I have confirmed that 3-year-old Frat Man was euthanized for a catastrophic injury suffered Wednesday at Charles Town (race 7). Prior to his fatal run, Frat Man had nine 2014 starts – these included:
1/29, last, 13 3/4 lengths back, trainer John Robb
4/11, last, 12 lengths back, trainer Robb
5/3, last, 13 3/4 lengths back, trainer Robb
6/27, last, 12 lengths back, trainer Robb
8/1, second-to-last, trainer Robb
8/22, second-to-last, trainer Manolo Mangual
If Frat Man’s death was not entirely predictable, it still should come as no surprise: He was a gelding descending into the claiming netherworld, a workhorse whose sole function in life was to earn for men. Today, he is all but forgotten, replaced ever so easily by the next not-yet-mature equine up. This is horseracing.
40 years ago they did not allow 1,2 or even many 3 year olds to race.
This is terrible what they are doing to these horses who are being forced to run.
Racehorsing should be abolished. This website details what the racehorses go through.
http://www.horseracingkills.com/
Yesterday afternoon at Laurel Park, in the 7th race, a horse Floating Ballerino ran and finished an uninspiring 3rd. The day before, 1 DAY BEFORE, the horse had run at Delaware Park. An owner/trainer ran the same horse in two different states over the course of less than 24 hours.
Does this actually happen? Been following the sport for 15 years and never have seen it.
Apparently this horse was brought over from the UK, back in 2013 he raced over seas. Now he is in America and was doing good in terms of spaced out races. It is true that he not only shipped a day after finishing 6th at Delaware Park but finished 3rd in this race at Laurel Park. I’m actually quite surprised he finished 3rd at Laurel after finishing 6th at Delaware Park.
http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=9185633®istry=T
These things do happen but not all trainers are like this and not all of horse racing is like this. There is good for every bad thing that happens.
The reason these things do happen is because there are no rules to protect the horse. People need to let Laurel Park know this form of abuse is unacceptable, regardless of the need to fill races. It is the fault of “racing officials” that allow trainers/owners to abuse animals at will. Nobody in racing cares about the horse otherwise there would be rules to protect the horse.
And if “not all trainers are like this” then why are there no protections for the horse ? Obviously these better trainers do not care enough to make a difference and demand some rules, therefore they are complicit in the abuse, period. Money, and only money drives the system.
Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Dan.
What happened to Floating Ballerino is horrific. And contrary to another post, he wasn’t “doing good” despite time between races.
June 8, last of 8, four wide and weakened.
July 20, last of 6, stopped in the stretch.
August 25, 4th of 7 in an AOC against lesser competition.
September 10, last of 6, showed little.
While some might like to believe Floating Ballerino must be sound based on his September 11 third place finish, he still “swung very wide” and beat horses that “faltered” and “weakened”. And we know of horses that finished even better than show with known injuries. Start with Cabriolass’ true story, one of the Shedrow Secrets stories here on HW.
Dan, I believe the mare Mess in a Dress started 5 times in one month, 2 of those 5 races were only 3 days apart. But like you, I’ve not seen 2 races in 24 hours. And not to mention the transport required to race at the two tracks…that was certainly not putting the youngster’s welfare first.
What I meant by “doing good” was that he had races spaced out.
I make myself read each and every one. Thank you for documenting so their lives are not forgotten.
The racing industry is permeated with those who have one thing and one thing alone as their priority – making money. Pit money versus the welfare of the animal enslaved as simply a tool to make that money and we know what will take precedence every single time. Racing is a business…bottom line, those who find their employment in it are like anyone else in their occupation of choice…the purpose is to make money. And at these cheap tracks – Charles Town, Mountaineer, Suffolk Downs, Penn National, Finger Lakes, etc, etc – racing an injured, tired, or non-competitive horse could bring even a small check, a small check that is desperately needed to pay the household bills. While the entire horseracing industry needs to be abolished, a good start would be the termination of these cheap tracks…where racehorses go to die or disappear.
RIP Frat Man.
