I have confirmed that 3-year-old Souper Social was euthanized on the Charles Town track after breaking down in the 5th Saturday. So – this past weekend’s dead-athlete list just got a bit longer.
Also, the NYS Gaming Commission has disclosed the death of 4-year-old Fashion Fund at Belmont December 1. The cause – well, allow the Commission to explain:
“Found down in stall & removed to clinic where filly was diagnosed w/comminuted left femoral & pelvic fractures – euthanized.”
“Found down in stall” – with multiple fractures. Imagine that.
Fashion Fund’s last race was a month prior; she had two November “workouts” after that, most recently eights days before her death. Her “connections” as of her final start (and presumably on the day she was found broken in her stall): (Hall of Fame) trainer Claude McGaughey III, owner Andrew Rosen.
Should anyone care to convey their opinion on this, here is NYRA’s contact page.
Merry Christmas.
Suspicious. Reminiscent of Alydar’s demise.
The owner Andrew Rosen was just appointed to the New York Racing Association board of directors.
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/people/owner-breeder-rosen-elected-to-nyra-board/
According to Merck Medical Manual:
Pelvic fractures are relatively common in horses and ponies and can occur as a consequence of trauma or stress from athletic training. Fractures involving the acetabulum almost always occur as a consequence of trauma and usually present as a severe lameness, which is frequently non-weight-bearing at the time of injury.
If you’re a “hall of fame” trainer, how does this happen?
Thank you for your diligence Patrick.
“Hall of Fame Trainer” ??? There should be no such thing in this corrupt animal abusing game. That poor horse was suffering and NOBODY came to it’s aid.
But what is really disturbing, is NOBODY does anything about the rampant abuse.
An industry that polices itself, rewards cheaters, does NOTHING to protect the horse, ignores cruelty, facilitates overuse/abuse and sends thousands of it’s athletes to slaughter, yet, is NEVER held accountable. This says nothing good about our society…
What a shame !
Rose, even more troubling is the situation with Dale Baird who was based at Mountaineer at the time of his death. Baird is one of the leading TB trainers of all time in career wins and won a Special Eclipse Award from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, a recognition of “high distinction” as determined by experts in TB horseracing.
When considering Baird for admission into racing’s Hall of Fame, Bill Shanklin writes In Horse Racing Business (June 20, 2009) that Baird “purchased approximately 200 horses per year and many of his cast-offs purportedly ended up in slaughterhouses”. According to Shanklin, that is a factor weighing against Baird’s admission into the Hall of Fame and I couldn’t agree with him more. There are only a few comments to Shanklin’s article, but one comment especially tugged at my heart and it states…”No, he made his way by sending everything to the killers. His barn was a one-way ticket to the killer if they threw in a couple of bad races or were hurt and could not be hopped anymore. I called him about a horse he had once that I raised and asked for when the horse was finished to please call me and I would take him, Never got the call – horse disappeared”. Gut-wrenching…
Horses put their “lives on the line” every single day and, eventually, the vast majority cease to be competitive and how are they rewarded for putting their “lives on the line”? A one way ticket to a slaughterhouse. How anyone can continue to support this gruesome industry continues to amaze me.
Disgusting industry!
The horrific suffering and death of Fashion Fund leaves me speechless.
Oh, my! I wonder if Fashion Fund caused those multiple fractures of “her own accord”.
Your mean hearted comments make me ill if you don’t know Shug then you obviously don’t know that he is one of the very best horsemen out there it sounds like she got cast in the stall and that can happen ANYWHERE if you are going to go after race people at least go after those that deserve it Shug is not on that list.
bellesforever, Fashion Fund’s suffering, and subsequent death, makes me ill. She must have experienced tremendous suffering. RIP Fashion Fund and Souper Social….you will be remembered by those of us who truly care.
McGaughey “one of the very best horsemen out there” ? What does that really mean in this game ?
Frankly he is no better than any of those in the business, he just wins some of the big ones, trains for the Ogden Phipps outfit and winters at Payson Park. I’ve been around Payson and heard him talking to some of the other big names that train there…. I’m not at all impressed re his concern for the horse. Like all in the “business” money is the driving force and he is no exception. I’m sorry the comments make you ill.
Right on Rose.
bellesforever…
If you become ill over just “mean hearted comments, you must be sick to death over the suffering Fashion Fund must have endured. “Down in stall and removed to clinic”…REMOVED to clinic…how do you suppose she got to the clinic? She obviously had to be FORCED to stand and then made to load onto a trailer – with multiple fractures. Her suffering, I cannot even comprehend.
Whether McGaughey is “one of the very best horsemen out there” or not is of no importance and certainly no consequence. He makes his money from the exploitation of horses. Even the best and the nicest individuals in the horse racing industry put their non-consenting charges at risk of injury every time they put them on the track. In addition, the horses’ environment at the track sets them up for problems. Confinement to a stall for 23 hours/day for an animal that naturally and instinctually moves about constantly is hazardous to their health and well-being. In 25 years of having horses as part of my family, I’ve never had one become cast in a stall – because they are never CONFINED to a stall. Yet in my nine years of walking the shedrows, I saw several racehorses with injuries they sustained from being cast in their stall – one mare, in particular, had her hind legs virtually degloved from pushing them through the stall boards in trying to free herself from being cast.
Nice people risk their horses’ lives and welfare when they make them train and race…when they make them endure unnatural living conditions…when they sell them via private transactions or claiming races, thereby leaving them unprotected to be snatched up by the “scum” they all admit “permeate” the industry. In the end, when their horses suffer tragic and unnecessary deaths, being nice is insignificant…especially to the dead horse.
