Kills at Turf, Oaklawn, Santa Anita – Trainer Says, “Tough, Tough Game”

The chart notes (Equibase) for the 7th at Turf yesterday: “Hidden Demon set the early pace then broke down nearing the far turn and was euthanized.” Dead at three. Incidentally, Hidden Demon was about as valueless as a racehorse can be – on the block for $3,500 prior to being killed. David Van Winkle trained.

Also…The Paulick Report says that “[trainer Peter] Eurton’s stable suffered the loss of two acclaimed stakes runners on Saturday” – 5-year-old Kyriaki, 7th at Oaklawn; 5-year-old Demonica, 2nd at Santa Anita. “The leading theory on Kyriaki’s death,” Paulick explains, “is that the mare severed a femoral artery during the race, perhaps caused by a fractured pelvis, and later bled out internally.” Demonica “collapsed while pulling up on the backstretch” – “cardiac episode,” they’re calling it.

Paulick, ever the apologist, relays Eurton’s quote to the Daily Racing Form: “Tough, tough game”; then adds, “Eurton’s daughter, Britney, a popular TVG analyst, was also devastated by the losses,” as evidenced by her tweet:

“I can get hit once and bounce back, but twice I just can’t do… Gut wrenched and heartbroken to hear of Kyriaki’s passing…”

These people make me sick.

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  2. If KYRIAKI suffered a lethal haemorrhageing as a result of a fractured pelvis, then it is highly likely she suffered MULTIPLE FRACTURES of her pelvis. Often the initial fracture occurs due to the stress on jumping out of the gates but the multiple fractures are accumulated as the horse is forced to gallop on. What a shocking death for this horse – i’ve witnessed a few like this on track and believe me, it is sickening.

    And a “cardiac episode” for DOMENICA – hmmh.. how convenient. Okay, let’s see what the necropsy finds on DOMENICA seeing this horse was so much loved and treated like one of the family no doubt a necropsy will be carried out to find out exactly what caused DOMENICA’s death.

    Oh and they’re all so “gut wrenched” and “heartbroken”. Doesn’t do much for KYRIAKI and DOMENICA, eh?

    Now, next horses to come into the stable are…….? and……….? and here we go again!

    These INEXCUSABLE, UNJUSTIFIED and INDEFENSIBLE deaths are ongoing. In other words folks, business as usual in the horseracing industry.

  3. And HIDDEN DEMON another horse sacrificed by this rotten industry. A baby, just THREE (3) years of age and up for sale, like a used car, for $3,500. What a cur you are David Van Winkle part owner and trainer.

    • One death is enough Olivia, but since dying for profit doesn’t seem to faze you I can understand why you quote 14% which is an inaccurate records financed by the industry with figures manipulated to appear good. So typical of this horrendous cruelty circus.
      Not one mention in your comment about all the dying horses almost every day for this torture show. Again, I can understand your lack of empathy since dying is just business as usual for this freak show.
      Furthermore, anybody who has horses die in their care is part of the entire death camp which is exactly what these places are. If the horses are lucky enough to make it out alive, then a kill auction, and subsequently slaughterhouse is where many end up.
      That’s the thanks they get for filling races for $2 bets.
      Anybody, including yourself Olivia, who supports this horrific display of animal cruelty needs their head examined.

  5. Racehorses dying on the racetrack is not propaganda Debra. It’s a fact. The death list is printed here, and it’s totally unacceptable.

  6. Yes it is a fact , in any walk of life , in the pasture , any where . The most well cared animal any where can die from something . The pet horse colics . The Mustangs starve or break a leg and suffer till they die. Rescues starve horses. We love our horses and we care . Are their some bad people in racing , hell yes , but there are bad people in this world . Go after the bad , stop lumping us all together . Just stop being so flipping hateful to an industry you could not succeed in. Sour grapes the lot of you . And you follow someone that has never stepped foot on a race track . SMH.

