3-year-old Men Dee Go is dead after suffering a catastrophic fall last night at Lone Star Park. The colt had been whip-forced into a competition that had he finished would have netted his connections – jockey Roman Chapa, trainer Antonio Delgado, owner Claudio Balboa – $50. (Texas purses are not artificially jacked by racino cash.)
To those who wager on horseracing, we implore you to reconsider. And ultimately, you hold all the cards: no more bets, no more races; no more races, no more kills. In a landscape that abounds with other gambling options – casinos, lotteries, real sports involving autonomous human beings – hasn’t the time at long last arrived to let the racing horse be? You, the bettor, have within the capacity for mercy. We ask only that you exercise it. Please. For the horses.
What price a life? Surely more than $50.00.
“Speed kills”.
John Stick, DVM, Equine Orthopedic Surgeon and Chief of Staff, College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University
RIP Men Dee Go.
Another baby dies in the dirt, but who cares when there is a buck to be made.