Australia/ New Zealand pioneering leader Dr Eliot Forbes, appointed as new chair of IFAR

Dr. Eliot Forbes: A Champion for Equine Welfare

As the new leader of the International Forum for Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR), Dr. Eliot Forbes is at the forefront of racehorse aftercare. In a recent interview with Bred 4 Sports, he discussed his leadership philosophy, the crucial role of traceability, and his unwavering commitment to equine welfare and social impact.

With a combined 30 years of experience in racing, wagering, animal welfare, and integrity, Dr. Forbes brings a wealth of knowledge to his new role. As a former veterinarian, he has a deep understanding of the unique needs of racehorses.

Despite the challenges posed by economic crises and scrutiny of animal welfare and industry integrity, Dr. Forbes has remained steadfast in his pursuit of a more ethical and sustainable racing industry. His passion for equine welfare and social impact has made him a respected figure in the racing community.

Bred 4 Sports had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Forbes at the annual Backing the Punt: Racing and Wagering Conference in Melbourne, organised by Senet Legal.

Crissy: We’re here today at the Backing the Punt Wagering and Racing conference with Dr Eliot Forbes who is the CEO of the Racing Integrity Board in New Zealand. Dr Eliot, congratulations on your appointment as IFAR’s new chairman.

Dr Eliot: Thank you very much Crissy, it is a great honour to be elected chairman of IFAR and looking forward to the role.

Crissy: Very exciting!

With the inception of the IFAR in 2016, you were the chair of IFAR’s conference organising committee and since seeing IFAR leading the Asian Racing Conference in Sapporo a few weeks ago, have you been able to build more connections within our industry to showcase awareness of the incredible work that you do for the equine industry?

Dr Eliot: Look, we’ve been on a real journey with IFAR, back when we started our goal was really to raise the conversation about the aftercare it’s been a journey of 8 years and we’ve had IFAR conferences over those 8 years and now we’re very proud of the aftercare awareness and the tremendous support from the Asian Racing Federation, being able to be part of the Asian Racing Conference, it’s given us a profile we wouldn’t have achieved otherwise, and we’ve had tremendous support and response to our recent membership for us as well showing that aftercare is not an afterthought, which is now very much a mainstream.

Crissy: With such a wealth of knowledge in the equine industry with over 30 years of experience as a vet with racing and wagering experience across Australasia, UK and Middle East. What can we do as a greater community to help with the Aftercare of racehorses if we’re not directly involved with the industry?

Dr Eliot: So, I think that understanding that aftercare is important to our racing social licence, but it’s actually more than that, not that we do our aftercare initially, then the strategies of our forums of maintaining our social licence, it’s actually an ethical question of doing the right thing, and so for anybody who loves the horse and horse racing, there’s an opportunity there to be a part of our aftercare community, to understand more about the work that’s going on and we can certainly welcome you as a member.

Crissy: With the JRA having a strong program in regard to the aftercare of racehorses, what would you like to see within the Australian and NZ space as the new chair?

Dr Eliot: Yes, so the JRA, they’ve done an amazing over the last few years and they’ve invested $1.8 billion yen towards aftercare ($18 million dollars Australian). So, they’ve done an amazing job. From an Australian and NZ perspective, at many levels the states and PRA’s have done an amazing job as well. Each in their own different strategies going forward. I think what is interesting right now is that there is obviously some softer trading conditions, we might see some industry funding being impacted, what I want to see is certainty that aftercare welfare still remains a priority for racing and in some ways with the cost of living issues we’ve got in the economy, it is more important than ever in the safety of our horses. I think the other thing is that we’ve spoken about traceability for a long period time, it is a challenging area no doubt, and certainly the focus of traceability must remain at the top of the list.

Crissy: In terms of the eco-system of welfare for the horses the whole process from breeding, to racing to aftercare?

Dr Eliot: Well, I think our benchmark needs to be other industries that have animals in particular the livestock industry, the consumer expects that there is end- to- end traceability in the livestock space and they will compare what we do in the racing industry compared to livestock industries. So, you’re absolutely right, so you think about the early stages of life, the racing stages of life, and after they retire, and what are the mechanisms that might be beyond the regulatory reach of racing, what are the strategies we can put in to give that visibility.

Crissy: So, who is your favourite racehorse of all time and why?

Dr Eliot: (Laughs) Look, I’ve been very fortunate to see some great horses that race around the world over the years, and when I went to Dubai I got to see Curlin at the Dubai World Cup to see Sea The Stars who won the Arc, I’ve seen American Pharoah at Trackwork coming  up to Breeders Cup, but my absolute favourite, however, was when I was in Tasmania running the industry down there, we had a horse that rose to prominence called “The Cleaner”. The trainer was called Mick Burles who sadly passed now. The Cleaner was Tasmania bred, bought for $10,000, and at the end of his career I think he’d won $1.35 million, and he was the first Tasmanian runner to compete in two Cox Plates. He was a bold front running horse, and he really became people's horse. When I look back he is one of my favourite horses.

The Cleaner now retired at Living Legends, Australia.

Crissy: That’s Amazing! Well congratulations again, we look forward to hearing more in the future about your work.

Dr Eliot: Thanks for your time Crissy.

Bred 4 Sports wants to say thank you to all those who currently support our equine eco-system through race events through our racing clubs all over Australia and through donations to Australian aftercare businesses nationwide.

The equine industry needs your support in supporting the eco- system of our horses worldwide, you can become a member or support here of IFAR on their website:

https://www.internationalracehorseaftercare.com/ifar-steering-group/

You can also follow them on social media:

www.instagram.com/ifarnews