Like I’ve always maintained during my comments as a Trainer you reach a fork in the road. That fork leaves you with 2 choices: 1. Continue to uphold the exploitation of a sentiment being for profit. 2. Leave, and stop supporting the ongoing exploitation. It’s just that simple. This applies to any Trainer who works with any animal to generate profits. Whether it’s the captive display industry (Ex-SeaWorld Trainers speaking out via the documentary Blackfish), ex-Trainers speaking out about circus animals (Tyke the elephant), or racehorses being bred to race, and generate profits for the multibillion dollar wagering companies that give little or nothing to TB aftercare.
In fact, the entire industry is a ongoing system of abuse. This industry could do so much more in order to prevent ongoing abuse, but they do little or nothing. The main reason why they do nothing is because they require racehorses to fill races, and generate profit at the wagering windows.
Horses like YOU GOT THE SILVER, and many others are just another number in the race, another number to wager on. Any racehorse that is a non-performer for its connections (Trainer/Owner/jockey) still generates money for the wagering windows. That’s one of the reasons why they allow them to enter. The industry also knows that the bigger fields translates to more money wagered.
Getting back to the Trainer/Animal relationship. Any Trainer that remains in this industry is either in complete denial or deliberate ignores the ongoing abuse of racehorses. They actually convince themselves that they are “good” Trainers, that they take care of their horses.
Maybe so, but you will be called upon to fill a race, satisfy the powers that be, even partake in the alleged race fixing via drugs with the well-being of that racehorse down on the priority list. If you don’t oblige you get all sorts of problems – I experienced that directly.
Time, and time again, animals who are used for profit are abused; to what extent depends on the animal and the circumstances. In the past, these industries could deny the claims, but with advanced technology generating undercover videos the disgusting aspect of these industries are being revealed.
Most Trainers do everything they can to reduce the suffering only to realize that ongoing abuse is all part of the equation in order to generate profit.
Like John Jett said in the documentary Blackfish: “I could see that things were not right, and the only reason why I stayed was Tilikum. I wanted to take care of Tilikum. I felt sorry for him.”
Once you open your eyes as a Trainer, and be truthful to yourself, you can’t continue upholding the systemic abuse of animals being used for profit.
Joy and Mary,
A friend of mine just sent me this facebook message. The original message is from 10 hours ago. I just saw it moments ago. I hope this is for next Saturday as today is over. Why wouldn’t the Owners son call a horse rescue. This makes no sense to me why people act this way. If you can help, that would be great.
Originally From:
Rose Thurman
10 hrs ·
FREE HORSES!!!! 52 thoroughbred horses need homes. Will go to Sugarcreek this Sat. for slaughter. Gentleman died and his son wants nothing to do with them. Most broodmares are broke and some are in foal weanling, yearlings, 2 yrs. and 3 yrs. old most are gelded. FREE and papered. Friend of the deceased is trying to find homes. 440-463-4288 Barnesville, OH.
Please copy and paste this on your status
I would hate to see all these house put down. PLEASE someone help they are FREE and papered!!!!!!!!
Kathleen, this plea to rescue 52 TB’s has been circulating for several years. I believe that Marilyn “Lynn” Boggs was involved in this situation and, according to someone I know, people showed up with trucks and trailers and hauled the horses away. No adoption applications, no vetting, no follow-up…just show up and pick up a “free” horse! Unbelievable! Boggs has given herself some “pats on the back” for facilitating this rescue but I would venture to say that not all these horses ended up in a good place. Anyone who thinks they can find 52 horses a “good forever” home in one week most likely had their eggnog spiked!
Joy and Mary,
I just got another message from my friend who is saying the horses may already have been rescued. I am not sure. I will be calling that number on Sunday and send you an update.
Joy and Mary,
I found out the horses have all been placed. I sent you an email with the details.
Snopes debunked that “52 free horses” post years ago. It shows up, altered in various ways, every so often.
Kathleen, that is an old, OLD, story, not to be re-shared or circulated. Remember, not everything you see on Facebook or elsewhere on the internet is true. Always do your homework before sharing.
As for Fashion Fund, this is another gut-wrenching tale of abuse in the racing industry…truly stomach-turning.
Thank God she was euthanized rather than sold to the kill-buyer.
The horrible, broken, state that Fashion Fund was found in is appalling, disgusting, and inexcusable.
C. McGaughey is no different than the numerous other bottom feeder trainers, all continuously guilty in the exploitation, and abuse of indefensible creatures, for the purpose of making money off the blood of innocent creatures.
You can’t tell me that he did not know the condition of Fashion Fund and her numerous injuries. It is sickening that this poor baby languished in pain and no one came to help her. I find it very suspicious, since these trainers are with these horses 24/7. With the presentation of multiple fractures the horse would have certainly been visably lame, you mean to tell me a “Hall of Fame” trainer didn’t recognize the status of her condition, or was unaware of the injuries. I sincerely doubt it.
If Fashion Fund was injured and left to die in her stall it wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Shug belongs in the same category as do all the other trainers, he is in the game for the money, and a severely injured horse to him is just another carcass. If they had any feelings for the horses they train, they would be in another business. Another beautiful animal killed by this sickening sport. Rest in peace Fashion Fund, we will remember you by those of us who respect and love the thoroughbred.
Marlene Thornley