A head-on collision claimed the lives of two racehorses at Belmont yesterday morning, a story receiving mainstream coverage because one, 9-year-old Caixa Eletronica (below), was a star. Apparently, 4-year-old Six Drivers, the claimer afterthought part of this tale, became unnerved on the training track, threw his rider, and darted into Caixa Eletronica. Both, according to the NYRA vet, died instantly (neck, skull fractures).
Now to the nub. Caixa Eletronica’s owner, Mike Repole: “I’m devastated. …It’s a terrible day for racing. For any horse, it’s horrible. When you hear it’s Caixa Eletronica, it’s magnified.” Why devastated and magnified? The aptly named Caixa Eletronica – Portuguese for “cash machine” – had earned $1.6 million for Repole. Chris Englehart, Six Drivers’ brand new trainer (he was claimed on December 27th), fully commiserates: “It made it 10 times worse when I found out who the other horse was.” Curiously, Englehart had nothing to say about his own horse.
As a footnote, Newsday says that Evan Gewirtz, Six Drivers’ owner, hopes “the accident wouldn’t provoke protests from animal-rights groups.” Well, Mr. Gewirtz, we do protest, vehemently. And while you and your cohorts shamefully attempt to wipe your hands of this, we know the truth: Horseracing, not mischance, killed these two horses. Sleep on that.
Quite frankly, having galloped racehorses for many years in NY during my former life, before the truth of the industry was known to me, I am surprised that “accidents” like this don’t happen more often. The powers that be, try to keep some order to the chaos in the morning, however the fact of the matter is — it is an extremely dangerous setting for both horses and riders. There is very little control over what happens when a horse runs off, bolts, get scared, or breaks down. If it were a safe transparent environment, NYRA would have live cameras on location for anyone to sign on and watch morning workouts….. But that might reveal just how many lame horses go to the track every morning.
Reblogged this on Starstone and commented:
I am stunned, to be honest. How does two horses, run headfirst into each other at such speed, with such force that they both die instantly? What kind of fear, what state of panic had been induced for any horse to responde so blindly?
Susan, thank you for your willingness to expose and confirm the abuses the horses endure in the racing industry. So often the racing supporters shout “You don’t know what you are talking about!” when we voice our objections. You DO know. And you don’t, like so many “fence-sitters” do, “mourn” a racehorse’s death then in the very next breath exclaim “there are good people in racing”! Yea right, I’ve dealt with those “good people”…they never want to expose the bad guy. In the end, their silence never helped the horses.
Caixa Electronica and Six Drivers, RIP. You will not be forgotten.
You are such fools, Mike Repole is a fabulous guy, he is what is good about racing. You are looking for a perfect pristine world, in the world of horses ( all equine activities) there is nothing that is predictable. This was a tragic accident!
No MP ( why hide behind an alias?), the fools are those who use creatures who cannot consent…and those most certainly include the horses being used in racing, a gambling/entertainment industry. Want to gamble?…go to a casino and leave the horses out of it! Want to be entertained?…there are many forms of entertainment where sentient beings are not forced to participate! How about Mike Repole find another hobby that does not put a horse at an increased risk of injury or death?…why is it that racing supporters PRAY for a safe trip for one of their “stars” when they set foot on the track?…why is it that racing supporters scramble to retire one of their “stars” when they are only 10-11-12 years old (that’s the age of a horse in its prime!) and still racing?… Jay Hovedy might have said it best, and I loosely quote him from the DRF; “…there are horses out there [racing] putting their lives on the line”! There…a racing SUPPORTER stating the racehorses are PUTTING THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE! One thing he forgot to mention…those horses never gave their consent….no, MIKE REPOLE and the thousands like him put their horses’ lives on the line. Find another hobby, Repole…find another hobby that doesn’t daily kill horses.