At Zia Park (New Mexico) yesterday:
In the 1st, 2-year-old Nemos Treasure “bobbled [at the] break, [was] fractious, bled [from the nostrils] [and was] vanned off.”
In the 6th, 4-year-old Satin N Pearls (in her first-ever time under the whip) “trailed the field and was vanned off after pulling up.”
In the 8th, 3-year-old Silverhill “went wrong nearing the quarter pole, was taken up and vanned off.” (He also required an ambulance after a race at Albuquerque in May.)
Is this what is to pass for entertainment in 21st Century America?
This isn’t entertaining, it’s animal abuse! I’m glad this blog exposes these abuses! And I’m relieved there are many who have seen the light like I have but it is disturbing that others who should know better still want to support horseracing! A friend just told us that a person who started a racehorse rescue is a supporter of racing and that she even liked the Facebook page that is 100% opposed to Horseracing wrongs. It’s a page where Deb Olives and a couple of others bash the people who speak out against racing. Now it is a free country and anyone can choose what they want to support, but I tell you what, my big group of friends who love horses and hate when they are abused are not going to donate to this woman’s rescue when she likes a Facebook page that bashes the people who post here! If you want to donate to rescues, there are plenty that need your donations and you don’t have to donate to the one that supports horseracing and to the woman who started it who supports these bashers of horse advocates! If you love racehorses, you won’t want to donate to Gail Hurt and her rescue Beyond the roses because she supports this “sport” that kills horses!
Perfect, Victoria.
Thank you Victoria…I just want to verify something with you. We believe all racehorses are deserving of release from their enslavement in the industry that exploits them (I say “we” as I do believe that’s true of all in the anti-racing/anti-animal abuse camp…I am taking the liberty of speaking for those of us who support what HRW is exposing). We (again, taking liberty) also believe all horses RESCUED from racing deserve it regardless of who does the rescuing. Do you disagree with that?…is that why you and your group will not support Gail Hirt and Beyond the Roses, and encourage others to follow suit?
My opinion…the thoroughbred racing community proudly boasts there are MANY aftercare programs (and many that are funded by the industry itself) and MANY great owners and that VERY FEW racehorses go to slaughter. If that’s the case, there wouldn’t be the CONSTANT barrage of pleas for help for discarded TB racehorses and the incessant begging for money from the racehorse rescues…what they claim is an outright lie and it’s glaringly obvious to anyone who uses even an ounce of critical thinking.
I do believe ALL discarded, injured, or otherwise unwanted racehorses deserve help and deserve it regardless of who took them in. But in addition, donation dollars are very scarce and none of us (I believe) have an unlimited supply of those donation dollars. We need to pick and choose excellent, reputable, and experienced rescues carefully to which we will donate our hard-earned money to…and also, to organizations that align with our own values and convictions. There’s just not enough in our “donation banks” to give to all of them.
And since Beyond the Roses and other rescues like it support the racing industry, surely the racing industry will support them!…they should have no problem getting funds from this multi-billion dollar gambling industry that they support and that is just overflowing with great folks! For me, I’ll choose to donate to the rescues that have the balls to call it like it is and not betray the horses by supporting the very industry that makes it necessary to have rescues in the first place.
Thank you, Victoria…I look forward to your thoughts.
Victoria, what Joy says is absolutely correct. Also, there are rescues (Remember Me Rescue, for example) which is actually run by an individual who is immersed in racing (Donna Keen). Ms. Keen makes her living in an industry that maims, and kills, horses on a daily basis. She should step up for the horses needing a place to go because those horses have put money into her bank account over the years. However, what is so troubling is that these rescues are constantly begging for money. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that a rescue may have to close its doors because of lack of funding. Again, racing is a multi-billion dollar industry and I have heard, hundreds of times, that there are many places for these horses to go when their racing days are over and that those in racing are “stepping up” for the horses that need help. In fact, someone on FB just recently stated that she had a “list” of rescues that were waiting to take in horses that needed a soft place to land. Really? I asked a mutual acquaintance on FB for that list THREE different times and she simply ignored me. Yes, she lied by omission. Even if you can find a decent aftercare program, there is often a waiting list and even years ago, when I supported New Vocations, I would have to wait a couple of weeks to get a horse into their adoption program. After having been in this business for many years, I would know if there were more than a couple of “rescues” willing to take in these horses discarded by an industry that has absolutely no regard for the horse once its productive days are over. There are a few exceptions but not many.