  7. Also , I would assume that you understand that the claiming price does not mean they are of no value , it is like rating school in sports class A, B , C , D . So the they can win in their class . Not every horse is worth 1000s in any discipline.

    • The claiming game is an abomination. It is the downward spiral to horse Hell and it makes up at least 80 percent of racing. It is the dumping ground for the “elite” of the business where they can be rid of those that do not perform well or are used up. It also is a means for the not so “elite” to pass on their “problem” performers.. Many of these horses are shamefully over worked, There is not one rule to prevent this very visible form of abuse and so many ” claimers” are started week after week an even every few days in many instances. It is outrageous.
      Further, I do not believe any of the so called “good people” who professe to LOVE their horse would risk losing him to any one of the not so “good people”. It just would not happen.
      In order to be in this game one must treat the horse as a disposable commodity because that is how the business operates. Anything else is a lie.

      • An ex-jockey defended the claiming process to me by saying “at least 80% of the horses I rode were claiming horses” as though because it was standard practice it was OK. Shameful.

      • Rose…your comment is 100% accurate and so timely! I just read another “feel good” story about the 2007 gelding Cease. A MGSP earner of over 700K and a two-time BC participant, Cease was being SENT DOWN the claiming ranks and was RESCUED due to a non-race individual’s efforts. He was last raced this past October for a 12.5 tag…from running in the BC X2 to a cheap race with a “for sale!” sign on his head. But, Cease is a gelding – what do you do with a class gelding? – well, we know what the industry does with a racehorse like Cease…run his legs off.

        I am STILL amazed at what the apologists consider “feel good” stories! The ONLY “feel good” part is that the horse is rescued from racing! – everything leading up to that happy ending is screaming self-incrimination! Oh but I love it when the industry outs themselves and we can just sit back and watch….

  8. In providing exhibits to the 2008 Congressional hearing on Thoroughbred racehorse breakdowns, Jo Anne Normile and I used CANTER-Michigan’s documented injury and euthanasia stats, all verified with medical records at Michigan State University’s Large Animal Clinic. In addition, we attempted further documentation of injuries and deaths of Michigan-based racehorses and what we found was shoddy record keeping or complete lack of it. We asked numerous racing entities to give us the answer to a very simple question – “how many tracks are there in the United States?” – and not ONE could give us the exact number. How ludicrous to think the industry can accurately count its dead horses when it cannot even count the number of racetracks!

    Racing industry members desperately want their source of income to continue and since there is no independent oversight of this rogue industry, it’s the fox minding the hen house…just the way they like it. Keep the crippling and killing as quiet as possible. No mandatory reporting of equine injuries and deaths. No accountability. Just keep the industry afloat and the money coming in…because there are staggering numbers of industry employees who need the horses’ earnings!

    The horse racing industry is no different than any other animal-exploitive entertainment industry. Take SeaWorld, for instance – they are desperately attempting to convince the public that orca WANT to live in swimming pools! They will lie to cover up the mistreatment of their enslaved “cash cows”, because the truth will affect their financial bottom line. It already has. And the same is true of the horse racing industry.

    There will be NO accurate counting of dead racehorses. It’s impossible because 1), the industry will do whatever it can to hide as many as they can and 2), their dead include those mortally injured horses unloaded to a rescue or dumped at an auction – and THOSE numbers will never show up on any injury and death database. Again, just the way racing likes it.

    I appreciate what you said, Gina…“one death is enough.” Most certainly. And to add insult to injury, racehorse deaths are especially disturbing because they are completely unnecessary. This is an entertainment and gambling business, for goodness sakes. It doesn’t need to exist for the betterment of the human condition. What an asinine comparison – to equate the family horse’s death in a paddock mishap to that of a racehorse’s during the running of a race! That’s likening an auto accident death of an individual while driving to the grocery store to that of a racecar driver’s during the Indianapolis 500 (except the racecar driver, unlike the horse, is consenting) – one death, during a necessary task while the other, taking place in a high-risk and pointless event. Unnecessary and avoidable. Yes, one death IS enough…because that ONE life was the ONLY life that horse had.

