According to the chart, 3-year-old Chide “went wrong” in the 11th race Thursday at Churchill and was subsequently “vanned off.” But owing to the fact that this was a $200,000 Grade 2, we now know that “went wrong” means dead. Buried toward the bottom of the official Churchill press release on the race is this:
The race was marred by a fatal fracture to 3-year-old filly Chide’s left front leg just before the field hit the top of the stretch. Her jockey Miguel Mena was unseated but was reported to be “okay” and returned to the jockey’s room.
“Marred.” The killing of a young, sentient being dismissed as a mere blemish on an otherwise glorious holiday afternoon. Racing’s moral bankruptcy laid bare, yet again.
CHIDE, a 3 year old filly sired by Yell (an AP Indy stallion) and out of Blame. According to equibase.com, these 3 horses appear to have the same owner/breeder. She had 9 starts 3-2-1 earning prizemoney of $177,600 with an average of $19,733 per start. She was a valuable racehorse. But in the Falls City Handicap she “went wrong” as they said and suffered a fatal fracture, perhaps it was a cannon bone, fetlock, knee, shoulder, who knows…..?
But rest assured, the jockey returned okay to the jockeys’ room – a pity CHIDE did not return safely for a hose down and a treat!
The race was “marred” by her death whilst onlookers were enjoying more than 7,000 turkey dinners served with all the trimmings – any appetites lost? Methinks not – just another racehorse death, you know, it happens all the time in racing, whether it be a filly born in the purple like Chide or an unknown like Armani The Won at Parx.
A good friend of mine was there on Thanksgiving (not by choice). Her family decided that was where they were going to have Thanksgiving unfortunately. My friend is not cool with horseracing and did not bet. I asked her the next day if any horses got injured to her knowledge while she was there and she said she didn’t think so. Goes to show you how they try and hide this stuff from the people at the track. It’s disgusting.
Thanks for commenting, Meghan…this is an industry mired deeply in abuse and deceit. How clearly one can see that if one simply chooses the horses’ welfare over their own agenda.
http://www.churchilldowns.com/racing-wagering/news/aah-chocolate-earns-first-graded-stakes-triumph-in-thanksgiving-days-centennial-falls-city
Looking at the photo in the above link the official Churchill press release, one can see the dirt on the horses behind the two leaders, Ahh Chocolate and Theogeny. The horses behind suffer the kickback and many a time I’ve heard a jockey remark that the reason for his mount’s poor performance was because it did not “appreciate” the kickback. The dirt gets in the horses’ eyes (which sometimes results in eye infections), it gets up their nostrils which obviously hinders their breathing, it gets around their mouths, in their mouths, on their tongues and over their bodies. Ahh such fun!