The following article comes from Joy Aten, prominent equine advocate and regular contributor to our “Shedrow Secrets” section:
Like others who acknowledge the exploitation and abuse of horses in the racing industry, I tire of hearing about all of the “good folks” in racing. Like the “good folks” who “sign up” to run their horses without drugs – does that include not injecting their joints, as well? – I didn’t think so. And of course, they’ll stop using Lasix when everyone else stops using Lasix and not a minute before.
Then there are those “good folks” who boast they run their babies at the two-year-old in training sales without drugs. No bute?…I certainly hope not! Why would a two-year-old need bute to run? And no Lasix?…since the industry claims Lasix is not a performance-enhancer and is used solely for bleeders, why would a two-year-old bleeder even be made to race? But check the charts of their running three-year-olds and they’re all on Lasix, at the very least.
Or like the “good folks” who promise a certain percentage of their winnings (WHOSE winnings?…I didn’t see any of them being whipped-raced around the track) to particular aftercare programs. There aren’t enough aftercare organizations to intake the discarded excess of spent racehorses! And why isn’t the RACING INDUSTRY the sole provider of the depleted “athletes” of the RACING INDUSTRY? Why is the non-race public, who continue to struggle even with the “crumbs” of those donated percentages, toiling to care for these horses?
And oh yes, the “good folks” who rescue some of the injured, neglected, abandoned, starved, and slaughter-bound horses of THEIR “sport” when they’re contacted by a frantic advocate. Why shouldn’t they? That is simply an expectation – take care of your own! But here, the dichotomy…the “good folks” crow about their “saves” while they’ve left their OWN former runners unprotected in the claiming game.
How about the “good folks” who retire their older racehorse (after several years of running) that’s made them an obscene amount of money (and then make certain everyone hears about it), yet their less-talented horse that didn’t generate such riches, they sell via a claiming race? I guess they only extend their “love” to the horses that stuffed their wallets.
Here, a perfect example of one the “good folks” – Maggi Moss.
Moss: “Ballistic Blonde is not one of my more talented horses. But I bought her cheap in Texas…” Moss puts the mare in a claiming race and she gets claimed. Moss states, ‘with emotion’: “This is the hardest part of the business. But it’s big – $25,000 is a good price for her now. I just really wanted her last race for me to be a winner.” Moss goes on to say: “It’s getting much easier for me to run my horses out east so that I don’t get so personally attached to them. This is a business and my gut interferes.” Out of sight, out of mind for Ms. Moss.
Does anyone else see what’s most important to Moss? MONEY. Clearly, the money. What she did to her mare So Many Ways is another example. Moss says about the mare: “her kind and almost human personality…made this decision [to sell her to the Japanese farm as a broodmare] so difficult.” In another piece, Moss talks about how the offer from the overseas breeding farm for So Many Ways was just “so much money”…just too much to turn down. MONEY. “Good folk”? It didn’t matter how “kind” and “human-like” Moss thought So Many Ways was…this “good folk” loved the money more than her mare.
And what about Bojan, Ms. Moss? And the deal you were going to offer low-level trainer Chad Skelton for MSW Fuhrever Dancing?…you know, 5K and throw in a “couple of horses that would actually make him money” to sweeten the deal? Unreal…Moss is considered one of the “good folks,” yet she was ready to offer up a couple of sacrificial horses to someone she and her cronies were crucifying as the “scum” in racing. Fuhrever Dancing was worth saving, Moss deems…and two other horses were going to pay his ransom with their lives. Fuhrever Dancing gets her some good press. No one will ever know about the sacrificial lambs. “Good folk.”
(By the way, the last race for Ballistic Blonde – Moss’ “cheap” mare that she sold for a “good price for her” – was a 3K claiming race at Turf Paradise in October 2012.)
More “good folk” stories to come…
Maggi Moss claimed Marchwood for 50K on June 14, 2013. Marchwood earned 40K for Moss – 40K earned by HIS efforts, only…Moss did nothing but stand and watch – and then she sold him (via a claiming race) for 30K on November 29, 2013.
After Moss unloaded Marchwood in November of 2013, the 2010 bay gelding ran another 17 times.
Marchwood’s most recent race was a 5K claiming race at Mountaineer on September, 2015. He came in 5th of 9 horses.
So Moss’ former horse has fallen to the 5K level…but what’s especially disturbing is he was claimed in his last race – by Burton Sipp. Google Sipp. It will make you sick.
Let’s hope Maggi Moss, who claims to love her horses and has said she stays in the racing industry because she can better help the horses, has come to the rescue of this gelding she owned, raced and then sold…Marchwood has not raced since September when Sipp claimed him.
Moss just got rid of another one of her horses – Whispering Charm, a 2010 gray gelding – via a 4K claiming race on November 27…Whispering Charm came in 18 lengths behind, 8th of 10 horses.
And another Moss gelding is still laboring at the 5K level – Voodooville.
Maggi Moss came into a facebook group called The Kill Pen Experience after a short and successful rush to save a TB racer out of a kill pen. She beat her chest over the saving but as seen here. It is only when the powder keg is lit and their names are about to get neon lighted that these owners step up. Why don’t they have every auction in the US contacting them with TBs that come in? The kill buyers do have such a network. Why don’t the owners? I will tell you why. They don’t care to.
You’re exactly right, janwindsong. Moss has a large stable and has horses “coming & going” all the time. It’s a business. Her horses are nothing more than objects to be used in this gambling industry until they’re “worn”…like a used deck of cards. Then it’s time to get a new deck.
When I hear the name, Burton Sipp, I cringe. When his house burned down, and his wife died in the fire, it was rumored that the fire was intentionally set by Sipp. I would venture to guess that no horse is safe unless they are winning for him.
I have privately reached out to Ms. Moss and asked her to step up for Marchwood. We will wait to see what action she takes, of any.
I had hoped that Maggi Moss had been watching over her former racehorse Marchwood – had seen that the gelding was claimed by Burton Sipp in September for 5K and then had come to his rescue – but she hasn’t. Marchwood could still be with Sipp. He could be lingering in a feedlot. He could be dead. We don’t know. What we DO know is Moss was not watching over him. And in fact when told about him over the week-end, it was said by the founder of the rescue that she is an advisory board member of that I should take him in. How callous…an astounding display of complete lack of concern for Marchwood.
Marchwood’s future is in your hands Ms Moss. I most certainly do not mean to be rude but you have the money to save this horse. I do hope you take appropriate action.
Joy, thanks so much for your excellent details, facts, and direct stories on these parasites.
Maggi Moss is one of the biggest parasites in the horse racing business despite the fact that she bemoans slaughter and provides lips service for the most part.
She’s part of the problem as she is an active claiming owner who exploits and dumps.
TURN BACK TIME (TBT) – on March 16, 2017 Maggi Moss claimed this gelding for $7500 at Gulfstream Park.
