Op/Ed: The Industry Needs to Step Up and Help Pass the SAFE Act

[Wandering Eyes]

Horse racing can pat itself on its back for the progress that has been made concerning horses sent to slaughter. Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, horses are an amenable species, which means that horse meat cannot be shipped or sold for human consumption without inspection. With the government declining to foot the bill for inspectors from the Food and Drug Administration, every slaughter facility in the U.S. was forced to close.

Tremendous strides have also been made when it comes to aftercare. There are dozens of wonderful charities out there taking care of thousands of retirees. Several racetracks have instituted their own non-profit programs where trainers and owners can turn their horses over to on-track workers who guarantee they will find the retiree a safe home. The gold standard for this is Parx's Turning For Home program, which has taken in 4,600 horses since its inception in 2008.

But the job is not done.

Horses are still being slaughtered because it is legal to ship them to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico. That's where the Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act comes in. The bill would prohibit not only slaughter in the U.S. permanently but would also make it illegal to export horses to Canada and Mexico for the purpose of slaughter. Passage of the SAFE Act would slam the door on this ugly part of the horse industry. With no pipeline available to Mexico and Canada, someone wanting to sell a horse for slaughter would have no practical outlet to do so.

It's not that our elected officials are against the SAFE Act. Very few are. It's that the bill continues to get buried in the quagmire that is our federal government. Chris Heyde is the founder of Blue Marble Strategy and is a Washington, D.C. lobbyist who has dedicated his career to animal welfare issues. On a recent TDN Writers' Room Podcast, he said the bill has made strides in the House of Representatives but can't get any traction in the Senate.

“We've passed it out of the House of Representatives several times,” Heyde said. “Even in the last Congress, we moved it out of there. It's a matter of getting all the parts lined up to get it out of the House and get it out of the Senate. The Senate was set up to be a lot slower. It's where things get bogged down. They are far more deliberate.”

Yet, Heyde, who has been working on animal welfare issues for 25 years, knows all too well how most things get done in D.C.:  money, access and influence. That's what works. The problem is, Heyde doesn't have much money and he admits he doesn't have the kind of clout you need to get congressmen and senators to grant you an audience and listen to what you have to say.

“Anytime I ever talk or write articles, I mention an old Thoroughbred owner, John Hettinger,” Heyde said. “He could pick up the phone and he would get members of Congress on the phone or he would get other major business leaders to get on the phone and tell them that this is a priority. And that's really what we need. We really haven't kind of had that leadership since John passed away.”

Hettinger died in 2008. Heyde is waiting for the next Hettinger to come around. There are obviously others in the racing industry that are well connected enough and wealthy enough to get this done and care about the well-being of all horses.

Surely, someone among the major breeders in Kentucky can sit down and talk with Mitch McConnell. HISA never would have passed without him. McConnell announced in February 2025 that he will retire and not seek re-election in 2026. His successor is likely to be Congressman Andy Barr, who has always been a friend to the racing industry. Do you have access to him? If yes, pick up the phone and ask for a meeting. It doesn't have to be McConnell or Barr and the responsibility to do this shouldn't rest solely with the Kentucky breeding industry. Do you have influence with any senator and congressmen? Then pick up the phone.

Look at what Mike Repole accomplished earlier this year getting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to come out against decoupling in Florida. According to campaign finance records filed in July 2025, the billionaire businessman contributed $300,000 to DeSantis's state political committee, the Freedom Fund.

Because he is a governor and not a senator or congressman, there is little that DeSantis can do. But the DeSantis-Repole relationship is a prime example of what can get done when someone with clout and a lot of money desires to make a change.

“There are politicians that will listen to business owners and business leaders,” Heyde said. “That's really what we need because this isn't good for the racing industry. We've always tried to get that point across. I would say that 99% don't want this happening to their horses, but they've got to speak up and make that contact. So that's what we're really trying to do, to get top-tier business leaders to join us.”

There have to be dozens of wealthy horse owners who know influential politicians who will hear what they have to say. Pick up the phone.

Heyde admits that the SAFE Act would never go anywhere if presented as a stand-alone bill. So efforts have been made to include it in the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill is a comprehensive omnibus bill that is the primary agricultural and food policy instrument of the federal government. The 2018 Farm Bill permanently outlawed the slaughtering, trading, and transport of dogs and cats for human consumption in the U.S. All it would take is to add the word “horse” to the bill's language covering cats and dogs.

Heyde admits he can't get this done by himself. But if enough racing people who are power brokers step up, the SAFE Act can become a law and slaughter will end.

Want to help? You can contact Heyde at cheyde@bluemarblestrategy.com.

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