Here’s some more BAD for you…again, when we hear from those in racing that the horses are “taken care of like my children”, or “they’re worth alot of money!…don’t you think we are going to treat them like kings?”, or “they are like my family members!”, we can respond with “Who treats royalty and their family members and children like THIS?!?”…
-Marilyn’s Guy, GSW of over 446K, ran at the “elite” tracks Keeneland and Churchill Downs…he is now laboring at the dump, Penn National…and on September 12 he finished 5th of 7 with a 4K price tag on his head.
-More than a Reason, GSW of over 583K, 102 starts including races at Keeneland, Churchill Downs, Saratoga, Belmont…this “beloved family member” also just raced on September 12, for sale for 4K, at cheap Hazel Park. In that race More than a Reason came in LAST of 7, over 23 lengths behind…”off slow, trailed, failed to menace”.
-Lethal Combination, GSW, winner of the Saranac Stakes 4 years ago this month at “The Spa”. So is this gelding being treated like a king?…up for sale for 5K in his last race at Mountaineer, where he finished 6th of 7 with a “dull effort”?
There isn’t enough “good” in this gambling industry to fill a thimble. And even if there was, tell that to these horses that are running for their lives. They are nothing more than tools to those who are exploiting them now.
So what are you going to do about it? What are any of you going to do about it besides whining and griping about the way these horses are treated. You think throwing that in my face is going to deter me from my love of horse racing and cause me to see only the bad in it? I know damn well, in my 8 years of watching races and seeing things that go on that there IS good and for that we should be happy. Because not always are these horses treated badly, and just to clarify, I am one to keep tabs on things and report deaths and try to see if anything has been fishy. So I am not that much of a fool, I know there is bad, but I know there is good as well. None of you even report the good news that does happen, its one thing to report the deaths and wrong doings of lesser know trainers and some who are well known, but an entirely different thing to label racing as a whole.
I have no doubt that we won’t deter you, Rachel…that never was and never will be my intent of exposing the abuses in horseracing. We have different value systems, you and I. I see the horse as a sentient creature, not to be used as a tool…not to be exploited for your entertainment…not to be utilized so someone can have a paycheck…and most certainly, not to be used as something for bettors to gamble on. What in horseracing benefits the horse? The HORSE?
This is Horseracing WRONGS…it is to educate those who aren’t aware of the rampant abuse of the horse in the racing industry. My purpose in exposing the truths in horseracing is not to make converts of folks like yourself. Rather, I wish to reach the people who value the horse for simply what he/she is, not for what he/she can do. Again, we have different value systems. It is was it is. You will go on being “happy” that a miniscule minority of horses aren’t breaking legs and tearing tendons, dropping dead, getting juiced up on drugs, being dumped at KB-attended auctions, laboring at cheap tracks with hurting limbs, dull coats and dead eyes, and lastly, enduring a tortuous trip to and an unspeakable death in a slaughterhouse. I choose to speak for the voiceless majority that are suffering and dying Every. Single. Day. THAT’S what we are doing about it.
Its not just thoroughbreds who end up at slaughter. I do not see the horse as a tool, I have a love of horses too but the Thoroughbred is bred to run, it is in its blood. They also have proven to be useful in other areas of work, they are intellegent. If horse racing did indeed end up ending for good, what do you think would happen to all the thousands of horses left? Rescue facilities can only take in so many horses before they become overwhelmed. I know I wouldnt be able take any horse in, I live in the city and cannot afford to board. Lots of Thoroughbreds would be doomed, alot would be rescued but not all. Where do you think they would end up? Lets think about that for a bit, thousands of thoroughbred foals are born every year for racing. What if horse racing ended, what would happen?
Rachel, you are correct that it isn’t just TB’s that end up at slaughter. However, with approximately 20,000 TB’s going to slaughter every year, it is obvious that two-thirds of the foal crop will eventually end up in the slaughter pipeline. In fact, slaughter is the “disposal” system for unwanted TB’s. Also, anyone with minimal intelligence knows that rescues are currently overwhelmed with horses needing a place to go. Add that to the fact that there are very few good rescues and you have a dire situation. However, I am a business woman. If racing went bye bye, and I hope that it does, there would initially be vast numbers of horses with nowhere to go. It would be a blood bath. There is no doubt about that. However, within a short period of time, breeding would significantly decline because there would be no “market” for the product – the racehorse. That is Business 101 – Supply and Demand.
