A six-month update on those horses reported as “vanned off” in November 2013:
Kela Flatts, Charles Town, hasn’t been heard from since
South Forty, Golden Gate, hasn’t been heard from since
Royal Pop Lbh, Lone Star, hasn’t been heard from since
Runaway Crypto, Remington, still active
Centralinteligence, Santa Anita, hasn’t been heard from since
So Big Is Better, Santa Anita, hasn’t been heard from since
Rocking Ta Mr Dean, Will Rogers Downs, hasn’t been heard from since
Big and Bright, Charles Town, hasn’t been heard from since
Dollicious, Delta Downs, hasn’t been heard from since
Indy El Nino, Hawthorne, hasn’t been heard from since
Regent Fan, Los Alamitos, hasn’t been heard from since
Maid of Dishonor, Penn National, still active
Chuvalo, Mountaineer, still active
Fly Away, Portland Meadows, hasn’t been heard from since
Preacher Willie, Portland Meadows, hasn’t been heard from since
Tiz a Jungle, Parx, hasn’t been heard from since
Tobes the Man, Churchill Downs, still active
High On Ruston, Delta Downs, hasn’t been heard from since
Bunny La Jolla, Delta Downs, hasn’t been heard from since
Excusemeplease, Remington, hasn’t been heard from since
Bling Time, Remington, hasn’t been heard from since
Regal Tam, Turf Paradise, still active
Bringingdown Babel, Aqueduct, hasn’t been heard from since
Clever Shoes, Delta Downs, hasn’t been heard from since
She’s a Listener, Finger Lakes, subsequently confirmed dead
How Bout Junior, Laurel Park, hasn’t been heard from since
Crabapple, Thistledown, hasn’t been heard from since
Wasted at Midnight, Hollywood Park, still active
Suyeta, Churchill Downs, still active
Offshore Banker, Delta Downs, hasn’t been heard from since
Long Beach Logan, Golden Gate, hasn’t been heard from since
Vianney Lane, Laurel Park, still active
All About Larry, Los Alamitos, hasn’t been heard from since
Royal Regard, Los Alamitos, hasn’t been heard from since
Candyonmymind, Mountaineer, hasn’t been heard from since
Space Traveler, Aqueduct, still active
Pursteena, Churchill Downs, hasn’t been heard from since
Smokin Motion, Los Alamitos, hasn’t been heard from since
Survive, Los Alamitos, hasn’t been heard from since
Taba’s Gold, Portland Meadows, hasn’t been heard from since
Trilite Thunder, Thistledown, hasn’t been heard from since
Cafe Bonita, Zia, hasn’t been heard from since
JC Storm, Zia, hasn’t been heard from since
Double Java Girl, Turf Paradise, hasn’t been heard from since
Made the Cut, Beulah Park, still active
New York Gin, Beulah Park, hasn’t been heard from since
A Pache Rojo, Turf Paradise, hasn’t been heard from since
Quick to Hit, Zia, hasn’t been heard from since
Brown Eyed Nance, Aqueduct, hasn’t been heard from since
Bird County, Churchill Downs, hasn’t been heard from since
Drop On By, Evangeline, hasn’t been heard from since
Seeking Suki, Penn National, hasn’t been heard from since
Anotation, Turf Paradise, still active
Marywiththeblueyes, Aqueduct, hasn’t been heard from since
Tropic of Artie, Churchill Downs, hasn’t been heard from since
Prima Zip, Penn National, subsequently confirmed dead
Kentucky Gem, Retama, hasn’t been heard from since
M P Joe, Aqueduct, subsequently confirmed dead