Prior to his decline, TBT was a Derby hopeful when Mark Casse bought him for $150,000 at Keeneland.
Like all racehorses who don’t live up to the human plan for them they quickly become disposable.
TBT after making some starts for Casse was not showing much so he was put up FOR SALE in the claiming ranks – time to dump him.
He was subsequently bought and sold many times, track to track, with his price getting lower and lower with each horrible start.
Anybody with half a brain knows that TBT was suffering from some sort of agonizing ailment that got worse with every race.
The usual proverbial chronic pre-existing conditions most likely, but the secret treatment records protects the abusers who continue to dope and run until they are caught.
So it didn’t surprise me that on July 9, 2017, he tested positive for a big overage of Phenylbutazone in his system for his race on June 1, 2017 at Churchill Downs.
He was subsequently disqualified, purse money forfeited.
So TBT’S doping positive tells a story, the sad truth behind horse racing with an owner who constantly claims to “love” her racehorses and treat them so good.
Maggi Moss was well aware that her trainer was doping TBT to keep him flipping a buck for her because she pays for the vet bills.
He won that day on June 1, 2017 because they masked his pain with dope, lots of dope and we can only guess what else they did to him including SWT, but they can’t test for SWT which makes it such an invisible enemy of the racehorse and contributes to breakdowns.
Nevertheless, this example alone clearly shows that Maggi only cares about herself and the money she can make off a racehorse who is obviously in distress because they require dope to run.
Second, TBT was claimed in that race that he won. This being about the 5th claim. So the next owner didn’t even know that the horse was doped and tested positive. Of course most owners know that racehorses are doped, but are not provided with the records so the abuse continues as the chronic issues get exacerbated with every race.
He was shipped out to Thistledown where he was run under the new owner with everybody oblivious to his testing positive in the previous race.
Now I don’t care about the people who gamble on racehorses, but strictly from a legal prospective this information is not disclosed to the public while thousands of dollars is gambled on a fraudulent product when it gets right down to it.
TBT was flipped, sold and bought by at least 3 different owners after testing positive for Bute.
His lengthy record of ongoing abuse is sickening like most racehorses in the claiming ranks.
Again, this shows a bunch of parasites with total disregard for the health and welfare of a racehorse.
It also highlights a widespread system of cover-ups and abuse with either dumping or death in the end.
TURN BACK TIME’s last start was on June 5, 2019 when he barely finished last by about 15 lengths.
Like too many others his record shows how he endured a life of abuse, pain, and suffering only to disappear off the radar and we can only guess where he ended up.
Whether Maggi Moss or Mark Casse and all the others they are nothing but parasites – every single one of them.
From a previous Owner/Trainer perspective?
The racehorse is a disposable commodity more now than ever, and it’s owners like Maggie Moss, and the industry as a whole who are the problem.
I truly believe that the racehorse has been pumped-up with drugs unabated for so many years now that there’s no way to train, and run a racehorse drug free anymore. There just isn’t. My comment in no way supports or justifies the industry whatsoever, but it does exemplify just how bad the situation is for a racehorse.
What I’m saying is that the small percentage of Trainers who want to run on oats, hay, and water can’t even if they wanted to especially when they are forced to compete with these trainers and owners who conduct a virtual drug den, and the industry supports them.
In other words, lameness is actually bred into the racehorse now. I’m no vet, I can’t justify this, but I grew up around racehorses. The racehorse in the 60’s is a completely different animal then the one racing now.
Moreover, in the past, I was able to take a racehorse off the track (who was heading to kill auction), spend some time, effort, and money on them to transition them into another career. It was a passion of mine. You really have to know what your doing, but I’m an accomplished equestrian so I was able to assess both the physical, and mental aspect of the particular individual. Then I was able to work with them and, based on my assessment, figure out what career was best for them. Back then, I had 100% placement, and I often broke even financially or made a little profit. I estimate that I was rehoming about 20 per year.
Enter EPO. Around 2000, I was starting to notice that racehorses were coming off the track completely “burned-out.” There was something horribly wrong, and I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I also noticed that these racehorses were usually coming out of the same barns, from the same Trainers. They would claim a horse for $5000 that was finishing last by lengths, run it back with very large bets placed on it, and it would win by lengths. This kept happening, but I also noticed that those racehorses would win maybe 2, and then go down. Aside from breakdowns, they were just not the same horse. They were all sunken in physically, and mentally they were toast. There was something seriously wrong with them. EPO was later found out to be the culprit.
It wasn’t only EPO though. I was now taking in racehorses that had absolutely nothing left to work with. The lemon was squeezed dry (so to speak).
I’m talking physically, mentally, and emotionally. They were so burned out. There was nothing left to work with. About 3-5 days of getting them off the track, the drugs would wear off, and they would be completely lame. That would add to lay-up time, rehabilitation time, and in many cases were not able to perform any type of post-career.
Aside from the physical aspect, there was the mental one as well. Many of these OTTB’s I would rehome to teenagers, families, or people who just wanted a trail riding horse. This requires a sound mental attitude, but these horses were crazy. I know they were not born that way, but they had enough. This was all a result of being over raced, changing hands frequently, and probably neglect and/or abuse. I never saw this in the majority of racehorses I got off the track in the 70’s,80’s, 90’s. Or, it would be very rare to see this. Now it was common rendering them almost impossible to rehome.
In the year 2000 and forward, Out of about 20 horses that I would take in, maybe 4 were salvageable. In the past, this equation was inverted.
I had regular clients who purchased OTTB’s from me. I had a good reputation in the Polo world, with Owners expecting a certain level of horse. There’s no way I could send most of these horses to them because they would be sent right back.
In the past, it cost around $30 per day, per horse for me to retrain, and rehome. On average, I was able to turn a racehorse around in 4 to 6 weeks costing me about $1500 on average. Of course my time is never factored in. It was a labor of love.
I always knew that I could get $1500 for the racehorse so I would be able to break even. I had to break even in order to survive. At 20 racehorses a year it adds up. Although I loved what I did, horses don’t live on love alone. You have to have the money to conduct this type of OTTB retraining/rehoming business. I got absolutely NO HELP from the racing industry at all. I tapped into the so called money funded racing industries only to be turned down. Not one of those rich owners would give me a dime to help finance my OTTB retraining/rehoming program – not even the owners who made the money off the racehorse. I was doing it all myself.
So 2000 comes around, and out of 20 horses 4 would be salvageable. Many would be completely lame after the drugs wore-off, and then the mental issues that I talked about already. So it didn’t take long to be in huge debt. I had to stop.
I know that I’m one of many who took in, on average, about 20 racehorses per year for retraining, and rehoming who concluded what I did, and had to stop.
The majority of racehorses coming off of tracks in North America now are disposable, and the industry is to blame. By the time they come off the track, most require extensive ongoing vet support (very expensive), and the physical can be addressed by medicine, but the mental is an entirely other issue.