    Bottom line, this is an industry that uses sentient creatures for entertainment purposes and even a SINGLE racehorse death is unacceptable. That being said, there hasn’t been just one death…there have been thousands. But there’s more! In addition to the countless deaths, there is immeasurable suffering! Here, some quotes from a racing “insider” who declares he’s been in racing for over 20 years (bear with his spelling and grammar);

    – “I have worked for the ones [trainers] who use frog toxin, snake venom, high block and run on anything they could get away with.”

    He continues, addressing another individual;

    – “u must not be aware that many trainers do not wait for joint damage to inject joints. I have watched them inject all joints all the way around many two year olds first time out. Watched many inject sound horses…”.

    He’s got more to say;

    -“I have also worked for trainers who inject the joints themselves instead of having vet do it, because they could and vet sold them the drugs and needles to do it.”

    And more;

    -“I have seen about every dirty trick in the book done to win races. I have lead horses to paddock, that should not have run do to injuries. The solution was block em, have also watched same horse snap one off because of the injury.”

    Last one, I promise;

    – “I have also seen the results of pure form clembuteral cause aneurisms during race do to constant daily overdose.”

    Makes me want to hurl. And how about you, Deb Curtis Olivas, aka, debraolivas78? Are you shocked? Would you like to claim THIS is propaganda that we just want to believe? Or did those sickening quotes sound familiar?…I would think so, as they were all from a Cole Curtis.

    • You people are truly priceless . Several months ago I quoted Cole Curtis and you all did not agree with what he said , so therefore you stated he couldn’t know what he is talking about .
      Fast forward , now you find something he said you agree with and lo and behold , he speaks the truth . Says something don’t it .
      By the way , what Cole Curtis failed to mention , is none of those trainers are training any longer . Gone , put out of business, and not missed.

      • Asmussen is a documented abuser. He’s SINCE been elected to your “Hall Of Fame.” He’s been elevated to the status of “the best of the best.” If he is among the best of the best, it’s no wonder the industry needs to obfuscate.
        The end.

  9. Why do we even answer the type of scum that defend this morally bankrupt industry. You can’t change hearts that don’t feel or minds not willing to see. Those like Olivia are not who need to be reached. They are never changing. Either blind or hopelessly immoral. The real effect we can have is on the casual observer and future fan. Show them the brutality and this industry dies. Take away the slot revenue and it can’t support itself even today. There is an easy way for this “tough, tough game” to be less tough. There is an easy way for the kicks in the gut to happen less. Stop killing horses out of greed and the need for an adrenaline fix. Stop pretending this is a sport when the only athlete in the mix didn’t have a chance to say no. Stop whipping an animal to make it run. Stop drugging the animal to make it ignore pain. Stop pretending food-flipping amphetamine freak jockeys are anything but parasites. . The fact that Olivia comments here is proof that this site and the people who can out the inhumanity make a difference. Every day this industry kills countless animals for the sake of a $2 bet. They know it. They just don’t care, and they aren’t the minds we need to change. They are the people to be pitied.