Another Trick, Churchill Downs, still active
Red Man Run, Golden Gate, still active
One Run Runaway, Los Alamitos, hasn’t been heard from since
Modern Cowboy, Penn National, hasn’t been heard from since
Beyond Heat, Retama, hasn’t been heard from since
Divine Sophia, Thistledown, hasn’t been heard from since
Sliden Clyd, Zia, hasn’t been heard from since
Finishrich for Me, Zia, hasn’t been heard from since
S S Star, Zia, hasn’t been heard from since
Eyesablazin, Hollywood Park, hasn’t been heard from since
She’s All Yours, Hollywood Park, hasn’t been heard from since
Manly, Gulfstream, hasn’t been heard from since
Thimble, Los Alamitos, hasn’t been heard from since
Hezabadamigo, Los Alamitos, still active
As High as the Sky, Beulah, hasn’t been heard from since
Master Splash, Finger Lakes, still active
Mam Bird, Parx, hasn’t been heard from since
Brandy’s Big Guy, Aqueduct, hasn’t been heard from since
Pleasant Closing, Hawthorne, hasn’t been heard from since
My Fever, Hawthorne, still active
Sacred Ovation, Hollywood, hasn’t been heard from since
Orangeyouacutie, Hollywood, hasn’t been heard from since
Smokin Deal, Remington, hasn’t been heard from since
M One, Churchill, hasn’t been heard from since
Heza Tipping Fast, Evangeline, hasn’t been heard from since
Bo Devil, Retama, hasn’t been heard from since
Fiftyfour Forever, Aqueduct, hasn’t been heard from since
Henry the Lover, Charles Town, hasn’t been heard from since
Awesome David, Charles Town, hasn’t been heard from since
Like a Deputy, Delta, still active
Jess Spicey, Evangeline, ran once more in December, finishing last of 10, nothing since
Rock Solid Charm, Golden Gate, hasn’t been heard from since
Let’s Get Lucky, Hawthorne, hasn’t been heard from since
Jagger Br, Los Alamitos, hasn’t been heard from since
Mufaajy, Portland, hasn’t been heard from since
Joy of the Lord, Turf, hasn’t been heard from since
Hold the Ransom, Turf, hasn’t been heard from since
Western Prince, Zia, hasn’t been heard from since
Gal About Town, Churchill, still active
Outlaw Josy, Evangeline, hasn’t been heard from since
Travel the World, Laurel, hasn’t been heard from since
Wish You Had One To, Zia, still active
Perfectamente, Hollywood, hasn’t been heard from since
Princess of Pearl, Hollywood, still active
And You Can, Fair Grounds, still active
Fort Humbug, Fair Grounds, hasn’t been heard from since
Mystical Mark, Golden Gate, hasn’t been heard from since
Lucky Guess, Penn National, subsequently confirmed dead
Unmerited Favor, Remington, hasn’t been heard from since
Roar for More, Beulah, hasn’t been heard from since
Silver Spur, Beulah, hasn’t been heard from since
Modern Day Miracle, Charles Town, hasn’t been heard from since
I Am Revenge, Golden Gate, still active
Member ofthe Tribe, Los Alamitos, hasn’t been heard from since
Iniquitous Kid, Zia, hasn’t been heard from since
Ask the Ghost Nice, Zia, hasn’t been heard from since
Of the 114 horses reported as vanned off, 4 have been confirmed dead. Of the 110 others, 88 have not raced since; only 22 of the 114 remain active. In other words, 81% of the vanned off are confirmed dead or have disappeared.
