Ludicrous, making his inaugural start, “tragically broke down approaching the sixteenth marker…and was subsequently euthanized on the track” in this afternoon’s 4th race at Saratoga. Another dead pubescent racehorse, the second one this Travers Day. How proud you must be, NYRA. Ludicrous was ridden by Irad Ortiz, trained by Chad Brown, and owned by Robert LaPenta et al.
This is a criminal business! As an equestrian and daughter of a breeder of saddle horses (Morgans), I am appalled at the lack of concern and respect for these beautiful animals. It certainly is about the almighty buck. We were at the finish line at Saratoga for race 7 on 8/21/14 when the #5 horse won and then collapsed, had a seizure or heart attack fell flat on her nose and was euthanized. I saw most of what was going on! Nothing was said, no moment of silence, nothing? Bad publicity too close to the Travers? What to do? We will never attend another horse race!!!!
Thank you, Ouisa.
YES!..thank you, Ouisa! And I must tell you, I am blessed to have a wonderful Morgan as one of my equine family members. I rescued him at the age of two from a horrific Morgan breeding farm. Many years and a number of physical issues later, he is now a 22-year-old and is the kindest horse I’ve ever known. I truly adore him. WONDERFUL horses, those Morgans!
Thank you, again, for your choice to never again attend a horse race. And please be sure to educate your equestrian colleagues!
Ouisa, the only way, in my opinion, to stop the atrocities in horseracing is to stop putting money into racing’s coffers. Don’t bet on the horses and don’t go to the track. Racing is dying, slowly but surely.
Another two year old that was unable to get out of racing alive…truly tragic and it happened at “the Spa”. I often wonder how anyone, with a heart and a soul, can support horseracing. The breakdowns and the deaths come fast and furious and we hear those frequent utterances …”tragic”…”awful”….”horrific” yet the “sport” continues. The power to stop these atrocities is within each one of us who have the determination to continue shining a light on the facts, the facts that are reported here on Horseracing Wrongs. More and more people are turned off by the exploitation of horses in racing. Ludicrous did NOT die in vain if those who care move away from betting.
And in thinking about how immature, both physically and mentally, 2-year-old horses are, one can’t help but question once again how racing owners and trainers can convince themselves that it’s OK to race these babies. Money is pretty convincing, I guess.
Patrick, thank you for continuing to bring the names of the horses that died for bets, bank accounts, and egos to the readers here. Every one deserved so much more. To have their names known and their lives acknowledged is the least we can do for them now.
RIP Ludicrous.
The story in the Times Union about this emphasizes how ‘rare’ horse racing deaths are. If a horse has to die, the more racing fans that witness the event at the track, the better. At least this occurred on Travers Day, one of the highest attendance days at Saratoga.
I was at saratoga when ludicrous broke down! My brother in law and myself watched in horror, hoping it would have a happy ending! Unfortunately it did not. From what we could see, another horse crossed his path and it looked like ludicrous took a bad step, threw off the jockey and went over to the side. Very sad because you knew the horse was in pain and that’s when they had to euthanize the poor guy! It was heartbreaking to say the least!!
Thank you for posting, John. Now please don’t go back – no bets, no kills.
A two year old horse shouldn’t be ridden, let alone raced. They shouldn’t have shoes on either because they are still growing. How will their feet ever recover from being nailed with an iron shoe – if they manage to reach maturity, that is. Young horses don’t have the wisdom to keep themselves out of trouble so why is this “sport” using them. Other equine sports don’t use babies, as far as I know, and don’t have this appalling death rate.
Linda, they should not have shoes on because they are still growing?? I have heard it all now. So what age should humans start wearing shoes?? I mean what um?? That comment just may be the most far out comment I have read on here and let me tell you there have been some bone head uneducated rants in here. Some made by myself. Do you think shoeing a horse will stunt the growth of the hoof? This is not Chinese foot binding. If your horse need to “recover” from being shod. I would think about getting another blacksmith….