  10. Pro-horse racing people like Debra have a modus operandi similar to any business that exploits animals for profit. They negatively label ex-trainers who speak out. For example, they went after John Hargrove an ex-SeaWorld Trainer with a vengeance calling out his homosexuality and even circulating a tape showing him drunk. Look at Debra’s comment to me “Just stop being so flipping hateful to an industry you could not succeed in.”
    Their intentions are to detract from the issue at hand. I’m not hateful. I just have a desire to educate people on the truth about horse racing from an insiders point of view.
    She also attacks Patrick claiming he has never been in the stable are with racehorses implying that he doesn’t know about the “good” folks of horse racing.
    Nobody needs to have hands on experience to know that something is morally and ethically wrong nor would they want to be part of that experience.
    You don’t need to be a SeaWorld Trainer to know that keeping large free ranging intelligent marine mammals in a concrete bathtub is wrong. Nor do you need to be a racehorse Trainer to know that exploiting a horse to the point of doping, maiming, and killing is wrong.
    These industries that make millions off the silence of sentiment beings have no limits when it comes to destroying those who speak out about it.
    Since I have been speaking out about this industry, they have been relentless at causing havoc in my personal life, but since they have no problems killing racehorses it only stands to reason that they will discredit, negatively label and/or destroy whistleblowers. I will not let them destroy me, but this gives me impetus to speak out more about it.
    To be successful in horse racing means exploiting the racehorses, squeezing the lemon dry, ordering countless joint injections, and dope to keep them running, putting aside moral and ethical behaviour in order to support this industry, turning your head when you see a racehorse breakdown and die on the track either during training hours or a race, above all of this remaining silent, keeping your mouth shut, you know the code of silence amongst Trainers while you watch them exploit them for to win races, becoming involved with shady people to assist with potentially affecting the outcome of races for them to cash in on bets, upholding this horrific industry as you do in order to justify the exploitation. So yes I would have to say I wasn’t successful in that context, and I’m proud of that.
    So proud that I’m successful at exposing their dirty little secrets. Well, now it’s no longer a secret because people who care like Patrick and other animal advocacy groups are exposing this industry for what it is.
    This industry is no different than any other industry that exploits animals for profit whether it’s orcas at SeaWorld, elephants at Ringling Bros., or any captive animal that lives for the existence of their profit.
    Even the modus operandi of these industries are the same when it comes to people who speak out about it.
    They are one in the same. All these industries. Sadly, it’s the animals who pay with their lives.

    • Yes, Gina – and please keep exposing. We are making a difference and I’m grateful every day to Patrick & all advocates – including you! – who choose the animal and not the industry that exploits them! Thank you!

    • So well-said, Gina. I’m glad you mentioned the code of silence, i was stunned by this behaviour when i first experienced it. I noticed that they’d get rid of staff if ever they showed any concern for the horses – they employed a certain type of person. A very senior executive in the racing industry, where i am, not long ago stated publicly “…we’re being attacked externally”. Well, the truth is that people who once worked in the industry and left in disgust are now speaking out on social media and the industry’s boys’ club is in denial. For far too many decades the code of silence was their best friend – keeping the animal cruelty hidden from the public. The exposure is hurting them alright.

    • Since debraolivas78 – Deb Curtis Olivas – seems confused about what statements we are attributing to her (she says, “Check your facts, I never said any of the above”) and as we all can clearly see, there’s not one statement from anyone claiming “Olivas said this” (with the exception of Gina’s quote verbatim – “Just stop being so flipping hateful…”), maybe this will help clear things up for her. It’s quite simple, really, if one just reads thoroughly and has basic comprehension reading skills – so once more, I’ll provide actual quotes from a Cole Curtis – someone Deb Curtis Olivas knows well…copied and pasted from above;

      “Here, some quotes from a racing ‘insider’ who declares he’s been in racing for over 20 years (bear with his spelling and grammar);

      – ‘I have worked for the ones [trainers] who use frog toxin, snake venom, high block and run on anything they could get away with.’

      He continues, addressing another individual;

      – ‘u must not be aware that many trainers do not wait for joint damage to inject joints. I have watched them inject all joints all the way around many two year olds first time out. Watched many inject sound horses…’

      He’s got more to say;

      -‘I have also worked for trainers who inject the joints themselves instead of having vet do it, because they could and vet sold them the drugs and needles to do it.’

      And more;

      -‘I have seen about every dirty trick in the book done to win races. I have lead horses to paddock, that should not have run do to injuries. The solution was block em, have also watched same horse snap one off because of the injury.’

      Last one, I promise;

      – ‘I have also seen the results of pure form clembuteral cause aneurisms during race do to constant daily overdose.’

