Pity the poor Standardbred: With practically zero mainstream coverage – you won’t see Bob Costas at Yonkers Raceway – and no chart clues to decipher, the story of his exploitation and abuse goes mostly untold. But owing to the only-one-in-the-nation NY database, we occasionally unearth a bit of harness hell.
Last Thursday at Vernon Downs, a 2-year-old Standardbred by the name of Monsterinthepaint died “after being removed from [the] trailer”; autopsy revealed “colonic ulceration with colitis.” Officially, this gets filed under “non-racing” fatalities. But in truth, all racehorse deaths – whether from colitis, colic, laminitis, snapped bones, failed hearts, or slashed carotids – are Racing Deaths. All of them.
Yes, I agree, Patrick. That poor horse was ill and suffering. Colitis and ulceration in a 2 yr. old brought on by the stress of being in “training” and a totally abnormal life. Electrolytes were probably out of balance and the horse was most likely dehydrated. I guess nobody had a clue the horse was ill so they loaded him on to a trailer ??? Something very wrong here and the necropsy does not address the circumstance of this death !
How he must have suffered.
Learning of Monsterinthepaint and what he suffered is both infuriating and extremely distressing. Without a doubt, that little 2-year-old endured horrendous agony. And for how long?…ulceration of the colon does not happen overnight. And then to be trailered to the FREAKING TRACK?!? What is WRONG with these people? Just when I think I cannot despise this industry anymore than I already do….
RIP Monsterinthepaint. Just a baby and dead from an ailment brought about by the stress of training/racing/unnatural living conditions. But as the racing apologists love to tell us, he was BRED for it. Incredible.
Abuse of nsaid???