In addition, although these 5 horses were not reported as vanned off, they are also M.I.A.:
Tanana Tango, Suffolk Downs, fell, bled, DNF
Trinniberg, Santa Anita, bled
Big Blue Fever, Thistledown, “pulled up lame”
Fast Footed Frog, Retama, bled
Flavored Punch, Charles Town, bled
These 25 horses were reported on the charts as “broke down” or “euthanized” – i.e., the November dead we know about:
One Hyde Park, Thistledown
Ragetta, Thistledown
Secret Compass, Santa Anita
Little Sam French, Thistledown
Dirty Lil Secret, Mountaineer
Miss McKeown, Aqueduct
Sixes Slinky Secret, Evangeline
Windswept Summer, Charles Town
Cadet Logan, Calder
Win the Future, Thistledown
Starship Sultry, Gulfstream
The Man Himself, Parx
Baby Harlow, Charles Town
Atthebuzzer, Delta Downs
National Prayer, Parx
Smart Cool Guy, Thistledown
Fatherscountrygirl, Beulah
G’s Calling, Delta
Hammurabi, Golden Gate
Cat Tail Cutie, Remington
Dashing Nic, Evangeline
Power of Eleven, Golden Gate
Sir Jock, Charles Town
Allthatjazz, Evangeline
Buttertart, Mountaineer
Taken together, it is not unreasonable to assert that in November 2013, some 122 Thoroughbreds and QuarterHorses – or about 4 per day – perished in-competition. That’s just racing and just on the flat tracks – harness and training deaths are not included. But for context, NY lost 6 Thoroughbreds on the practice field in November: Witchofwallstreet (Belmont), Parcel (Aqueduct), Stonely the Lonely (Belmont), Flight of Fantasy (Belmont), Long Island Lee (Aqueduct), and Two Roses (Belmont). How many more in other states?
And finally, it is highly probable that still other unidentified horses – ones who seemingly finished without incident and, hence, are not listed here – died from injuries sustained while racing. In short, there are more than 24 horses killed on American tracks each week.
(If any of these horses are alive, their current people – whether racing, rescue, or private – should disclose; if done, I will dutifully report.)
Trinniberg is standing at stud in New York & will shuttle to South America this year.
Shocking statistics.
And this shuttling back and forth to South America is very hard on these stallions and absolutely unnatural in every way. But of course there is $$$ to be made, so who cares !!
IMHO shuttling is what killed Harlan’s Holiday. But you’re right – there are $$$ to be had so the owners don’t care.
Centralintelligence – had surgery for a condylar fracture. Last word was he was doing well after surgery on November 6, 2013. He might even be able to race again! (Poor thing)
Long Beach Logan – retired to Royal Star Ranch, Orange, CA November 2013 after a bowed tendon.
Bird County, She’s All Yours & Manly were all euthanized because of their injuries. May they RIP.
Last comment, I promise!
Sacred Ovation is listed as working at Los Alamitos as of May 2014.
Orangeyouacutie was euthanized.
And sadly, Lucky Guess (who is MIA) was the last foal for her dam, Guess The Verdict, who was sent to slaughter in 2011 by Agrarian Country, Robert Barr/Star Barn Thoroughbreds/Paul Truitt.
Thanks for your input, Jeanette.
“And finally, it is highly probable that still other unidentified horses – ones who seemingly finished without incident and, hence, are not listed here – died from injuries sustained while racing.” And that is not just highly probable, Patrick, that is truth. From my years at the track – consistently intaking horses that finished races just days or weeks prior WITHOUT INCIDENT – upon radiographs and evaluation by an equine orthopedic surgeon, horses that left the track “sound” per the trainers/owners were found to have injuries not compatible with pain-free lives as PASTURE PETS. They, too, were killed by the racing industry. But the betting public and racing fans never knew.
The numbers of the confirmed dead or missing are staggering. And again, the general public knows nothing of them. No one mourns them. No one cares. And it’s business as usual for the industry. Kill one and fill his/her stall the same day.
I care. You care. Everyone here cares. Now we need to make sure everyone else is aware and educated and get them to care. Tough job, but if we don’t do it, who will?
People react most to visual things. Maybe we should do a touring memorial wall with the names of lost horses on it – maybe if people saw this HUGE list right in front of them, they might think twice.
Henry the Lover, listed as vanned off, is happily retired and enjoying being repurposed as a riding mount.
Flavored Punch listed as MIA is being retrained as a show horse in Virginia.