      There you have it, once more, straight from a comrade of Deb Curtis Olivas. Incredible equine suffering in an unnecessary gambling industry. Staunch defending of that industry by Curtis Olivas. Enough said.

  12. Patrick has never stepped a foot on a race track or near a horse is my guess , and this is 2016 , not 2008 , times change ,,and you can not admit that racing is doing better by the horses , aftercare , and drug rules , do we need more yes , but we are getting better. Now if you all would get out of your past ….

    • We’re all up to speed here Debra with what’s going on….. mmm what day is it today, oh yes it’s the 24th day of March in the year Two thousand and sixteen (2016).

      Did you have a read of the link that Patrick put up?

      Did it make you feel SICK IN THE STOMACH?

    • The “you’ve never set foot on a racetrack” comment is my favorite of all the specious horseracing moron arguments. In a related story German archeologists have discovered papers written by Josef Mengele which indicate his outrage at Allied forces who denounced his experiments on humans as inhumane. “How can they know?’ wrote the man called the Angel of Death, “they have never even set foot in one of my labs or gas chambers. We’ve made the experiments much less painful in the past years!”

    • Ms. Curtis-Olivas, you make this statement about the racing industry…”but we are getting better” (your words, not mine). Really? In January of this year, I went to ReRun’s website and this is what is posted under their MISSION statement…

      “For the vast majority of racehorses, their post-career fate is uncertain and often very sad. Some are lucky enough to find their way to retirement facilities or adoption programs, such as ReRun. Others end up in kill pens, waiting to be transported across U.S. borders for slaughter. The USDA estimates that 10,000-15,000 Thoroughbreds are slaughtered each year. And it’s young and relatively healthy Thoroughbreds who are facing this fate, as the median age of a retired racehorse is 5-6 years old.”

      Now, just to bring you up to speed in case this is one of your “slow” days, ReRun states on THEIR website that the VAST MAJORITY of racehorses have an uncertain and sad fate. What do you think that means, Curtis-Olivas? Again, this is not a statement that I (who is anti-racing) made but one made by an organization that is pro-racing. Oh, and it gets worse! Again, according to ReRun, the median age of a retired racehorse is 5-6 years old. Remember…a horse isn’t fully developed, skeletally, until they are six yet half the horses are facing this “fate” before they are even fully grown. Hmmm….now is ReRun telling the truth (and I believe that they are) or are they spreading “propaganda” as you accuse us of doing here on this blog? Answer the question!

      You have the “balls” to state that racing is “doing better by the horses”. Anyone who believes that is either incredibly stupid or delusional, perhaps a bit of both. If we take the average of the USDA slaughter stats (12,500) and add that to the number of horses that die in the dirt so that some freak can bet or be entertained, by using simple math we come up with approximately 14,000 horses a year. That, as you well know, doesn’t include the ones that limp back to their stalls and are later euthanized due to the severity of their injuries so I’m sure we could easily add another 1,000 to the 14,000 number. We now have 15,000 horses. Again, using simple grade school math, we have well over 60% of the horses foaled (using 24,000 births yearly) that will EVENTUALLY end up dead in the dirt or on the slaughterhouse floor, EVENTUALLY being the operative word.

      Last Sunday, I was tagged in a post about a TB mare, Solar Lady, that last raced on March 16th and four days later was found with a contract kill buyer, Bruce Rotz. Of course, once the owner, Ultra Championship Racing, got caught with his “pants down”, he immediately began to babble that he gave the horse away as a “pet”. Again, anyone who believes that is either incredibly stupid or delusional. Horses stay on rescue sites for months and months while an appropriate home is found, yet this owner found his horse a good home in three days. Yes, he did find his horse a home, a home with a contract kill buyer and I would bet that this isn’t the first time. Of course, Solar Lady’s story brought back the sad, sad story of Deputy Broad who went from track to plate in nine days….yes, nine FREAKING days…yet, the racing supporters label us “haters”. Nope, racing supporters, we love the horses but hate the industry that destroys them day in and day out. So incredibly sick and sad…

      No, Curtis-Olivas, I can’t admit that racing is doing better because I have trouble telling lies. Anyone who continues to support an industry that exploits animals under the guise of entertainment is simply scum. Now, I would suggest that you find a racing site on which to post your propaganda. Oh, and you might even think about “liking” some posts when a low life babbles about breeding his/her mares so that MORE and MORE horses can be brought into this screwed up industry and then will end up not having anywhere to go when their life is sucked out of them.