I agree with Joy. If a rescue publicly states that they are pro-racing, then one would expect the racing industry to support that rescue. Just like everyone else’s funds, my funds are not unlimited and I must carefully choose which organizations to support and, over the last couple of years, I have chosen to support those who speak out against animal exploitation, racing included. That is my choice and I make no apologies. It is important to support those organizations that align with my values.
Exactly, Mary.
Thank you too, Mary! We appreciate your experience and we have seen where you have helped so many horses in need!
Hi Joy and thank you. I believe all horses deserve great lives with people that love them, and I believe all horses deserve to be rescued from bad situations (and that would include racing). What I was trying to say was that because there are so many horses that need to be rescued, and I can’t and my friends can’t send money to every single organization that is pleading for donations, we will send our money to organizations that we agree with philosophically. That’s just common sense! I also want to save the “lions and tigers and bears” that are abused in circuses, and the dolphins and killer whales at marine parks, and the Mustangs being rounded up by our government, but again, I can’t do it all!
My friends and I are of the older generation and we have the luxury of being retired from our jobs and professions, and we have a great deal of time to get together. We have our reading club and since we are all horse lovers and owners, we gravitate to current horse-issues discussions, as well. We are quite observant, I’ll tell you, and we see where some of these two-faced pro-racing people don’t think it’s OK to rescue a horse from a kill buyer yet they accuse others of not wanting to support rescues that are pro-racing! So back to them we can say, aren’t they all deserving? Their hypocrisy hits you in the face.
So thank you Joy for asking for clarification. One of the books our group read was Saving Baby by Joanne Normile and we read about you in Joanne’s book, too. We were shocked in learning about racing and are now letting our younger generation families of horse lovers know about it too! Joanne’s book was amazing and it has reached many, many people. Thank you to everyone that helps horses in need and spreads the word about horse racing!
Victoria, I agree with you 100%. I choose to support those organizations that align with my values. I have 3 dogs and 15 cats so I frequently shop at pet food stores. I don’t support Petland since they are part of the puppy mill pipeline. In fact, I demonstrated with a group of great gals outside a Perland store here in central Ohio last winter.
Today a pro-racing supporter (Ted Wells whose real name is Wendi Neckameyer) accused me of “targeting” three rescues that support horseracing….Bright Futures, Exceller, and Remember Me Rescue. I have NEVER mentioned Exceller publicly and I have never “targeted” Bright Futures. In fact, I have donated to Bright Futures. I have spoken out against RMR for several different reasons which I won’t go into here, but “targeted” them? That is simply a lie….a lie being told by Wells/Neckameyer.
Wells/Neckameyer should read Jo Anne’s book, but I doubt it would have any effect on her. I believe she has been sucked into the lies emanating from those who support animal exploitation. Hopefully, she and her colleagues will give up trying to convince me, and Joy Aten, that horseracing has ANY redeeming value. Of course, according to Wells/Neckameyer, we are “hopeless cases”. I’ll take that as a compliment!
The word is definitely getting out there regarding this sick industry. Today Yahoo.com has a great article on their website home page called ” The Dark Secrets Behind the Thoroughbred Racing Industry and the Horses that Pay the Price”. It addresses the horrors of racing, and how so many TB’s end up on a trip to the slaughterhouse, discarded like trash. It talks about the rescue of one lucky TB named “Grand Stand”.
This exposure is so inherently important to get out to the public, as so many are ignorant of the abuses of the racing industry. The truth is spilling out, and people are becoming aware of the atrocities that occur on a daily basis. We will get there, it may take some time, but I know we will get there.
Thank you Mary and Joy for pointing us all in the right direction and away from the rescues that are pro-racing. Your expertise and experience is priceless…
Marlene Thornley