Day said one of her tasks and also that of racing in general was to increase the Thoroughbred breed and its versatility.
“Racing’s role to a certain extent is to promote the breed as a brand to increase desirability,” she said.
“In terms of equestrian, people tend to think only of show jumping, dressage and eventing but there’s so much more domestic horse sport such as polo, pleasure riding, trail-riding clubs and out-riding clubs.
“It’s a fragmented community. There are so many opportunities for the breed if the racing industry is promoting its versatility. A lot of people only see the breed as racehorses, but there’s so much more.
“How do you make the domestic horse-sport market keen to report to a body that they don’t necessarily know exists? We are looking at engagement strategies, data sharing programs, external partnerships ... there’s a lot of different ways to look at it.
“Communication is the key. It will lead to better traceability.”
Day said the general public wasn’t aware of how many checkpoints there were already in place to trace the movement of a Thoroughbred after their racing career.
“In terms of a horse’s welfare but also in terms of traceability, it’s multiple check points for thousands of horses. I don’t think the general public sees that enough.
“From a Racing Australia perspective, outside the customer service team there’s someone else that can be a point of contact that can communicate and can help.
“These situations might go to other agencies. The racing industry is always there to help. If there’s a Thoroughbred in need, contact the Principal Racing Authorities. We take that stuff incredibly seriously because we want to protect the horse.”
Day has an undiminished passion for Thoroughbreds on and off the track.