      • Thanks for bringing this up, Mary. And we can be assured that ReRun’s figures are, if not correct, skewed to favor the racing industry since their “leader” is a racing apologist.

  13. By the way , I never commented on SeaWorld , stop trying to put words, in my mouth.

  14. Thanks so much to everybody including Joy, Carolyn, Ray, Patrick, and you Debra because your comments remind me of the denial that’s so prevalent in pro-horse racing people. I don’t know you. I’m sure your a good person, but Debra step back and take a good look at what your supporting. I really encourage you to do this.
    I’m not a messenger of hate. I’m a messenger of love. Love for the animals with whom we share the planet with. We have no right to take these racehorses and turn their lives into misery, maiming, and deaths all for a few people to get rich.
    Let me be clear. I’m all for success. I’m all for people getting rich, but not at the expense of unwilling sentiment beings. They are not ours to get rich on. Period.
    Carolyn your comment ” I noticed that they’d get rid of staff if ever they showed any concern for the horses – they employed a certain type of person” was so right on.
    In fact, I was approached by some of the very rich, and influential thoroughbred owners in both Canada and the U.S. I was invited out to their farms to sit and discuss their plan of action with their yearlings, and overall racing plan.
    A pattern emerged from them all. Some of them were more overt about it, some were not. The approach was one of heartlessness, that I was not to get emotionally involved with the horses, that I was to do what was necessary to win races, that I was not to disclose if they were dumped off the grounds, or to send them back to the farm when no longer profitable, that I was not to visit the farm once the horses were sent back there because they may not be there anymore. I was not to ask questions about this or disclose any information to anybody else. Was that understood?
    Oh yes, I responded, so you understand that I can’t accept this assignment right?
    Not to worry there were plenty more heartless Trainers in their abyss of denial that took those assignments.
    Like I’ve always maintained in order to be successful in horse racing you must put your emotions aside while you dope, inject, maim, possibly kill, and dump if they are lucky enough to survive.
    That’s why the industry supports the doping, and cheating Trainers because they know full well that this is part of the equation in order to fill races, increase wagering, and be profitable.

    • Yes, Gina!…these individuals MUST be in denial because if they are not, they can only be one thing! – heartless monsters!

      The “good” Maggi Moss, from one of those “feel good” articles, is quoted here; ” It’s getting much easier for me to run my horses out east so that I don’t get so personally attached to them. This is a business and my gut interferes.”

      “This is a business and my gut interferes”. – I’m certain the horses are BEGGING for that “gut interference”.

      • Joy, and Ms. Moss is NOT concerned about one of her former horses, Marchwood, who is currently owned by Burton Sipp. You know, the Sipp that has a horrific reputation. It would cost Moss money to interfere with the ownership of Marchwood, and, frankly, the horse just doesn’t mean that much to her, if anything at all. Pretty typical of the “hot shots” in racing.

  15. So Rerun is the authority , their opinion speaks for all , the same as the group of you speaking only the righteous truth .

    • Ms. Curtis-Olivas, I NEVER said that ReRun is the authority. Those are your words, not mine. However, ReRun should know what they are talking about since ReRun is taking in the horses, and rehabbing those same horses, when they are discarded by the industry that you love so very much. Also, NEVER did I say that their “opinion speaks for all”. I would assume that ReRun would know the ages of the majority of the horses that come through their program. If you feel that is “propaganda” or is just an “opinion”, then reach out to Ms. Molloy, the Program Director, and “set her straight”. Got it?