Once a horse is mentally off it may never come around, and a horse’s disposition is essential for it to be retrained, and rehomed. Of course the massive amounts of drugs being permitted during its racing career probably contributes to its mental issues as well. Any drug addict has mental issues.
I would even venture to say that the racehorse being slaughtered is not even salvageable for food anymore – horrific as slaughter is.
For the most part, the racehorse is now a disposable commodity, and that’s all because of the industry. The blame lies squarely on them. So not only do they use, and abuse, they dispose as well with very little support coming from the industry. This is what they call the “good folks” in horse racing.
2016. Yet again, the horse racing industry has shown us how the “good folks” of horse racing conduct themselves. Thanks to Ray Paulick of the Blood Horse he exposed yet another huge abandonment of racehorses in the horse racing capital of the world: Lexington, Kentucky. Here’s the link:
http://www.paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/abandoned-horses-now-under-care-of-lexington-humane-society/
An active member of the thoroughbred industry (name withheld in article) originally abandoned 33 racehorses. Evidently, no feed, no water, no hay, no clean stall – just left to die. Since the horse racing industry and all their billions wouldn’t step up to the plate, the Humane Society did.
They ended up taking in 22 racehorses yesterday, and today with no funding from the multibillion dollar horse racing industry. Remember? Those “good folks” of horse racing. You know, the ones that say they care about their horses when they are running, winning, and making money? Remember the ones who are so quick to dump them either in claiming, kill auctions?
What about the multibillion dollar industry leaders like TVG, Bet America, Xpressbet, Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, HBPA – these are the very companies that make billions off the bones, and backs of racehorses. The ones who donate little or nothing (relative to their obscene profits) to OTTB aftercare.
So far, since my last call to the Humane Society not one of these so called “good folks” have stepped up and given one dime to this ongoing rescue.
In fact, it’s people like you and me who scrape together $5, $10 to help out. In fact, it’s the Humane Society membership, and private donations (by people who have not created this mess) that are paying for these racehorses.
PLEASE comment on this article. When you locate this article there is a comment section below. I was the first to leave a comment, and I didn’t spare any words. I’m sure that the “good folks” of horse racing will comment , and defend their slave business. I do battle with them all the time on this website.
The Lexington Humane Society now has a specific account set-up for these abandoned racehorses soliciting for donations. Now I know everybody here is up to their eyeballs in the mess that the industry leaves behind including myself. So if you don’t donate, please make a comment.
Again, the claiming system and what it does to the horses clearly shows they are not the beloved family members that racing insiders like to declare. And Maggi Moss, one of racing’s “good folks”, is as guilty of unloading her racehorses via claiming races as the rest. A racehorse supporter tracks her stable – the many that “come and go” – and sends me the long list…I can’t keep up with the buying and selling she does. And her “family members”, the horses she claims to care about so much, just fall farther and farther…while she just buys the next slave, and the next, and the next.
Donoharm (what a sad irony, that name) is a 2009 Kentucky-bred bay gelding. He is GSP with 45 starts and earnings of nearly 400K. Moss claimed him for 32K on 3-28-15, ran him in a stakes race on 5-25-15 then sold him for 20K on 6-19-15. Barely time for Moss to get to know her “beloved horse”, and certainly not time for the gelding to acclimate to his new “home” – what a stressful existence these creatures that crave routine live.
Donoharm just ran (and won) on October 20 at Remington Park in a 5K claiming race. And he’s running again tonight with the same price tag on his head.
Family members?…just stop with the lies…you make yourselves look like the callous fools that you are.
I saw mention of Posse Attack in one of the comments on this page. Does anyone know his whereabouts? Maggi had at one point given me the contact for the racing family she had sold him to to be retired, and when I called them they said they gave him to a teenage girl. I’ve always wanted to check on him and make sure he’s still happy and OK, and I search social media every so often hoping he will pop up. Reading this article and posts makes me worry about him. If anyone has any info on him, I would appreciate being notified, you can reach me via my email Michaela[dot]slavid[at]gmail[dot]com. Thank you!
Michaela, I have no idea where Posse Attack is or whether he is alive or dead. However, what I can tell you is that Ms. Moss has publicly stated at least once, maybe twice, that she follows ALL her horses even after she is “done” with them. I haven’t found that to be true and I have challenged her on her claims but she has ignored me which is probably a good thing because no one likes to be caught with their “pants down.” Moss “sold” him to be retired? Certainly, the horse went with an adoption agreement. Moss is an attorney who absolutely loves the racing industry in which she participates so she should be fully aware that unless a horse is in your backyard, no horse is 100% safe and she must be knowledgeable enough to grasp that horses are vulnerable to disappearing into the underground slaughter pipeline. When PA stopped producing revenue for her, perhaps she just wanted to unload him and selling him was a means to an end.
I reached out to Ms. Moss about a year ago concerning two horses that she previously owned…Marchwood and Tricolette. Moss had no idea where they were or who they were with and we think that Tricolette has simply disappeared. I would reach out to Moss and ask her to investigate the whereabouts of a horse that she previously owned…Posse Attack. Ask her to follow up with the individual that she sold the horse to in order to obtain information. Remember…she is the one who publicly boasts that she follows ALL her horses even after she unloads them.
I’m sorry you cannot find Posse Attack, Michaela. Like Mary, I cannot tell you where the gelding is. What I CAN tell you is what Moss did with him – she unloaded him. In fact, by looking at Posse Attack’s PP’s, she tried for awhile…running him cheaper and cheaper. No one claimed him, even when he last ran for Moss in May, 2015 for 4K. But she got rid of him anyway as he ran for Damian Martinez in June…where the bay came in last, 87 lengths behind. Yes, that was not a typo – he finished EIGHTY-SEVEN lengths behind. He didn’t race again.
Joy the other day you provided a link on this site to a YouTube video about horse racing.
I watched it.
It was great, but the one thing that stood at for me was the woman who does OTTB rescue, and talked about a horse who made over 1 million.
They contacted the owner who made the million off of the horse for a much needed sponsorship, and she said that they didn’t give ONE DIME.
You could sense the frustration in her voice that we all feel when we must beg for $200 to get a racehorse out of harms way.
Whether BREAK THE ICE, LA GALERIE etc etc etc. last week we were begging for donations.
This was all going on while Keeneland was boasting about record profits at their sale.
This was all going on while owners like Bobby Flay, Barbara Banke, and Three Chimneys (who sold La Galerie for $800,000) were spending millions buying up more potential victims of this business.
In fact, one of the biggest OTTB rescues in central California closed it’s doors a couple of years ago.
They did a special on it, and the prevailing theme was how they were desperate for money, for financial support that never came from the industry or participants of it or came in such low amounts that they couldn’t keep going.
Despite the fact that they request, on many occasions, financial assistance from the industry and directly from racetracks like Santa Anita and Del Mar they refused to support them.
