From the most recent Golden Gate Stewards Minutes:
“On September 4, Judge Henry (Trainer Steven Specht) pulled up while training at Golden Gate Fields and was vanned off and euthanized.”
Judge Henry was two years old and had been raced a total of two times – July 29 at Santa Rosa, last of 10 (27+ lengths back); August 19 at Golden Gate, 11th of 12.
Also – the latest Los Alamitos Minutes declare that “one equine death was reported this week [Aug 30-Sep 4] due to racing injuries” – name, however, withheld.
This is horseracing.
We acknowledge your suffering and deaths, Judge Henry and the racehorse who died at L.A. but remains unknown to those of us who care. We are trying. We will continue to expose this industry that took your young lives. RIP.
Judge Henry so sorry for you, and for the unnamed victim.
You were loved by people who didn’t exploit you.
Los Alamitos has been a death trap for thousands of racehorses over the years.
Owned by Dr. Allred, who had dozens of his own racehorses die on the track is now up in age.
Dr. Allred dominates, and controls most of the quarter horse racing scene in California, and has a strong hand in thoroughbred horse racing.
He has been running his own private cruelty circus, and death camp for years with ZIPPO oversight.
So it doesn’t surprise me when he protects the connections who are directly responsible for racehorses dying.
Most recently, Dr. Allred has sold off about half of Los Alamitos for development.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/horse-racing/sdut-horse-racing-los-alamitos-allred-2015mar18-story.html
He’s pondering selling the rest of the property off for development, and shutting down Los Alamitos for good.
Although he’s been looking for a buyer nobody is or has made an offer.
Very little interest to invest millions into a dying business – dying, of course, in more ways than one.
He won’t have to worry about money since this billionaire made most of it off the bones, and backs of racehorses.
Should Doc sell-off the rest of Los Alamitos, shutting down the track for good – there would be MANY lives saved.
There would be that many more quarter/race horses not bred for this cruelty circus.
For every racetrack that shuts down it’s a good day for horses, for our society, and for our planet.
For those of us who are familiar with the twisting and spinning of the truth in the racing industry, we must remember that “vanned off” can mean a horse, who is still alive, leaves the track with the help of an equine ambulance or it can mean that a dead horse is “vanned off.” An example….last Friday, in the 5th race at Belterra, Bayou Royalty “went wrong and was vanned off.” Of course, those immersed in this vile industry want to make an innocuous comment such as “went wrong” but what exactly does that mean? In this case, it meant that BR died in the dirt, as the screen shielded her body from the spectators, yet the majority of people, who read the charts, would surmise that the horse was actually alive and well. Nope, this horse put her “life on the line” so that the racing apologists could be entertained and place their bets yet there are those who continue to support an industry that chews them up and spits them out. Sickening…
Mary, you have made such an important point because I’ve noticed that the vocabulary is ever-changing, and not accurately reflecting what’s going on.
For example, on Friday at Churchill Downs they had a horse “stopped” in almost every race.
However, most of them “stopped” was actually a “breakdown,” but was not recorded as such.
“Stopped,” seems to now be replacing a legitimate breakdown, but even them we still don’t know the outcome of the racehorse whether it lived or died.
In fact, “stopped” was not followed-up with any indication as to whether the horse walked-off or not.
“Stopped” is now replacing DNF in many cases because DNF is more visual, and indicates a serious issue.
There was at least 1 racehorse in almost every race at Churchill Downs on Friday that didn’t finish the race, and should have been listed as a DNF so that the horse would have to have an official work prior to entering again.
If they eliminated this requirement then this has grave implications for the racehorse.
Further, just because a horse “walks-off” it doesn’t mean they lived later on in the stable area.
This industry has been getting away with such lack of transparency to the wagering public, to the taxpayer who is often supporting it, and to the casinos who are forced to give them profits.
All the people who support or participate in this industry are maintaining the silence of ongoing animal cruelty, abuse, maiming, and killing.
Sickening!
Thank you Mary for bringing this to attention. It goes to show the lengths the industry will go to cover up the horses they kill.
20yr+, I have heard for years that the racing industry is committed to becoming more transparent but we know that isn’t true. Why don’t they speak the truth? Just say that BR broke down on the track, the screen was brought out to protect the spectators and she was euthanized. Of course, we know the answer. The truth is bad for business.
I agree Mary & Gina. This change of language is very troubling.