3-year-old (barely) Stadtpark, running for just the second time, broke down and died in Thursday afternoon’s 4th race at Santa Anita. The young gelding was ridden by Ignacio Puglisi, trained by Paul Aguirre, owned by the Cuevas family et al., and bred by Kaleem Shah. According to Equibase, Stadtpark broke down “on his own.” This is horseracing.
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Just a baby…my heart breaks for ALL the horses exploited by racing.
Really pisses me off !!!! It’s senseless.
“Broke down on his own” ! I don’t think so !!
I’m sad for Stadpark and all the others sacrificed in this ugly business.
Another springtime, week-day afternoon race everyone who loves the sport should watch. Three-year-old Stadtpark broke down and was HIT FROM BEHIND, lost his rider. The horse that hit him also suffered a “spill” and lost his rider. Horses without riders, traveling aimlessly and confused, one catastrophically injured…what a scene. Thursday afternoon entertainment.
RIP Stadtpark.
I was there and with the other horse. Everyone was devastated. Very somber back at the stables, people wanting to know what happened. Just horrific. I am still thinking about it today. It was not entertainment, it was taken extremely seriously. Kayla Stra the jockey of the other horse, was supended for five days for not paying enough attention. She had six seconds to do something. Usually loose horses follow the others, they are herd animals, as was the case here.
Yes, exactly horselover…so often racing supporters argue that an injured horse will NOT run…that one cannot make a horse run, especially one that has an injury. But as you pointed out, that is quite the contrary. Put a horse in a “herd” of other horses and he/she is going to run as well, injured or not. Then the horrific and dangerous issue of an injured rider-less horse is the likelihood of further damage to himself as well as to others. They often try to run back to the barn and sustain additional injuries in doing so. I’ll never forget the little jockey-less chestnut colt that changed direction after the other horses ran on around the turn. He turned and came back towards the grandstand…alone, front leg dangling, his sides heaving and eyes wide with shock and confusion…I believe he was seeking protection amongst the ponies in the paddock.
And as you mentioned as well, the jockey had only seconds to react. “Speed kills”. Indeed.
Please find your entertainment elsewhere. Bettors, please visit the casinos. Not one horse ever asked to be part of this industry, and not one ever will.
I go to the track to do what I can. An injured horse will indeed run, but he may be difficult to load in the gate. He may not run well. It is up to all the connections of a horse to respect the horse. My question is why the leg weakness, and I do have some ideas. I also have a lot of other questions. Thanks for your input Joy.