That says it all right there.
The only thing these pro-horse racing people care about is themselves.
They only want what they can financially gain from the racehorses, and then they dump them on everybody else’s doorstep with no financial help to keep them out of harms way.
Maggi Moss claims to follow her racehorses.
We know this not to be 100% accurate.
Moreover, following a horse, and providing it with a home is 2 entirely different issues.
So let’s be clear: not only does Maggi Moss not follow all of her racehorses, but she certainly doesn’t provide them with a soft landing in most cases.
She can convince herself that she is the “good” folk of horse racing, but we know otherwise.
Anybody who buys, sells, and dumps racehorses like Maggi Moss is no horse advocate.
Further, anybody who participates in this industry in whatever capacity can’t love a horse.
We know this.
Michaela in posse attacks race before last there was another trainer named kelli martinez she is the last listed person to race him she had a horse entered yesterday 12/3 at turfway park so she might be stabling and racing there you should be able to call the racing office to come in contact with her on another note I have searched the net high and low and haven’t came across anything I hope I could be of some help good luck on finding posse attack
Thank you so much for the help Billy! I sent Kelli a Facebook message yesterday but never sure how well that works, I will try calling the tracks to get her info, that was my next plan. Thanks again!
The facts here illustrate racing wants the horses for a few years to use them up and make some money. The claiming game is a system for the bigger players to unload the unprofitable horses and thus begins the downward spiral for the unfortunates. The end for the survivors of the brutal claiming process is, all too often, a horrific death at a slaughterhouse.
Obviously, it is impossible for “good folks” to be active in this game where MONEY ALWAYS TRUMPS THE WELFARE OF THE HORSE. I could hardly believe Maggi Moss sold her “beloved” mare, So Many Ways, to be a broodmare in Japan. Moss tries to portray herself as one who really cares about her horses. But as the saying goes, don’t listen to what I say, watch what I do. Moss is a phony like all the other so called “good folks” in this business. They are in it for money and ego, period.
Exactly, Rose.
I see that HALOS AND ANGELS raced at Mahoning Valley yesterday, came home 5th for $85. She still has a sale price on her head for $5,000. She hasn’t won a race since April 2014, according to equibase.com.
This rising 6 year old mare is racing for her life in Claiming hell. And clearly this gambling business is seriously compromising her welfare and safety.
No rules to protect her, none whatsoever.
They just keep on sending her out, keeping their fingers crossed that she doesn’t break down.
I am just appalled with how Maggi Moss places her horses at such great risk.
Run Like Elle, Moss’ 4-year-old colt. She ran him on December 2 for 10K at Delta Downs. No takers. She ran him (at DD) on the 21st but lowered his sale price to 5K. Again, no takers. The dark bay colt is entered for 5K again on January 7 at Fair Grounds Race Course.
It’s not new news that racehorses disappear from the Louisiana tracks. Many. And often. It’s also not new news that a known kill buyer is also a racehorse owner – Jacob Thompson. He just boasted via a FB post that he’s got 30 horses in training. He continued, doing his best to goad advocates; “I did have more tbs [sic] to post today [he advertises his slaughter-bound horses for exorbitant prices] but I will load them instead so ya’ll have a good day!!!” Verbatim.
But then kill buyer Thompson says this, and includes a screen shot of the entries for January 7, race 5, at Fair Grounds…“[Maggi Moss] has a colt running for a tag on Saturday for 5K I think she wants me to go claim him at the fair grounds!!!”
Every racehorse owner who puts their horses into claiming races (and that’s every racehorse owner) is placing them at great risk. Of injury and of death. Sometimes that death comes via having their throats slit while hanging – still alive – by a hind leg.
Moss, an advocate? Please.
Joy, think of horses as stocks in an investment account. When those stocks don’t perform up to the owner’s expectations, they are sold and that is exactly what Ms. Moss is trying to do with Run Like Elle. She is trying to sell him via claiming races because he isn’t making money for her. No matter what Ms. Moss says, her actions speak louder than her words. Racing is a business for her and making money is her goal. The horses are a distant second.
Thank you, Joy for exposing this.
I cannot fathom why Maggi Moss publicly declares that she’s against the slaughtering of racehorses when she places her own racehorses in such vulnerable situations having the knowledge that there is a very high risk of them ending up suffering a torturous INHUMANE death?
Thompson is another example of the sickeningly cruel people in this industry.
It is unacceptable that the racing authorities allow Thompson to hold a trainer’s licence when he is also operating as a kill buyer.
The horror story for these innocent noble horses continues………..
And those that have the power to intervene do NOTHING!
Dispicable people in a dispicable business. God help the horses.
And those with the power to do something for these animals and do nothing are as guilty of abuse and cruelty as those perpittrating the the abuse. Their hands are just as dirty if not more so .
PS Re Ms Moss, I often think of her lovely mare, So Many Ways, and wonder if there any provisions for her return to the US once Japan is finished with her .
This article deserves special attention, and I’m (hopefully) getting it re-posted.
This is an accurate narrative, backed-up with evidence, that this business doesn’t give a damn about these racehorses.
They are nothing more than a profit commodity who are continually abused throughout their racetrack life.
Midwest Thoroughbreds – a prime example of an outfit who regularly dumps racehorses who are no longer profitable.
Google their name and a plethora of articles comes up about rescue groups finding their horses all over Florida in bad shape.
True to horse racing procedures these owners give little or nothing to these financially struggling rescue groups who are actively cleaning up their mess while they spend millions buying up more racehorses.
So now they seem to be falling back on their virtual ATM machine called THE PIZZA MAN.
This racehorse has been through lots, and has made his owners $2,126,571, but that’s not enough to retire this 8 y.o. gelding.
After all, he’s not going to the breeding shed to make millions so sitting him in a pasture equates to spending money instead of making money.
He’s back in again after being off the radar for 8 months.
He’s entered in the Black Tie Handicap at Arlington – poor dude.
It’s no secret that The Pizza Man has been plagued with issues (lung infections) so he’s probably been turned into a pin cushion by now to keep him going.
Of course we will never know because the industry and the supporters ensure that medical records are kept secret.
Here is a quote from his owner:
“We’re just blessed to have a horse like him and we’re not done with him yet,” Papiese said. (Bloodhorse)
In other words, he’s not done making you enough money because over 2 million is not enough for your spending habits at the Keeneland sales is it?
Well, Papiese we are DONE with people like you, and your horse should be DONE with this business, out in a grassy paddock, enjoying his life.
He was certainly not blessed to have owners like you.
People are DONE with this legitimized animal cruelty and/or dying, and we will continue to educate the public so that they will be done supporting this.
If THE PIZZA MAN hasn’t raced for 8 months, then he’s at high risk, especially given his poor health history. No doubt the vet on duty will pass him fit to race – what a joke.
Papiese clearly has no respect for TPM and I foresee him racing him into the ground until he gets the last drop of blood out of him.
