Career claimer 3-year-old Vanessa Halo fractured her pelvis while training at Finger Lakes Tuesday and was euthanized. She is trainer Pablo Torres’ sixth dead athlete in two years. Finger Lakes has now lost 21 horses since April; NY’s 2014 Dead – 79. This is horseracing.
Vanessa Halo was raced 4 times (her first 4 races) in only 7 weeks by her original owner when she was just a 2-year-old. She then finished last in her 5th and 6th races…her owner promptly dumped her. She was shipped from Florida to New York, where she labored at Finger Lakes for the remainder of her career, one time with only 6 days between races.
Vanessa Halo, 15 starts, 2-3-2. This chestnut filly, only a few months from her third birthday, is dead…at THREE. Racing killed her. At THREE. RIP, little one.
This is Animal Abuse at its worst. The horseracing business has gotten too big for its britches and needs to be taken down a few notches. Horses are not fully grown until they are 7 years old, so why it is legal to race these babies before that time on still-growing bones is beyond my comprehension. We sit back and call this entertainment. We are a sick sick society and abuse charges need to be filed and enforced against these owners and jockys.