US State Department urges organizers of Kentucky Horse Race to review Kadyrov's licence

The registration committee of horse racing which is held in Kentucky (USA) intends to revise the licence of the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov entitling him to apply for participation in these competitions. This decision was made after the committee received a letter from the US State Department referring to human rights violations.

On October 7, due to non-confirmation of Kadyrov's licence, his horse Sweet Ducky, purchased by the Chechen leader in this March, was discharged from the qualifying race at Keeneland Race Course.

John Veitch, Chief State Steward for the Kentucky Horse Racing, stated that the State Department had not given any specific instructions not to allow Kadyrov's horses to the races and had not accused the Chechen leader of any specific charges. According to Mr Vetch, the letter only referred "to reports of human rights violations", the "Thoroughbred Times" Magazine, information from which has been translated into Russian by the "Caucasian Knot", reports.

Mr Veitch said that he had seen the Kadyrov's licences issued "in England, South Africa and Dubai". According to him, Ramzan Kadyrov also has a licence entitling him to apply with his horses for competitions in Hong Kong and Australia. Thus, the Kadyrov's right to put his horses to the races in Kentucky was denied for the first time.

The Ramzan Kadyrov's stables keep 56 horses, the "Dozhd" (Rain) TV Channel reports. Information on their cost was not disclosed; however, in 2007, it was reported that the Chechen President has purchased a thoroughbred Arabian horse named Eselmdish for about one million roubles, the "NEWSru.com" reports. In 2009, Ramzan Kadyrov has purchased another horse, named Gitano Hernando, which cost, according to the Britain's "Racing Post" newspaper, four million US dollars. At the same time, the "Caucasian Knot" reported, earlier Ramzan Kadyrov declared that all horses from his stables belonged to the Chechen Republic.

The horses from the Kadyrov's stables compete and often win at the races in Russia and abroad. This March, a Kadyrov's horse was among the winners of the World Cup in Dubai and earned 200,000 US dollars; another Kadyrov's horse won the first place in the prestigious races in Singapore with a prize fund of 3 million US dollars. The Kadyrov's horse named Bronze Cannon won the second place in the equestrian competitions for Betfred Cup, which took place at the Kenton Hippodrome in England on September 3, the "Grozny-Inform" reports.

On October 16 this year, Ramzan Kadyrov's racehorses named Mikhail Glinka and Bronze Cannon participated in the competitions Pattison Canadian International Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. The racehorse Bronze Cannon was the last at the finish line, and the racehorse Mikhail Glinka - the 14th of 16 racehorses participating in the race.

Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in September 2009, Senator Bob Brown, the leader of the Green Party of Australia, urged to ban the entry into Australia for the Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, commenting on plans for the participation of Kadyrov's horses in the races for the Melbourne Cup. The Senator explained his position that he was indignant about killings and flagrant human rights violation in Chechnya. However, finally the Kadyrov's horse named Murilyan was allowed to participate in the race; the horse won the third place and earned more than 450 thousand US dollars.