Yes Carolyn, they are squeezing him dry now after all that money he made for them.
The following scenarios are most likely for The Pizza Man:
1. Catastrophic breakdown with an insurance policy most likely in place.
Midwest Thoroughbreds have a history of this happening. Most equine insurance policies have a caveat that the racehorse must die on racetrack grounds while in active training or racing. Perhaps the reason why they brought him back after 8 months?
2. Breakdown that will render him useless to the operation, and the dumping will begin.
3. Low performance in stake races leading to dumping of one kind or another whether that’s in the claiming ranks (which they have done to many of their racehorses) or somewhere else.
The sad part is if he performs then he will continue to be trained, and raced until there is no blood left in him.
No matter what dumping is in the future, most likely, after they are “done” with him.
Well you cruel horse racing people – society is DONE with you, and it’s only a matter of time until this sinking ship hits the iceberg.
Multiple-graded stakes racehorse gelding THE PIZZA MAN barely make it through the race yesterday.
Watching him get beaten/whipped was equally disturbing.
In his prime, TPM pulled in over 2 MILLION dollars for Richard and Karen Papiese (Midwest Thoroughbreds) but these greedy slave masters can’t find it in their heart to give him a decent, and safe retirement.
Let’s not forget that exploiting, dumping, maiming, and/or dying of their profit slaves is standard operating procedures for this vile business.
He simply didn’t want to be there, but these heartless owners don’t seem to give a damn.
This is one example of many, and this is why this business needs to shut down.
There are too many Pizza Man’s, and there are too many horses dying for this VILE business.
An arrest was made today on the case of Dr Drip:
https://www.facebook.com/slpsheriff/posts/1499920266717962:0
The investigation revealed that Dr Drip changed hands “many” times, and was not properly taken care of since 2014 when his owner/trainer “AYER” who made $250,000 off his sweat gave him away, washed his hands of Dr Drip and NEVER looked back even when he was allegedly contacted for assistance.
NEVER picked up the phone to see how his champion racehorse was nor did he spend $20 in gas to go see how he was doing!
This is standard racetrack modus operandi.
DUMPING is standard operating procedure from the lowest claimer to the highest “royally” bred.
Let’s be clear horse racing did this to Dr Drip.
They opened the door for this pain, suffering, and egregious acts of cruelty.
So onto the jockey he went.
It’s now 2014.
His sweat is barely dry from the racetrack where DUMPING him into the claiming ranks didn’t get rid of him, but they had other plans for DUMPING, and they carried those out with total impunity.
The jockey couldn’t take care of him, evidently, so handed him off to a “friend.”
The jockey washed his hands of Dr Drip after he made 10% of his earnings on the track which translates to about $25,000 not including whatever bets he had going.
Let’s be clear horse racing did this to Dr Drip.
The jockey NEVER went to see him during this time, and made a phone call only to find out that the “friend” had given him away for riding.
Again, another individual that “loved” and “cared” for him so much didn’t even go to see if he was alright.
The “friend” who was not getting any money to buy feed or to pay for his upkeep (I suppose the former racetrack connections believed that money and feed drops down from the sky) gave/sold him to some people who didn’t know the first thing about a horse let alone a special needs thoroughbred.
The investigators have not detailed exactly how many times the horse changed hands, but nobody was feeding him or taking care of them
Dr Drip had some more sweat to give to people after he made $250,000, generated thousands in wagering profits, took care of everybody that used him, and he got the rotten end of the stick.
Typical OTTB life.
They do know that he continued to be used and abused by the person who was arrested today.
They allege that he was the guy that poured acid on him but because there are no direct witnesses for that they say it will be hard to prove because he changed hands so many times, but they can prove neglect and will try to get felony animal cruelty charges upheld with jail time.
It’s now up to the D.A.’s office to go forward which they will.
The guy arrested today is 250 pounds or more.
I can’t, and it’s so difficult for me to live through his pain in my mind.
Imagine carrying a 250 pound idiot on your back while your starving, haven’t been fed in who knows how long, with open wounds/sores on your back, maggots eating you alive and being kicked in the side to go.
Hell, for all we know, he could have been wearing spurs!
When I look closer at the pics you can see where the bridle was ill-fitted and it rubbed sores on his nozzle, and on the cheekbones – just another set of pain devices for Dr Drip.
He was saddled so many times in the last 3 years with multiple owners who probably knew nothing about a racehorse, who starved him, abused him, allegedly poured acid on him, saddled him up and rode him in that painful state.
This boggles my mind, and stabs my heart.
Moreover, the property was leased and the owner agreed to let the horse onto the property so it’s highly likely that he saw this horse and said NOTHING!
I would like to find out WHO the farrier was because he’s just as guilty as all involved.
We will be looking into this.
This is a typical scenario for an OTTB.
This is not an anomaly although the state of neglect of Dr Drip is the worse that anybody has ever seen.
The MAJORITY of OTTB’S change hands, and the majority end up in the hands of people who know nothing about a horse let alone a racehorse and MANY end up in neglectful situations DIRECTLY DUE to the horse racing industry.
Folks, both the industry funded aftercare programs and any other private OTTB rescues are OVERWHELMED, FULL TO THE TILT, underfunded, unable to take more as they are shipped-off to kill auctions, and subsequently slaughterhouses.
This is all going on while the industry boosts about RECORD WAGERING – 123 million in 4 days during the Derby, BILLIONS in wagering profits, and LITTLE OR NOTHING given to aftercare.
Not even a 1-800 number that people can call to get emergency funding.
This is the REAL world of horse racing where over breeding, irresponsible breeding is necessary in order to fill races and generate wagering profits or to flip a buck for their respective connections.
Local governments are giving MILLIONS for actually breeding a racehorse while they don’t have safe drinking water (Flint, MI) or their roads/bridges are falling apart!
It’s time to shut this business down!
Even in the wake of BILLIONS in casino profits they STILL don’t take care of these horses because they know full well that it’s a life time commitment, and not one they are willing to do.
Instead they dump them, and create this mess while convincing people that this is business as usual.
DUMPING – so necessary a tool in order to keep filling races.
I’m sad to say that there are about 20 OTTB’s now in dire need of assistance at 1 aftercare facility – that’s just one and they can’t get any funds from the multiBILLION dollar horse racing industry.
Most of them are already well on their way to looking like Dr Drip due to not enough groceries.
I, like so many others, are heartbroken over Dr Drip.
Every time I submit a comment on this blog regarding his horrific life I can’t stop crying.
Where were the “good” folks of horse racing when Dr Drip was being abused, neglected, and hurt?
Well they were probably out breeding or dumping a racehorse to fill their delusion and to fill the wagering coffers.
After all, this is horse racing.
Thank you, Gina for all that you’re doing for Dr Drip.
I hope that the exposure of the unspeakable torture of this successful racehorse haunts AYER and THE JOCKEY for the rest of their lives.
