The following horses were casualties on American racetracks last week:
“Broke Down” – racing-speak for dead; “Collapsed and Died”; “Euthanized”
Kathy’s Limit, Charles Town
Harvey’s Bear, Presque Isle
Contangold, Louisiana
Starry Madelyn, Louisiana
Boccaccio, Charles Town
“Vanned Off” – carted away by ambulance, better-than-even chance dead
Vargas, Albuquerque
No Walkin’ Joe, Albuquerque
Pache Echo Star, Albuquerque
Feodor, Mountaineer
Marching Tune, Mountaineer
Mr. Discreet, Parx
Arrestedforpassion, Presque Isle
Medaglia’s Express, Thistledown
Ensonador, Indiana
Awesome Rules, Arlington
Mac West, Churchill
County Gun, Gulfstream
Little Chris A, Gulfstream
Desert Kiss, Albuquerque
Silver Or Gold, Charles Town
Dreaming of Sue, Gulfstream
La Victoria Light, Los Alamitos
Trending Topic, Gulfstream
Mr Cotto, Gulfstream
Snarky Belle, Louisiana
Time for Tutt, Penn
Carvers Cold, Stockton
Al’s Best Boy, Zia
Leisurely Stroll, Belterra
Pomodoro, Churchill
It’s Robin, Gulfstream
Bulleader, Prairie
“Bled”; “Returned Bleeding From the Nostrils”
Tiger Tim, Albuquerque
Cockeyed Cowboy, Charles Town
Data Legacy, Indiana
Freewest, Laurel
Kristella, Remington (also vanned off)
It’s Woody, Penn
John Louis’ Blaze, Retama
Cowboy’s Prayer, Zia
William Teller, Zia
(source: Equibase)
It is tragic to see these graceful animal fall with injuries drivers and riders hurt. Instead of always pointing in one direction I propose this- the casino money has added to the purses and the demand on trainers to make money for their owners. Horses are put to the test and many times should have been laid off or observed by the track vet who most times is too busy eating or reading than to observed lameness. Stricter ingot cement of drug rules. Trainers get positive and only get a slap . And of coarse trainers not under the watchful eye of owners rarely properly jog the horse in readiness for a race why drugs are better in the mixtures that are personal and in hopes not to get a positive. Well the only one suffering exactly the horse unfortunately to some expendable.
While the racing apologists ridicule the lists of weekly casualties, even claiming the horses named are all “fine”, little do they know (or maybe they do and just don’t mention it?) there are even more racehorses in questionable condition that Patrick doesn’t list – therefore, giving the industry the benefit of the doubt.
One such horse is the 2012 chestnut filly Take Charge Brandi. This three-year-old – a Lukas charge – is a MGSW of nearly 1.7 million. She ran EIGHT times as an immature 2 y/o. Then she was injured in a workout this past March and required surgery (and hardware) for her knee chip fracture. After her injury, her owner Willis Horton stated; “That’s the name of the game, you have these unexpected deals. But I’ll live…”. (Mr. Horton, we’re not questioning whether YOU are going to live…it was your three-year-old filly that was injured, not you.)
So now Take Charge Brandi is back racing, hardware in her patched-up knee and all. In her first race back, on August 8, she was last of ten horses – she finished 24 lengths back. And now on September 19, the young filly was a DNF…she “stopped abruptly” and was “eased”.
This 2014 Eclipse Award winner cannot even finish a race. She’s a casualty. A victim. Wounded. But never mind…Horton will live. Appalling.