The following racehorses were casualties on American tracks last week:
Tuesday
Lil Ditty, Will Rogers, race 10, vanned off
Wednesday
Cryptolight, Presque Isle, race 5, vanned off
Rhythm of the Moon, Suffolk, race 4, confirmed dead
Portfolio, Thistledown, race 6, “pulled up…bleeding from both nostrils”
Thursday
Nana Jean, Churchill, race 9, vanned off
Friday
Inside Draw, Belterra, race 3, “pulled up in distress”
Valueable Silver, Calder, race 8, vanned off
Mda Game, Delta, race 7, “wiped out start, taken up sharply,” DNF
Canon Zoom, Remington, race 1, vanned off
Roper, Santa Anita, race 1, vanned off
Viti Levu, Thistledown, race 3, “returned bleeding from the nostrils”
Saturday
Sylvester, Arlington, race 6, vanned off
Schoolyard Dreams, Belmont, race 12, vanned off
Amazingly Karen, Canterbury, race 8, “stopped badly”
Up to Mischief, Charles Town, race 9, “came back bleeding from the nose”
Got My Shine On, Delta, race 1, bled
Special Buttons, Emerald, race 2, vanned off
Silent Hero, Lone Star, race 8, vanned off
Wildcatter, Malvern, race 3, fell, DNF
Platinum Vision, Mountaineer, race 3, vanned off
Megador, Parx, race 10, vanned off
My Pioneer, Penn, race 6, “stumbled badly,” DNF
Indian Gods, Santa Anita, race 8, vanned off
The Way I Roll, Thistledown, race 7, fell, DNF
Sunday
Shining On, Arlington, race 7, vanned off
Eyema Delight, Arlington, race 8, vanned off
Catawba Gray, Belterra, race 7, vanned off
Foolish Chopper, Emerald, race 5, vanned off
Sweet Sara Brown, Emerald, race 7, vanned off
Ramble On Rose, Los Alamitos, race 1, vanned off
Seis Pac, Los Alamitos, race 3, vanned off
Oriental Silk, Louisiana, race 8, confirmed dead
Blushing Martha, Mountaineer, race 8, broke down
Caillech’s Quest, Parx, race 4, confirmed dead
Zoe 14, SunRay, race 1, vanned off
I remember Schoolyard Dreams when he was on the triple crown trail. I know we say that any horse casualty is the same, but there is something that feels especially wrong about horses like this- who raced at the highest level and are talented runners being started and injured/killed in a 12,500 claimer. Not because they are inherently better or different than other horses so much as that it should have been totally obvious to everyone that there was something seriously wrong when he started dropping and dropping through the ranks.
I do understand what you are saying, Suzanne. It doesn’t matter if they’ve raced once or 50 times…earned nothing or 500K…they all feel pain and suffering, they all want to live. That being said, you would THINK the connections would have an inkling of wanting to do right by a horse that gave SO much to his/her owners and trainers, to the industry, to the bettors and fans. They gave everything, and received nothing…not even a little respect. It’s such callous and cruel disregard.
Cryptolight, the second horse on this most recent list, is one of those horses. He’s a 10 y/o, raced 71 times, a multiple stakes winner, with earnings of nearly 700K. I despise it all, but good lord!…when is it finally ENOUGH?
THIRTY FIVE horses listed here, in SIX DAYS.
Cryptolight has raced three times since he “took a bad step.” I wish there were some way to rescue this guy.