve Johnson Houghton, Gay Kelleway and Charlie Hills, all batches of the affected product were recalled.
As in the Aidan O’Brien case, thankfully no horses came to any harm due to this contamination, whilst no culpability was attributed to the owners and trainers involved. Estimate was, nevertheless, disqualified from the Gold Cup, with the Queen returning the £80,625 second-place prize money.
2016 USA: Reisdorf Bros
One of the most tragic recent incidents occurred in the USA in 2015-16 when feed supplied by Reisdorf Bros became contaminated with monensin. Boasting antibiotic properties, monensin is used to promote growth in cattle – in much the same manner as Zilaparetol. However, the substance becomes extremely dangerous if consumed by horses, causing a weakening of the heart muscles, colic, and kidney failure, leading to severe illness and potentially death.
Amongst those affected by the contaminated feed was a group of horse owners based at the TMC Performance Horses barn in New York. Having witnessed the death and permanent injury of several of their animals, the group sent off a batch of the feed supplied by Reisdorf Bros for testing, with the results showing that the product contained a potentially lethal quantity of monensin.
With Reisdorf Bros seemingly reluctant to accept any blame or offer suitable compensation, legal action became inevitable. Tired of waiting, the horse owners group and barn owners sued Reisdorf Bros in 2018, alleging that the company used defective equipment, which it should have known created the risk of toxic levels of monensin contaminating its feed. This error is then said to have directly contributed to the severe illness and death of the affected horses. The filing of this suit triggered a lengthy legal battle which, as of 2023, remains unresolved.