Yes Carolyn, but it should really haunt them all – every single supporter/participator/apologist.
It should also clearly show any member of the public what this horrible business is all about.
Anybody who continues to support or defend this is now just as abusive as the abuser themselves.
Dr Drip sacrificed his life for this business, and I’m not about to let him die in vain.
I detest this industry and I will rejoice for every race track that closes down.
Furthermore, this corruption is going on at the highest levels of the game and is, from what information I’ve been exposed to, the corruption tentacles extend into the entire drug testing process.
If true, then most races are fixed – organized, and it’s organized at the highest levels of the game with the most winning trainers of the game it seems.
This is horse racing only it can’t even be called horse racing because it’s an evil entity, and in order to be “successful” in this business you eventually become evil under the delusion that you are one of the “good” folks of horse racing.
What a sick, demented, twisted delusional world where racehorses are dying in the dirt for these despicable people.
It can’t shut down soon enough for me or the racehorses.
Thank You Gina for your comprehensive story on this heartbreaking Story.
One Question. Who Was the Jockey ?
The jockey who rode him for the majority of his races was DANNY LAVERGNE.
We now know that the owner, AVERY, who made $250,000 off of Dr Drip gave him to Danny.
Danny gave Dr Drip to a “friend” who in turn gave the horse away for riding which I believe was the current owner that got arrested.
So most of the dumping was by the very people who claimed to “love” him – typical racetrack people.
In fact, they loved him so much that they dumped him, didn’t provide a safe retirement, didn’t spend $20 in gas to go see if he was okay.
They just washed their hands of him, and never looked back.
Unfortunately for Dr Drip ended up in the hands of a monster.
I just can’t believe that the person charged had saddled him and rode him 2 days before the seizure?
This just blows me away.
As for the rescue who has about 20+ OTTB’s right now?
GULF COAST THOROUGHBRED RESCUE.
https://www.facebook.com/GulfCoastTBNetwork/
There were at least 4 pics that showed some severely neglected racehorses that had just come off the track!
Therefore, the racing people weren’t feeding these thoroughbreds even in active training!
I’m just so distraught over Dr Drip, but this happens on a regular basis with this business.
Dumping is one of many repulsive facts about horse racing.
Of course dying in the dirt is another.
Gina,
Where is the after care place that you were talking about that has 20 horses that need care ?
Gina asks a good question – where were the “good” folks of horse racing? – when Dr Drip was passed from racing owner Arey to jockey Lavergne to whomever ELSE he was handed off to? Nowhere around…and certainly not concerned for him nor looking out for him. Arey and Lavergne had already washed their filthy hands of him and walked away.
Even though I have dealt with the defending of this industry by apologists for quite some time now, Dr Drip’s horror story – and those who have defended Arey/Lavergne in claiming they bear no responsibility in the gelding’s torture and death – have surprised even me…and the added insult they hurl at Dr Drip in doing so is maddening.
Then there is Maggi Moss – the Queen of dumping.
She is standard operating procedures when it comes to her never revolving door of claiming, dumping, buying, selling, exploiting then dumping.
You Joy, and all of us here know all too well about Maggi Moss.
That said, I checked out her FB page where she posted the pic of a fat healthy OTTB being ridden in the show ring and made a point of saying that NOT all OTTB’s end up like Dr Drip.
She said there is a “good” side to horse racing basically.
So Ms. Moss we are supposed to sacrifice about 99 racehorses for 1 that ends up in a “good” situation?
You know full well that the majority of racehorses end up in horrific situations just like Dr Drip.
You Ms. Moss are a delusional twit.
It’s really too bad that Ms. Moss with her education, her attorney background, her horse background all being used to justify the ongoing using, abusing, whipping/beating, dying, dumping of racehorses.
Indeed the apologists will use anything to justify their legitimized animal abuse.
All the dumpers of this horse are as guilty as the individual arrested.
Unfortunately they will probably skate.
Without a doubt, Rose…on both counts.
Yes, Rose, they most certainly are just as guilty.
Speaking of ABUSE of horses.
Trainer Beattie At Rojas Trial: ‘Almost Everybody’ Illegally Treated Horses On Race Day
June 28th, 2017 -From Paulick Report
Stephanie Beattie threw fellow horsemen under the bus during her testimony for the prosecution Tuesday afternoon at the federal trial of Murray Rojas, a former rival for leading trainer honors at Penn National in Grantville, Pa.
Beattie admitted she routinely had her horses illegally treated with therapeutic medications on race day by the same veterinarians who counted Rojas as a client.
“Almost everybody did,” Beattie said of the practice. “Ninety-five to 98%. It was a known practice. We wanted to win and they weren’t testing for those drugs at that time.”
Beattie, 46, won enough races to be Penn National’s leading trainer on three occasions. In 2009, her best year, she won 222 races from 811 starts for earnings of $3.4 million. The previous year, when she won 212 races from 612 starts, she had a win percentage of 35 percent.
But it is two-time Penn National leading trainer Rojas, not Beattie, who is on trial for wire fraud, conspiracy and misbranding of prescription drugs. U.S. Attorney William Behe has laid out a case with testimony and documents from racing officials, veterinarians and vet assistants alleging Rojas requested and received race-day treatment of horses in order to win purse money, then had billing and treatment records falsified to conceal the cheating.
Beattie is among numerous individuals at Penn National under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She resisted cooperating with the FBI at first, Beattie testified, even after Special Agent Bruce Doupe told her, “If you don’t want to talk, I’ll come to your house at 4:30 in the morning, handcuff you and put you in jail for a very long time.”
Finally, Beattie said, after spending more than $60,000 on legal advice, she decided to cooperate with authorities, submitting to numerous interviews and even wearing a recording device on their behalf.
Despite admitting to years of rule violations in multiple states, Beattie has not been sanctioned by any racing commissions and has faced no criminal charges. It has hurt her business, as shown by a 2016 record of 14 wins from 111 starts and earnings of $217,655.
“This investigation has made things tough for me,” she said.
Beattie also said she has stopped cheating with race-day treatments.
Beattie explained how veterinarian Kevin Brophy established an order form for trainers to fill out their race day medication requests. She said her lists regularly included Kentucky Red, Estrone and Amicar – substances that are not permitted within 24 hours of a race.
Beattie testified that Brophy and other veterinarians informed her of which drugs the state’s testing lab was not testing for.
On Monday, Brophy’s associate veterinarian, Fernando Motta, testified that Rojas regularly requested and received treatments of Robinul and Estrone on race day for her horses. Motta beat the test for Robinul, he testified, by administering a lower dose and changing the route of administration to intravenous from intramuscular.
Under cross examination by Robert Goldman, attorney for Rojas, Beattie admitted she never secretly recorded Rojas admitting she had her horses illegally drugged. “There wouldn’t be, because we don’t talk,” Beattie said.
