The Equibase line on 3-year-old Sweet Yankee yesterday at Louisiana Downs: “was pulled up entering the turn in distress and euthanized.” Dead. Curiously, accounts of her kill are nowhere to be found across the Racing media (let alone the media in general). Hmm. Could it be because this was a $5,500 race at lowly Louisiana Downs? Or because Sweet Yankee was a bottom-of-the-barrel claimer who went off – was “For Sale” – at $5,000 prior to dying? Pathetic, in more ways than one.
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Sweet Yankee is now on Patrick’s list. She cannot now be forgotten or swept under the rug. It will be her name along with all the others, that will be the evidence needed going forward to end this cruelty. And I do believe that will happen. Good things, big things are happening on horseracing wrongs. The public is being educated, being made aware. The abuse these horses suffer at all levels is mind-boggling. The doping, breakdowns, whipping, is just now coming to light in full spectrum. It is all of your voices on social media, and media outlets that are making a huge difference. I know it is a hard uphill battle to fight an industry, so full of cruelty, that is portrayed to the public in such a positive way. If I thought, for even one second, that the industry could change, than I would not have left the life I have known for all these years. And I will tell you know that caring with my heart all of those years changed nothing for those horses. Not one thing.
Thanks so much for your input. I agree with everything your comment contains. I also want to say that my sentiments are expressed very accurately in your comment.
Insiders that have left the industry realizing that it doesn’t matter how good they were or how good their intentions were there is nothing that precludes the fact that the entire basis of this antiquated business model is doping, whipping, maiming, dying, and dumping.
There’s not one person involved in this industry who has not partaken in one, some, or all of these aspects of this cruelty circus, and death camp either directly or indirectly.
They either choose to be delusional, and live the lie, or they decide that they can’t go on supporting the delusion because they see how the racehorses suffer. There is no amount of care that you can give that will prevent any racehorse from suffering to some degree, and from some forms of animal cruelty that is all part of this parcel.
Sooner or later you have to dope a horse to either cover up and/or relieve lameness, your horse will be whipped, some will end up maimed usually a career ending injury or requiring a lay-up, sadly some will die (Saving Baby – Joanne Nomille), and horses will be dumped either in the claiming ranks, at a kill auction or to a potential neglectful situation.
The image of grassy paddocks to live their life is far and few between. There are simply not enough homes to go around when you are breeding 20,000+ racehorses every year.
Moreover, a large portion of horses coming off the track usually require vet work, perhaps long lay-offs, and also suffer from mental anxiety which takes a long time, a very experienced horse person, and lots of money.
There are thousands of horses that don’t require this extra special attention who can be bought for cheap and not much work is needed to transition them to a good riding horse.
Many of the OTTB’s don’t have a chance so the slaughterhouse is a disposal system for these non-profitable horses who are broken (either physically or spiritually) when they come out of this system.
It doesn’t matter if a racehorse comes from a multimillion dollar farm or a multimillionaire owner because in the end they are all vulnerable to the despicable aspects of this industry.
Thank you Gina