So, to answer your question, “Where do I think they would end up”? They would end up where they end up NOW! Many disappear into the slaughter pipeline. Slaughter is the DISPOSAL system for the TB racing industry. It has been that way for years. In fact, there was a low life owner/trainer at Beulah Park a few years ago by the name of Reid Gross. Gross once told the CANTER volunteers that he would rather send a horse to slaughter than work with a rescue. I think his last name was appropriate – GROSS!
You are also correct that horses love to run and play. I have had TB’s for over 50 years and have brought home many from off the track. After the first day or two, they hardly move out of a trot. Yes, they may canter a few strides but I have NEVER seen one running to the left for a full two minutes.
You say there is “good” in racing. I hear that all the time. I personally believe there are a few good people in racing – not many, but a few. Please ask all the GOOD people these questions. Do they run their horses with drugs, and, yes, Lasix and bute are drugs? Do they run the horse when injured? Have they ever handed a horse off for slaughter? If they answer “yes” to those questions, then they aren’t “good” people. Then ask them if they give horses time off when they need to heal from a minor injury. Ask them if they follow their horses once a wonderful home is found for them? Do they donate to rescues who take in the unwanted horses discarded from the racing industry? If they answer “no” to those questions, they aren’t “good” people.
Follow the posts here on Horseracing Wrongs. Anyone with common sense must notice that there are many horses dying in the dirt and these horses are just babies – two, three, and four year olds. The TB isn’t fully grown/developed until they are six years old and there is some evidence to show it could even be later – seven or eight years of age, yet these horses are broke and go into training at 12 to 18 months of age. The racing folks will babble that horses have accidents in paddocks, on trails, etc., so they are desperately trying to deflect away from the fact that racing kills horses. Yes, accidents do happen but in all the years that I showed hunters on the “A” circuit, I NEVER saw a horse snap its leg off and die in the dirt – NEVER!
If you are unhappy with this page, why don’t you start a blog called Horseracing Rights? You could report on the horses that finish in one piece. I’m sure you could gather quite a few readers!
This website also talks about how awful slaughter is, and it is horrendous I agree. But you admitted that if horse racing ended lots of horses would end up at slaughter. Those horses include both young and old, stallions and broodmares. Ending horse racing goes against ending horse slaughter, the plants would benefit from it hugely. But yet, horse racing overseas would still go on.
Rachel, you don’t seem to get it, so let me repeat, for the final time, what I said. If racing went bye bye, there would be MANY horses with nowhere to go, at least INITIALLY. The first four or five years would be rough. However, after that time, there would be FEWER horses needing a place to go because there would be fewer horses and that would also mean that there would be fewer TB’s going to slaughter. The racing folks wouldn’t breed because there would be no market for the horse, i.e., NO horseracing. Remember, racing is a GAMBLING industry where money is king and the breeders want to make money – imagine that! Anyone with a business mind would understand that. Over five years, approximately 100,000 TB’s enter the slaughter plants. Again, slaughter is a DISPOSAL system for unwanted racehorses
Another comment doesn’t even make sense…ending horseracing goes against ending slaughter. Slaughter will continue with or without horseracing. There is a demand for horsemeat in Europe and where there is a demand, there is usually someone who will meet that demand IF they can make a profit. Again…Business 101….
You don’t seem to fully comprehend how the slaughter pipeline works. The contract killers have agreements with the plants. They can be written or oral. They supply a certain number of horses per the contract. If they supply less than the agreed upon amount, they lose the contract and lose the business. They don’t care if the horse is a TB, QH, or TWH. The #1 slaughtered breed is the QH followed by the TB. Slaughter stands on its own. What disgusts me is that the pro-racing folks, such as yourself, allow these horses to experience a grisly death. Just another reason I despise horseracing. However, with that being said, I personally feel you are right where you belong….supporting an industry that destroys and kills horses. You must be “mighty proud” of that!