“You don’t like her, do you?” said Goldman, who then revealed that Beattie made fun of Rojas by dressing up like her at a Halloween costume party.
Goldman then recited Beattie’s history of medication violations, dating back to her earliest years as a trainer, including a 2005 suspension at Charles Town in West Virginia when officials searched her vehicle and discovered loaded syringes.
Goldman asked: Why did she have injectables?
Beattie responded: “I was giving medication at Lasix time, like everyone else was.”
Beattie denied under oath that she would have shock wave therapy performed on a horse on race day and then have her veterinarian turn in a false name. She said, however, it was “common practice” for horses shipping in to have received shock wave therapy that same day.
She also said she never directed her jockeys or stable employees to use electrical devices, commonly known as buzzers or batteries, to shock horses both during morning workouts and races, as alleged by her former boyfriend and training partner, David Wells. Wells pleaded guilty to charges of rigging a race in a deal with federal prosecutors.
“Did I ever ask them to, no,” Beattie said. “Does it happen at every racetrack, yes. But I never told my jockeys to do it.”
MORE EXPOSURE OF HORSE ABUSE AT RACETRACK
Excerpt from Article – Paulick Report -June 28th, 2017
Trainer Beattie At Rojas Trial: ‘Almost Everybody’ Illegally Treated Horses On Race Day
Stephanie Beattie threw fellow horsemen under the bus during her testimony for the prosecution Tuesday afternoon at the federal trial of Murray Rojas, a former rival for leading trainer honors at Penn National in Grantville, Pa.
Beattie admitted she routinely had her horses illegally treated with therapeutic medications on race day by the same veterinarians who counted Rojas as a client.
“Almost everybody did,” Beattie said of the practice. “Ninety-five to 98%. It was a known practice. We wanted to win and they weren’t testing for those drugs at that time.”
Beattie, 46, won enough races to be Penn National’s leading trainer on three occasions. In 2009, her best year, she won 222 races from 811 starts for earnings of $3.4 million. The previous year, when she won 212 races from 612 starts, she had a win percentage of 35 percent.
But it is two-time Penn National leading trainer Rojas, not Beattie, who is on trial for wire fraud, conspiracy and misbranding of prescription drugs. U.S. Attorney William Behe has laid out a case with testimony and documents from racing officials, veterinarians and vet assistants alleging Rojas requested and received race-day treatment of horses in order to win purse money, then had billing and treatment records falsified to conceal the cheating.
ALL These people DRUGGING horses should be thrown in Jail !!!
Another Excerpt from Paulick Report…. June 28th, 2017
……… it is two-time Penn National leading trainer Rojas, not Beattie, who is on trial for wire fraud, conspiracy and misbranding of prescription drugs. U.S. Attorney William Behe has laid out a case with testimony and documents from racing officials, veterinarians and vet assistants alleging Rojas requested and received race-day treatment of horses in order to win purse money, then had billing and treatment records falsified to conceal the cheating.
Beattie is among numerous individuals at Penn National under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She resisted cooperating with the FBI at first, Beattie testified, even after Special Agent Bruce Doupe told her, “If you don’t want to talk, I’ll come to your house at 4:30 in the morning, handcuff you and put you in jail for a very long time.”
Finally, Beattie said, after spending more than $60,000 on legal advice, she decided to cooperate with authorities, submitting to numerous interviews and even wearing a recording device on their behalf.
Despite admitting to years of rule violations in multiple states, Beattie has not been sanctioned by any racing commissions and has faced no criminal charges. It has hurt her business, as shown by a 2016 record of 14 wins from 111 starts and earnings of $217,655.
“This investigation has made things tough for me,” she said.
Beattie also said she has stopped cheating with race-day treatments.
Beattie explained how veterinarian Kevin Brophy established an order form for trainers to fill out their race day medication requests. She said her lists regularly included Kentucky Red, Estrone and Amicar – substances that are not permitted within 24 hours of a race.
Beattie testified that Brophy and other veterinarians informed her of which drugs the state’s testing lab was not testing for.
On Monday, Brophy’s associate veterinarian, Fernando Motta, testified that Rojas regularly requested and received treatments of Robinul and Estrone on race day for her horses. Motta beat the test for Robinul, he testified, by administering a lower dose and changing the route of administration to intravenous from intramuscular.
Thank-you Kathleen for posting this.
So much to say here that I don’t even know where to start.
I tried to make this short, but it was not possible.
This is my short version if you can believe that!
The facts coming out in this court case is standard throughout the industry as they claim.
So if you are training and you are not willing to conduct your business this way then you will not make a living.
It’s just that simple.
Moreover, in order to permit the constant needling of your racehorse to win races, mask pain, continue to train/run them sore, and then dump them when no longer profitable doesn’t make you “good” it makes you pure evil.
What I constantly maintain on many of my comments here is that it’s not possible to be “good” and to continue in this business because sooner or later you will succumb to the necessary evils of this despicable system.
To what degree depends on the individual, but anybody who cares about racehorses would not be doing this.
Any gambler who cares about racehorses would leave them out of their gambling bets.
Veterinarians are running horse racing for the most part, and they make tons of money doing it.
There are entire “networks” of vets all over racetracks, and they qualify for organized syndicates from what I saw, and from what investigation I began during my brief stint with the CHRB in 2005.
Vets get privy information as to WHAT is being tested for and what is NOT being tested for.
They can order just about any type of drug (illegal or otherwise) from all over the world.
They do their homework before a race and they put into that needle what they know they can get away with.
This is going on all over the place, and many vets (when I was exposed to this information) OWN or have direct partnership into racehorses.
It’s NOT ILLEGAL for vets to own racehorses, and I’m not aware of any racing jurisdiction that has a rule on the books to prohibit vets from owning racehorses.
Even the state vet (who has endless exposure to drug information) plus controls the drug testing barn can own horses or they can get around the rule under hidden ownership.
These vets are like vultures. They get a trainer to front for them, there is an understanding to keep their mouth shut even when caught, but there’s also a guarantee that they will make money, and keep them on top.
I directly witnessed this when in horse racing, and nothing was ever done about it.
This is all being conducted at the detriment of the racehorse.
The racehorse is confined in their 10 x 10(12) space 23 hours per day, and they are sitting ducks for these predators.
Nobody, not any NEUTRAL organization is protecting them because the very people that are supposed to be protecting them are actually the ones abusing them as being exposed during this court case.
There is no NEUTRAL organization protecting the integrity of the drug testing process.
Moreover, these vets don’t have to hand in their vet records for daily operating procedures in the stable area.
This makes it so easy for them to run a doping ring when there is zippo oversight, and even cover-up because they don’t have to tell anybody what they are doing in the corner cobwebs of the stall!
Most owners get screwed as well because they get the big vet bills, and have to pay them.
In some cases, the vet is treating several of the same racehorses in the same race!
Talk about a carte blance for cheating!