      Your ignorance continues to astound me. You can’t differentiate between an opinion and a fact so I would like to help you. New Vocations states that…”With 50 percent of the new arrivals suffering form racing injuries…”. Wow, 50%! According to NV, that is a fact. Your opinion is that racing is “getting better”…an opinion from someone who supports animal exploitation.

      Patrick posts statistics. If you don’t like those statistics, go to a racing website and post your opinions there. Now, it is time to put you, the “crazy baby”, back to bed.

    • So Deb Curtis Olivas, you like to claim we’ve quoted you incorrectly but you’ve yet to point those out.

      And while you’ve got much to say regarding other issues brought forward here, it seems the cat’s got your tongue about Cole Curtis’ admissions of trainers drugging and injecting racehorses…

      • Joy, Curtis-Olivas has been mighty quiet about those comments from Cole Curtis. Nope, guess she doesn’t have much to say when racing’s dirty secrets are exposed.

      • Nope car does not have my tongue , I never David there were not bad trainers , and I do believe they should be outed , what I do have a problem with is lumping the industry as a whole together .

        • You simply can not be a good person and support this putrid, greed driven industry

      • Let me correct my post will out the help of auto correct: no the cat does not have my tongue, I have never said there were not bad trainers and I do believe they should be outed and removed , what I do have a problem with is lumping the whole industry with them .

    • Debra, i’m proud to speak the truth, although it’s often upsetting when revealing the true facts of the sufferings and deaths of these racehorses.

      • I truly understand you being upset about things in racing that are wrong and need changed. If fact I agree with you, but when you say you speak the truth , it is really half truths , it is your reality in your small part of a very large industry , not all of us can nor should be lumped in with it .
        More truth , ” under the whip for the xx time “, that is very misleading , first of all some horses will run run at all if hit , second some only need flagged , third most are not whipped wire to wire , and now there are rules against aggressive whipping , fourth the biggest majority of the time they are not “beating the horses , and last most states now have the soft whip in place.
        Now I did not post that to debate whips , but to point out that the way you all depict things is not reality for the vast majority do racing . You would be better served to help rid us of the bad , not the whole industry.
        You yourself watch horse races , horses with ears pricked forward , prancing , proud , body language speaks volumes .

    • debraolivas78 – you obviously did not read the link that Patrick put up, here it is again for you to read

      http://horseracingwrongs.com/killed-in-action-2015/

      I asked you if it made you feel SICK IN THE STOMACH and true to form you do not answer the questions put to you.

      And for the record, i do not speak half-truths.

  16. Kudos to people like Joy, Mary, JoAnne, who spend lots of their unpaid time, and hard earned money rescuing racehorses from stable areas, and kill auctions.
    These people are heroes because they did not perpetrate the unwanted racehorses in the first place. They certainly didn’t make any money off of them like the previous owners who dumped them. Not only do the owners make money, but every person down the racehorse pipeline makes money whether its a jockey mount, exercise rider, farrier, vet and the supporting staff. Heck, even the clerk in the Racing Office makes a wage all generated by the racehorses. Yet, this industry is hard pressed to ensure a safe haven for them when they are no longer profitable.
    Here’s the formula to greatly reduce this industry so that less racehorses will be required to fill races:
    1. Support DECOUPLING
    2. Cancel the Interstate Horse Wagering Act
    3. Don’t wager or watch horse racing.
    4. Educate.

