Equine Advocates announced June 11 that Sackatoga Stable’s Jack Knowlton and New York Assemblyman Jim Tedisco have been named the organization's 2013 honorees.
Knowlton and Tedisco will receive their awards at Equine Advocates’ 12th Awards Dinner and Charity Auction Aug. 1 at the Saratoga Springs City Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
"In this historic year of celebrations for Saratoga Springs, horses, and racing, we are delighted to honor two outstanding individuals who have each made history on their own,” said Susan Wagner, president and founder of Equine Advocates. "It has been 10 years since Jack Knowlton and Sackatoga Stable's Funny Cide became the first New York bred to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
"Since then, Jack Knowlton has become a strong voice against equine abuse and slaughter. Assemblyman Jim Tedisco has dedicated his life to the protection of animals and now is fighting for the passage of legislation to ban the slaughter of equines in New York, which will have national implications as we move forward in passing a federal ban."
Knowlton will receive the 2013 Safe Home Equine Protection Award. He has been the operating manager of Sackatoga Stable since 1995, serving as the racing manager for its Thoroughbreds, including Funny Cide, winner of the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
Knowlton served on the New York State Task Force on Retired Race Horses from 2008-11, when the task force issued its recommendations.
"I am honored to receive Equine Advocates' 2013 Safe Home Equine Protection Award. As a longtime racehorse owner—both Standardbred and Thoroughbred—I am dedicated to the cause of preventing the slaughter of these wonderful equine athletes and securing suitable second careers or homes for them following retirement," Knowlton said.
Tedisco is being honored for his humanitarian work, legislative efforts, and strong public stance against animal abuse, and will be awarded the Ellen and Herbert Moelis Equine Savior Award. He wrote "Buster’s Bill" and worked tirelessly to get it voted into law by the New York legislature in 1999.
The act amended the Agriculture and Markets Law, in relation to aggravated cruelty to animals. He is an active co-sponsor of legislation that would ban the slaughter of equines in and from New York.
“It’s truly an honor to receive the prestigious Equine Advocates 2013 Ellen and Herbert Moelis Equine Savior Award," Tedisco said. "Horses are athletes and companions. They work the farm and provide therapeutic services to veterans and people with disabilities. Horses carried American soldiers into battle and helped build this country. It’s unpatriotic to allow our horses to be sent abroad to be inhumanely slaughtered and turned into food,.
"Moreover, this is a public safety issue as there’s no guarantee horse meat, which is not fit for human consumption, will not end up in the U.S. food supply. I will continue to advocate for passage of legislation to ban the slaughter of horses both here in New York and across the nation."
The Aug. 1 event will be co-chaired by Emmy and Tony Award–winning actress Bebe Neuwirth and Saratoga's own Julie Bonacio, who, along with her husband, Sonny, owns Bonacio Construction. Equine Advocates honored Neuwirth in 2009, and Bonacio received a special award in 2011.
General tickets are $250 per person. Tickets at front tier tables are $500 per person. For more information, call (518) 245-1599 or visit Equine Advocates’ web site at www.equineadvocates.org.