You don’t know what the hell they are putting into that needle so this has the potential to “slow down” a favorite racehorse and speed up a long shot with lots of bets placed along the way of course.
As some of you may be aware, I caught “red-handed” a vet delivering a dose of something, via a needle, just 2 hours prior to a Graded Stake race at Del Mar totally illegal and against the rules.
In this example, she was treating one of Bobby Frankel’s horse – another doping cheater in my view.
I had to leave my job because I was getting death threats from reporting ILLEGAL doping!
Plus, I was getting fried with pro-horse racing articles circulating derogatory information about me painting me as this “irrational” women screaming about nothing when really I was doing my job.
The investigation revealed that the vet had falsified vet records on this occasion, but it seems logical that this had been going on for a long time.
There is a well established vet-trainer relationship at the highest levels of the game, and they want to carry on their little money making scheme at the detriment of the racehorse, the people who follow the rules, and they are monopolizing all of the purse money.
Case in point, the recent Belmont Stakes revealed the same vet (Baker) administering dope to the top trainers in the same race.
I would even go so far to say that when a top trainer realizes that he has a very expensive horse in his barn that is not living up to an owners expectations (s)he possibly work in tandem with their vet and BINGO the horse goes down – very possible scenario with everybody either profiting or getting back money especially if the horse is owned by the very vet that is treating him!
Again, we have no medication records to refer to because it’s not mandatory for vets to provide medication records to the commissions or the wagering public except in New York during Graded Stakes races that I’m aware of.
This should be standard operating procedures, and when we tried to pass this in California the vets were the first ones to fight it so that should tell you something.
The top trainers have been fighting this for a long time as well – again working in tandem.
In most racing jurisdictions, with no mandatory necropsy rule in place this possible scenario can carry on under these lackadaisical rules.
The system is in place for the vets/trainers to run their own little private killing gallery.
Despite the fact that this business derives money from the public I’ve never seen such secrets be permitted to carry on, and all facts seem to point to politicians receiving kickbacks to not pursue the dirty world of horse racing.
You would have to be incredibly stupid to invest in horse racing, to bet on horse racing, and/or be heartless to partake in such egregious acts of cruelty on a sentient being.
The only people who like the system currently in place are the vets/trainers/owners who are making millions off the bones, backs, and lives of racehorses with little to no oversight.
Thank You Gina.
I really Appreciate your posts. You and so many others on this list have actually been in that world of horse racing and you know What is really going on behind the scenes to these horses in terms of drugging, continued abuse and death. I hope Your Posts and the other posts and the stats on this Website will help to WAKE UP those that are asleep to the Absolute Abuse that these horses endure so horseracing can be Shut Down FOREVER !!
“This investigation has made things tough for me” Sure Beattie ! Have you ever thought YOU might be responsible for how “tough” things are. ? !
This game is nothing short of a form of organized crime.
Shit it down.
Exactly right. This horse abuser should go straight to jail !
Voodoo Storm, 9-year-old dark bay gelding, winner of nearly 500K from his 87 races, is now running in 4K claiming races. Maggi Moss once owned him – but because it was only for one race (“eighteen days”, she stated), she questions why she should be called upon to help him. So how many races DO you have to own them for, Ms. Moss, before you bear some responsibility? – 2? 10? 20? Or maybe the money amount they earned for you is your criteria for helping them or turning away?
But then she states this; “Know that I feel there are 1000’s of horses that need to be retired, and do not discriminate as to those that are winners of a lot or those that have little earnings” – she should add that she DOES discriminate if she was the owner for only “eighteen days”. (and isn’t it telling that a racing industry member feels there are THOUSANDS of horses that need to be retired…)
Another of her former horses, Donoharm, winner of 400K, is about as low as he can go – ran for a meager $2500 at Arapahoe a couple of weeks ago.
Those who constantly say how well treated and “loved” these horses are need to follow some horses once they no longer make enough money and enter the claiming ranks.
I would love to know how well treated and “loved” these horses are as the decend in “value”, are given various drugs to keep them racing and are shuffled from barn to barn in the disposable system that claiming is.
If Ms Moss is concerned about horse welfare, as she claims, she would not be in the game any longer. One cannot continue on in racing year after year and claim to care about the horses,
Donoharm lives up to his name but, sadly, the business is doing harm to
him !!
Maggi Moss – the dumping Queen and the Queen of delusions.
She fits in very well with the horse racing crowd because that’s part of what they do.
Total disregard for the well-being of a living creature that they probably maimed, dumped, and/or died.
This is horse racing.
Absolutely, Rose. How can a compassionate individual own one of these horses, claim to love them but put them at risk of injury and death by racing them, then sell them and walk away? – never giving thought to or caring if they are one of the “THOUSANDS that need to be retired”?
I often come back to this post because it’s so accurate.
There are no “good folks” in horse racing.
Take for example, Carl Brewster – look this attorney up some time.
Lot’s of stuff going on in this dudes background.
Anyways, he has been legal counsel for Steve Asmussen during his violations, and always comes to his rescue.
Does it surprise you that CB owns horses or shares in most (if not all) of the racehorses in Steve’s barn?
After the release of the PETA video, good ole boys club Carl went to town to defend this animal abuser.
Here’s an excerpt of just some of his comments in response to a pro-horse racing person stating that Steve A. is a cheater.
” When considering he has started more than 37000 horses his record of compliance is remarkable–a fact clearly documented in the KHRC report regarding the PETA complaint. I am an animal lover and active rancher. My family for generations have been farmers. I grew up knowing and caring about the well being of animals. Steve and his training staff have started more than 900 starts for me over the past 6 years and I have spent innumerable hours in their barns observing first hand the care. It is always top drawer. Naive I am not. Knowledgeable you are not.” Carl Brewster. DISQUS.
37,000 horses used, abused, and exploited by this idiot and his attorney.
Only 10 of the 37,000 horses they exploited can be accounted for as stallions and/or broodmares.
The other 36,990?
Well, your guess is as good as mine, but about 10 top multiple graded broodmares, IN FOAL, were dumped at a kill auction outside of Burnet, TX, and were subsequently rescued. They were directly traced back to Steve’s father who signed the slips to auction them off.
Yet, like all racetrackers they claim to “love” their horses, but have no problem dumping them without looking back or checking up on their well being.
Most of the 36,990 probably ended up at slaughter.
Now Carl since you are such an “animal lover, and active rancher.” (a dichotomy in and of itself) then why don’t you have the thousands that you used on your ranch?
I suppose the love quickly wanes when you can no longer make money off of them right?
Just think about how heartless and inept a person would have to be to wreck havoc on a racehorses life 37,000 times then send them away without batting an eyelash?
The top 6 trainers have about the same figures with most of them having their “in-house” attorney who defends them when they are caught doping – legal, illegal or otherwise.
No Carl, you sure aren’t naive, but neither are the rest of us.