Tananna tango is not broke down or dead she is a riding horse
Chris, Tanana Tango was a DNF in her last race (Nov 2013)…she bled (even with Lasix) and she also fell. Hence, she was another racing casualty. That’s great she made it out alive. I hope she’s in a forever, loving home where she’s truly valued. So many of racing’s casualties are not so fortunate.
One of those on the list merits additional mention—it’s rare to get ahold of this kind of information, so I’m sharing it here—convinced as I am (convinced and supported by research done at numerous vet schools like Cornell)——convinced as a zillion equine vets are and I are that the overwhelming majority of these breakdowns are caused not just by lousy trainers but also by the almost-universal practice training on drugs which impede the healing of microfractures—something all NSAIDS do—thus leaving the horses vulnerable to catastrophic injury when their bones cannot remodel according to nature’s plan… *12/11/2013 Trainer-owner Joshua C. Faulkner $1000, 15 days DOUBLE NSAIDS: BOTH BUTE AND FLUNIXIN FOUND DURING NECROPSY. Horse, 4YO bay gelding Win the Future (23 starts 2-1-0, $15,333) broke down at the 1/8th pole while running on the lead in the 3rd race, a $4K CLM… EUTHANIZED. This gelding made 18 starts in the year 2013 (did not run in July, only started once in April, ran twice a month every other month). Win the Future had a history of unsoundness. He began his sad career by running twice in January of 2012 at Tampa Bay for trainer Lynne Scace, finished 5th and 7th—*TEN AND A HALF MONTH LAYUP*—came back off the LAYUP in the barn of Jonathan Buckley at Finger Lakes to run *7th out of 7 in a $10K MDN CLM on 11/05/2012, *ran 9th out of 10 in a $4.5K MDN CLM on 11/13/2012, *ran 8th out of 11 in a $4.5K MDN CLM on 11/26/2012—back to Tampa Bay and Lynne Scace to run *7th out of eight, $8K MDN CLM on 01/02/2013, *ran 8th out of nine for an $8K tag on 01/06/2013 (NOT A TYPO—THEY GAVE THIS GELDING FOUR DAYS BETWEEN RACES), * ran 9th out of 10, $8K MDN CLM on 02/07/2013, ran 4th on 02/21/2013, *ran 7th on 03/22/2013—OUT OF THE BLUE WON ON 03/30/2013—then back to running *5th on 04/20/2013, ran 7th on 05/10/2013—by this point, he’s at Mountaineer owned and trained by Bart Baird—not claimed, must have been sold—running for $5K… finished 7th, 6th, 5th, 8th, 5th, 4th… ran 2nd on 09/22/2013 for owner-trainer Josh Faulkner—obviously sold again—and so on and so forth until he broke down on 11/11/2013… run to death for a total of $15,333 in lifetime earnings. Running on stacked NSAIDs… run to death… THIS WAS JOSH FAULKNER’S SECOND FLUNIXIN OVERAGE IN 2013. All of his prior trainers have bad test histories as well. Beulah.
Linda, the Faulkner’s don’t give a damn about their horses. I remember talking to Joe Faulkner at Beulah years ago and Joe had NO problem handing horses off for slaughter. He had a grey mare, by the name of Blue Czar, that was “done” racing, and we were all concerned that she would end up in a bad place. We were able to purchase her for $500 and I donated her to New Vocations. Josh is Joe’s grandson and it looks as if Josh is following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. The Faulkner’s are bad news. They have little regard for the horses that put food on their table. Drug them, run them, and then hand them off for slaughter. Fairly typical of the majority of people in this sinister industry.
I need to make a correction in regards to the correct spelling of the horse’s name that I mention in the post above. The grey mare that was purchased from Joe Faulkner, to keep her from ending up on a bad situation, was Bluezar, not Blue Czar.
Linda,
Thank you for sharing these facts. This is the first I’ve read of NSAIDs interfering with bone healing. Even without that information, it is obvious the poor gelding was literally run into the ground by a group of owners and trainers who simply passed him from one to another. A crime.