Horseracing’s Broken Bodies, 4/20/15-4/26/15

The following horses were raceday casualties on American tracks last week:

Reported as died, euthanized, or “broke down” – racing-speak for dead
Dirty Diamond Jim, Turf
Elda, Penn
Tiz B the One, Pimlico
Eddie’sinthewoods, Penn
Muniz, Pimlico
Lia’s Miracle, Mahoning

Reported as “vanned off” – left via ambulance, a better-than-even chance of dead
Norte Chico, Mahoning
Bad Ronnie, Turf
Dr. Chocolin, Turf
Moonum Willie, Albuquerque
Wakeup N Dash, Delta
Jill’s Comprise, Gulfstream
Juniper Pass, Turf
Awesome Bandit, Evangeline
Made by Magic, Lone Star
Goofy Governor, Evangeline
Wildwood Perfect, Hawthorne
Sab Vision, Prairie
To the River, Tampa Bay
Pesky, Albuquerque
Five Star Stoli, Delta
Hot List, Los Alamitos
Who Dat Boy, Pimlico
Showcase Winner, Santa Anita
Perchance, Aqueduct
Tatoo Me, Aqueduct
Miss Sassy, Los Alamitos
Diner’s Diva, Turf

Other
Pepper Ridge, Mahoning, “stopped badly late”
Northern Irish, Indiana, “stumbled badly at the start,” DNF
Jilly Mac, Aqueduct, “bled”
Tm Cold Smoke, Delta, “hit rail,” DNF
Queen Carla, Gulfstream, “fell over broken rail,” DNF
Glory Game, Mahoning, “returned sore”
Robba Robba X Doo, Keeneland, “bad step,” DNF
Almarmooq, Glyndon, “fell,” DNF
Something Missing, Penn, “stopped badly”
Concerto Road, Pimlico, “bad step,” DNF
A Cure At Last, Tampa Bay, “fell,” DNF
Lapantalones Fance, “stumbled badly,” DNF
Political Farce, Pimlico, “fell,” DNF
Evoque, Albuquerque, “in distress”
Cosmic Coincidence, Aqueduct, “protective hold, pulled up, ponied off”
View of Broadway, Mountaineer, “bled”

(source: Equibase)

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19 Comments

  1. Patrick,

    I wish the PRO racing people would look through these lists before they come on here and talk about wonderful racing is.

    it is not wonderful for all these horses that are dying.

    Do you have ONE place they can go to see the list year by year.

    I remember seeing a MASTER list before with the old website but i cannot find it.

  2. To all bettors: Listed above are the grim results of your betting. Horses are hitting the rails, bleeding, in distress, falling over broken rails, stumbling badly, falling and hitting the ground, collapsing and dying in droves. You are solely responsible for their deaths and injuries. Think about that before you place your next bet. Do you really think they were put on this earth to die like this?

    To all the pro-racing people, are these the tremendous athletes you were referring to? I think not.
    Marlene Thornley

  3. subject: HORSE SLAUGHTER

    Former Seattle Seahawk raises awareness about horse slaughtering

    Former Seahawks player Joe Tafoya and former American football player in the NFL

    The Humane Society estimates every year, more than 100,000 horses are inhumanely transported outside the country for slaughter and shipped overseas for human consumption. Now, a former Seahawk is raising awareness about the issue of horse slaughtering in Washington after he rescued 14 wild horses that were set to be killed.

    Joe Tafoya said there are no active slaughtering houses in the United States, but he says there are in Mexico and Canada.

    “The goal for me is to eliminate what should not be an issue and that is whether or not we send horses to slaughter,” Tafoya said. “The real issue is overpopulation. It’s overbreeding, and it’s the fact that there are many, many horse owners out there that, they shouldn’t have a horse to begin with.”

    Due to overbreeding and overpopulation, horses are often sent to auction where they are either rescued, sent to rodeo or potentially sent for slaughter. For 20 years, Tafoya and his wife have rescued horses that would otherwise be killed.

    “I can’t see them suffer and not do anything about it if I have the ability,” Brandelyn Tafoya said. “We’re now fixing the problems that were created for them (in their old environment) because of the overpopulation which is malnourishment, severe ticks, lice, and just not having the right environment to thrive.”

    “These horses when they came here were so scared and over the first couple days when they got here they were able to relax and you could just see in them that they knew we weren’t going to hurt them,” Brandelyn Tafoya said.

    Tafoya plans to introduce a bill in the 2016 legislative session that would ban horse slaughtering from ever happening in Washington. He also aims to ban the transport of horses that are set to be slaughtered.

  4. “THE TRADITION OF CHEATING AT THE SPORT OF KINGS”

    A book by a RACE HORSE trainer with 30 years experience

    Most race horses, despite strict regulations prohibiting it, are given illegal drugs on race day. Many of these are performance enhancement drugs that affect not only the race, but the thousands of dollars at stake. Glenn Thompson, a race horse trainer with over 30 years of experience, reveals the darkest secrets behind the scenes of the Sport of Kings. By shining a light on these secrets, he hopes to change the pattern and return decency and honor to horse racing.

    Learn how over 85% of thoroughbred trainers give illegal drugs and how top racing officials turn a blind eye.

    Learn how jockeys are seriously injured and the champion horse George Washington was put down when safety protocols were not followed. The secrets behind the tradition of cheating will both shock and amaze you.

    • Kathleen, I do believe that Glenn Thompson is one of the better trainers in racing. Yes, I read his book…The Tradition of Cheating in the Sport of Kings. However, I’m sure your “research” has shown that Thompson is a huge supporter of Lasix and wants all horses to continue to run on it. He wants to “return decency and honor to horseracing”? How do you do that when you advocate for Lasix?

