From the most recent Stewards Minutes at Golden Gate:
“Jockey Irving Orozco who rode the horse Silent Bounty in the sixth race at Golden Gate Fields on November 8, 2015, is hereby fined $300 for striking his mount on the head. Tapes showed, and Orozco admitted, that he struck the horse on the side of the head as the field came on the backstretch. Orozco stated the horse was acting up and he became frustrated.”
“The horse was acting up and he became frustrated.” The unruly horse in question, 2-year-old Silent Bounty, was being raced for the very first time. Unsurprisingly, Silent Bounty finished last (but still managed to “win” $105). A reminder: On the maturation chart, a 2-year-old equine is the rough equivalent of a 6-year-old child. Imagine that.
Meanwhile, the latest minutes from Del Mar reveal two more dead horses – that is, horses who either died on Del Mar grounds or while being prepped off-site for upcoming Del Mar races. The tally since the beginning of the Fall “Bing Crosby Meet”:
Oct 19-Oct 26: 1 dead
Nov 2-Nov 8: 5 dead
Nov 9-Nov 16: 2 dead
That’s discussing. If I were that horses owner when he came back from the race. IWOULD SMACK HOM ON THE. HEAD!! 🏇
I believe one dropped unsaddling today at Del Mar
I HOPE THEY CME BACK AS THE ANIMAL THEY ABUSED IN THIS LIFE,,KARMA,WILL GET YOU
How can anyone let this jockey race again after being arrested and has multiples charges against him not for abuse but for being under the influence of alcohol and also had an warrant arrest against him what kind of horse owner or trainer accept this kind of behavior ! I’m so angry now let me hit him that he would run back to his country on his ASS!
You need to go get a life, stop reading all the media lies and start supporting and helping people like that jockey does and the media doesn’t post that, because it’s none of their business.
YOU “get a life” and find another occupation. You’re not fit to be around horses.
Have the owners of these horses brought charges against the jockies? Why are they not banned from further racing. Why doesn’t the race tracks deal HARSHELY with this kind of action?
Sadly for the horses, the majority of racehorse owners, trainers, et al and the racing authorities condone the beating of the horses with whips. The jockeys “ride” with their whips, bashing away, inflicting pain both physical and psychological upon these poor horses who are at the mercy of the curs on their backs.
To my knowledge, no owner has ever brought charges against a jockey for whipping a horse no matter how severe the whipping was – they seem to turn a blind eye. Occasionally, when a horse has been excessively whipped, Stewards will impose a paltry fine.
Stellar Wind had her skin broken from a flogging she copped from Victor Espinoza and he was given a paltry fine and then later viciously beat American Pharoah with his whip 32 times in the Kentucky Derby and, according to a media report, Kentucky Racing Commission Steward, Barbara Borden, stated “we watched it many, many times prior to making it official and that was not anything that got our attention”. Well, it sure got the attention of millions of viewers worldwide!!!
Fines never have and never will stop jockeys from beating the horses with their precious “tool of trade”, the cruel whip.
When I was an active Owner/Trainer I would give specific instructions to the jockey not to beat my horse. Any Owner/Trainer can do this, but many choose not to.
After American Pharoah was beaten badly in the Kentucky Derby I took to Twitter condemning the public flogging.
Some pro-racing people defended it, and responded to me on Twitter.
One of those people was Samantha Siegel owner of Jay Em Ess Horse Racing Stable. She owns lots of racehorses, has lots of money, and is heavily connected
I then pressed her, and said “so you think excessive whipping is okay?’
She said what’s excessive to you may not be excessive to other owners like me or something like that.
At no point did the health, and welfare of the racehorse seem to concern her unless I was misinterpreting what she was saying.
She did say that whipping was justified if it translated to a win or something very similar along those lines. She’s not the only one that feels this way in this industry. I’ve heard it too many times before.
My point is that whipping or beating is the ongoing systemic abuse of racehorses, and it’s not only the jockeys that uphold this cruelty, but the owners/trainers, racing commissions are equally to blame.
No doubt in my mind, but I also recall being labelled as “crazy” if I said something. It always amazed me how silent people were when it came to the ongoing beating of their racehorses. It was, and still is an accepted practice.
I also reported a Trainer who beat a young filly daily in the barn. I, and my staff as witnesses, backed up my complaint. It was the HBPA that hired an attorney to defend this trainer. They were not even there! Moreover, this Trainer (who is no longer in the business) was known for beating horses.
Mind you, This was before iphones, but my staff described the beatings. In the end, the racing commission ruled against the Trainer, and suspended him. I actually got death threats. I wasn’t expecting accolades for my actions, but I certainly didn’t expect people to label me as “crazy” “rat” “whistleblower.”
This was one of the many incidents that was a real eye opener for me. In fact, I couldn’t believe that this particular Trainer had been training for years using these cruel techniques, and not getting reprimanded for it.
Another thing, when one analyzes catastrophic breakdowns in racehorses like I do, almost always, the racehorse is being repeatedly beaten before it breaks down.
This suggests that whipping a racehorse is a predominate contributor to racehorse breakdowns.
Of course, running them before their bones are developed, chronic use of pain masking dope, and other factors are all contributors as well.
There are so many disturbing aspects to beating a racehorse. This “tool of the trade” is no different than a bullhook, but this tool is also indicative of the slavery movement. Horse racing is no different. It’s just the slave that’s different.