  17. Debra, you say this: “I have never said there were not bad trainers and I do believe they should be outed and removed , what I do have a problem with is lumping the whole industry with them.” Many people in the industry tot this same line, but it doesn’t preclude the fact that you are supporting a cruelty circus whether you perceive yourself as good or not.
    For example, 3 people rob a bank. Two of them kill some bank tellers, the other didn’t and claims that they were not part of the violence – no way! It just doesn’t work that way Debra. That person is just as guilty of killing those people without pulling the trigger. Just like the “good” folks of horse racing, they are just as guilty as supporting the maiming and deaths as anybody else is.
    Really anybody in this industry is supporting the business model of exploiting racehorses for profit.
    Furthermore, you claim that bad trainers should be ousted – well their not Debra. Just look at the top Trainers in this country form Steve Asmussen, Doug O’Neill, Todd Pletcher, Mike Maker, etc. etc. Every single one of them has a trail of dead horses that were in their care, extensive kill lists racked up by these Trainers, multiple drug violations, shady dealing, and guess what Debra?
    They are all STILL TRAINING! They are revered by the industry. In fact, Steve Asmussen has just been elected to the Racing Hall of (S)Fame if you can believe that?
    This industry sends a loud and clear message that cheating, doping, maiming, and killing will be recognized as the “good” Trainers, the outstanding Trainers, the ones that fill races for the wagering public while potentially duping them. This is not good Debra. This is pure evil.
    Any Trainer that thinks that they can compete with this doping, maiming, and killing is living in a delusional bubble. It’s all in the Lasix needle. They have it down pat like a fine art. That’s why they fight so hard to keep it.
    If you were really so good Debra then you would get out of this business and start speaking out about it. You can have a good relationship with an ex-racehorse without exploiting it for profit. You know darn well that you must placate the racetrack to get and keep stalls, bring in money for the Owners, and fill races for the wagering public all at the expense of the racehorse.
    That is what this business is about.
    Sadly, the racehorses pay with their lives. Even one death is unacceptable, but what we actually have are death camps.
    If it wasn’t for people like Patrick spending his time exposing these kill lists they would be getting away with murder. If it wasn’t for people like me or all the posters here that speak out about it then very few would know about it either.
    In order for cruelty, maiming, and death to be covered-up people must turn their heads and remain silent. I will not. The entire world turned their heads in silence while millions of Jews were sent to their death camps. I would have fought on behalf of those Jews had I lived then.
    I will not let these racehorses die in vain. You have made a decision to do that by your comments, and by your support of this industry. I thought you were much better than that.

    • Perfectly stated, Gina…thank you. Anyone who stays in this filthy industry is doing so by choice. Play with the pigs and you’re going to get dirty. And kill horses. Their choice.

  18. Carolyn, thank you for your posts re Jill’s Reflection and Shamrock Road. They are “poster horses” for the all too common overt abuse these so called “claimers” endure. Jill’s reflection is now reduced to night time racing with a $5000,00 price on her head at that awful death trap of a track, Charles Town, also known as the “bullring”.
    She survived a brutal campaign at Gulfstream where the chief steward said: “While it was a lot of starts it was not unusual”. It is so obvious that racing is a business where horses are trapped in a downward spiral of abuse and misery.

      • Debraolivas, the issue here is the plight of horses in the claiming ranks. One of the abuses for all to see is how they are overworked. Jill’s Reflection was started 12 times in 7 months as a 2 yr. old and 26 times as a 3 yr. old. Shamrock Road had 24 starts in 2015 including 4 starts in one month. And you ask me if I know what a bullring is !!!!

    • On claiming horses being worthless , hmmmm A $8000. Claimer is the mother of the worlds best race horse.

      • Please keep defending the claiming process. It is one of the things that even the most casual observer can understand as descriptive of the disgusting culture of the thoroughbred racing industry. As long as the claiming process exists it is an excellent tool for those who want to expose racing scum for what they are, and will ultimately bring about the industry’s death even more quickly.

    • Rose…Gulfstream’s chief steward didn’t find the number of starts unusual?…well of COURSE, he didn’t! B L’s Dream had her 86th start before she even turned 6 years old and no one at the Florida tracks where she ran did anything to intervene on her behalf while she was being seriously overworked! They turn the other way.

      • Ah Gulfstream, where that filthy scumbag Frank Stronach builds incredible fortune abusing horses. He’s a criminal. Why would anyone be surprised.

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