      I have shared this analogy several times but, for some reason, people just don’t get it. One neighbor beats his dog once a day and another beats his dog four times a day. The neighbor that beats his dog once a day is much better than the one who beats the dog four times a day. However BOTH are animal abusers. Same with racing. Mr. Thompson has brought to light some of the dirty secrets in racing, but he still is immersed in the industry. Perhaps he should get out….

      • Mary,

        I have not read the book yet. I could only find it in Kindle format.

        Since Lasix is very dangerous for horses, I am so Sorry to hear that he is likes it.

      • Kathleen, I read Thompson’s book in the Kindle format. I had so much respect for him initially, but no longer. Patrick is right. There are no heroes in the racing industry…only exploiters.

  5. One of the horses on this list illustrates the evil of horse racing very well. Juniper Pass was a Grade 3 race winner and even ran in a Breeders Cup race. Their is a myth that at least at the top of the game the horses are treated humanely. If that is true why is a champion running at 8 in 6025 claiming race at Turf Paradise? her is an article from better days for Juniper Pass (2nd half of article)
    http://www.drf.com/news/santa-anita-breeders-cup-marathon-winner-calidoscopio-takes-aim-santa-anita-handicap

    • That’s right, Michael. There’s no discrimination in this industry. Not ONE horse – stakes winner or career claimer – deserves the horrific life and constant risks to life and limb that race horses endure. And not one is immune to it. But it’s especially sickening when a horse like Juniper Pass falls so far and no one – not ONE of those “good folks” we are always hearing about from the pro-racing faction – does anything to help him and stop his fall.

    • Michael, I just looked up Juniper Pass in Equibase and it was absolutely sickening to look at his “life”.

      SHAME on his owners – Betty and Robert Irvin – who raced him 21 of his 24 lifetime starts! The bay gelding was a MGSW and like you mentioned, Michael, a 2012 BC Marathon participant. Juniper Pass last raced for the Irvin’s on 2-9-2013. Then he “disappeared” until his next race – 1-29-2015, yes, almost TWO YEARS LATER – where his new owner was his previous trainer, Thomas Bell. So Betty and Robert Irvin unloaded Juniper Pass to their trainer.

      In his first race back after two years, Bell put him in a claiming race…Juniper Pass was claimed by Robertino Diodoro for 12.5K. Then Diodoro ran him 4-6-15 (last, 15 lengths back) and then 4-22-15 (pulled up and vanned off).

      Betty and Robert Irvin belong in the owner’s HALL OF SHAME. They happily took the 379K Juniper Pass made for them then tossed him aside.

      • You are right Joy. It seems the most fateful day to Juniper Pass’s sad end(?) was the decision to Geld him in 2012, which in itself seems odd because by then he was already a Grade 3 winner and presumably worth something at stud. If they hadn’t done that they surely wouldn’t have brought him back from a 2 year layoff (not because they are nice or anything but for their own financial gain) Whole thing is just sad

  6. What Does Actor James Cromwell Want You to Know About Horse Racing?

    James Cromwell is known for his numerous film and television projects, including his Academy Award–nominated performance in L.A. Confidential as the sinister Capt. Dudley Smith and his Emmy Award–winning
    role as the even scarier villain Dr. Arthur Arden in the critically acclaimed American Horror Story. Yet James’ most frightening and heartrending role is his narration of PETA’s exposé on the blood sport of horse racing.

    What is touted as “the most exciting two minutes in sports” is actually the deadliest.

    While spectators enjoy their mint juleps in over-the-top fashion, the horses are given drug cocktails to enhance their performance and mask their pain and injuries, and more than 1,000 of the “athletes” die every single year.

    James makes this point: What if other sports had the same odds? What if three NFL players died every Sunday?

    The life of a horse used for racing is miserable and painful:

    The use of performance-enhancing and pain-masking drugs is rampant in the racing industry. The horses are more likely to suffer from pulmonary bleeding and catastrophic injuries on the track as they’re pushed beyond their physical limits.

    While their bones are still growing and not yet strong enough to handle the speed of racing, the abuse of yearlings and 2-year-olds in training is commonplace, resulting in catastrophic injuries and often death.

    Jockeys have been known to whip horses so mercilessly that the animals’ eyes have hemorrhaged and they’ve sustained other injuries.

    Hard-packed dirt surfaces make it more likely that horses will break a bone. Equine Injury Database studies have shown that grass and even synthetic surfaces are far less likely to result in injuries.

    Owners in constant search of the next Triple Crown winner force winning horses to breed excessively, hoping for their next big paycheck.

    As if the races themselves weren’t hard enough, the horses endure repeated auctions, serial ownership, and constant travel throughout their careers.

    Retirement equals slaughter. When Thoroughbreds are no longer making money, they’re shipped to Mexico, Canada, or Japan to be slaughtered for food.

    The easiest and best way to speak out against this travesty is by not supporting these tragic events. Avoid everything related to horse racing, including betting on, watching, and attending races as well as attending Kentucky Derby parties.

    http://www.peta.org/features/james-cromwell-horse-racing-video/

  7. This PETA expose with James Cromwell on horse racing says over 1,000 horses dies every year.

    The numbers, as we all know, are Much Much Higher.

  8. Kathleen is right, the numbers are much, much, higher. Thanks for the info Kathleen on James Cromwell and PETA. I told you PETA is not done with the racing industry!

    Marlene Thornley

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