Dolly Green Research Foundation

The Dolly Green Research Foundation is affiliated with the Southern California Equine Foundation and was established to administer a bequest from the late Miss Dolly Green. Miss Green was a longtime racehorse owner with a special interest in equine welfare. Research funding is intended to help fulfill the Southern California Equine Foundation by improving the health and welfare of the Thoroughbred equine athlete. It is dedicated exclusively to equine health issues.

Goals of the Dolly Green Research Foundation

The mission of the Dolly Green Research Foundation is to advance the health and welfare of the thoroughbred racehorse. The Dolly Green Research Foundation seeks to emphasize research with a practical benefit to the racehorse, and expects to have a significant impact on equine research in the future.

The Research Committee fosters this mission through the funding of pertinent and scientifically sound research proposals. Over the years, the Foundation has funded a wide range of research topics. Topics that are considered of timely importance (E.P.M., for example) receive additional consideration. Above all, projects must be scientifically and ethically sound. The value of the potential knowledge gained is also of importance.

In addition, the Dolly Green Research Foundation has joined with the SCEF and the California Thoroughbred Foundation to fund scholarships to veterinary students specializing in equine care at the University of California at Davis. In this way, it helps encourage the development of new equine veterinarians who will care for and undertake research benefiting the Thoroughbred racehorse.

The Racetrack as a Laboratory

The racetrack environment offers many opportunities for research. In fact, many important studies have been carried out, in whole or in part, within the racetrack enclosure. Research on E.I.P.H. and gastric ulcers have been carried out quite successfully at the racetrack. The racetrack offers a readily available and relatively homogeneous population of animals for study. Studies carried out at the racetrack need to be carefully considered and planned, particularly when invasive procedures may be involved. Nonetheless, considerable effort could be made to promote the use of the racetrack population in future proposals.

The Research Committee

The Research Committee consists of clinical practitioners, academic clinicians, and academic- and industry-based researchers. Because the content of grant proposals can vary widely from year to year, one or two additional reviewers may be named after the receipt of the grant proposals. This allows the committee to add expertise in certain areas as needed. In past years, effort has been made to diversify the expertise and professional affiliations of the reviewers.