From the NYS Gaming Commission: In the 3rd yesterday at Aqueduct, 2-year-old Condo Prince “fell after suffering a fatal musculoskeletal injury in the vicinity of the 3/8 pole and was euthanized on the track.”
https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/replays
(punch in 2016, December 31, race 3 – pick up video around 2:25 mark)
“Oh and going down and tossing the rider was Condo Prince…Condo Prince out of the race.” Yes, “out of the race” – and in the process of dying.
From Equibase: In the 5th yesterday at Laurel, 3-year-old Just Jack “broke down and fell inside the furlong marker.” “Broke Down,” of course, is racing-speak for dead.
The official Laurel replay skipped right over the breakdown; in fact, the entire race, with the exception of the winner crossing the wire, was deleted.
Finally, from Blood-Horse comes word that 13-year-old Heatseeker “was euthanized Dec. 27…after he was discovered in his paddock with a broken left femur.” Found with a broken leg. Imagine that. While Heatseeker’s final race was over eight years ago, at the time of his death this vile industry was still using and abusing him as a “stud.”
Sadly- Just Jack is believed to have suffered a heart attack.
A heart attack brought on by the stresses of being a racehorse. Just Jack was just a baby.
A “heart attack” at 3 yrs old? Just Jack was murdered, plain and simple! Another unwilling slave that gave his life for the greed of many. RIP sweet Jack
My heart goes out to all racehorses who DIED on racetracks in 2016.
What people need to know is that these horses were most likely suffering prior to them dying in the dirt.
The dying is the direct result of many factors, but the operating procedures of doping, whipping, electro-shock wave therapy, running on sore limbs and/or pre-existing conditions are all part of this business at ALL levels of the game.
These beautiful creatures are reduced to profit slaves for $2 bets, and they pay the ultimate price to fill races, and increase wagering profits.
Please 1. Sign petition to pass DECOUPLING (Grey2k site) now. Very important because it’s coming up for a vote in March. Cutting-off casino funding will lead to the shut down of many racetracks. 2.Don’t bet on horse races. Please bet on an inanimate object such as a slot machine. 3. Educate people.
Racecaller says Just Jack unseated his rider. Ah yes, that’s more palatable for the audience to hear in lieu of speaking the truth. For Laurel Park to wipe out the whole race, with the exception of the winner crossing the line, tells me that it was a sickening breakdown. Once again hiding the suffering of yet another baby horse being sacrificed and they have the audacity to call it a sport. Only sadists could call this a sport.
There were only 6 horses in Just Jack’s race and all the more reason for them to hide the breakdown, it would’ve been very obvious. Don’t know what went on on in the race, there was a stewards’ inquiry into the stretch run resulting in no action taken by them. Ah yes, it seems there was something else in the running that they were intent on hiding from the public. The public sustains the horseracing industry and the public has a right to know. But, the industry has an animal welfare crisis on its hands and is nervously attempting to fool the public with its lack of transparency and disclosure. Any business (it’s not a sport) that doesn’t abide by the transparency and disclosure rules is doomed.
Racecaller says Condo Prince tossed his rider off? How low can these industry people go? Clearly, they use descriptions to deflect from what is really happening in a horse race. Condo Prince suffered an EXCRUCIATINGLY painful musculosketal injury (likely a limb fracture) resulting in his death.
But hey folks, we’ll just tell you that Condo Prince is out of the race.
The ongoing deliberate omission of video, showing racehorses dying on racetracks, is a blatant violation of First Amendment Rights.
It will be eventually legally challenged, and this vile business will lose.
Just Jack and Condo Prince is now part of the Death Facts on this blog, and so sad that they died in the dirt to increase wagering profits, fatten somebody’s wallet and/or ego.
Their attempts to downplay the extreme pain, and suffering that both these racehorses went through clearly shows a callous, heartless, unaccountable, vile business that needs to end.
Most of these bettors are habitual gamblers if not addicts. The racing business provides the outlet for these people at the expense of the captive horse. The horse suffers abuse and untimely death at the hands of those in the business. The business is rife with cheating, drugs “legal” and illegal and outrageous animal cruelty including the dumping of the “unwanted” into the slaughter pipeline.
The cheaters are not only tolerated but are lauded for their “achievements” !
What other business is riddled with illegal activity and is allowed to police itself ? Corruption at every level is the name of the game.
Rose, your comment about corruption is 100% correct.
I was at Laurel Park on December 31st, placed a bet on Just Jack, and watched the race at the rail. Not only was I shocked and heartbroken when he fell and died, but something in me changed forever. I’d seen horses fall before but had continued to enthusiastically “follow” (wager on) thoroughbreds, visiting tracks from Saratoga to Santa Anita, living under the rationalizations that “horses live to compete” and that since we eat cows that betting on horse racing is somehow ethical.
That’s all behind me. I will never wager on horse racing again. I used to soothe my guilt with donations to equine rescues, but I was working at cross purposes. Just Jack was whipped mercilessly in the stretch and he died as a result. It is one thing to kill an animal for food, but it is quite another to kill one for entertainment. I could not believe the patrons at Laurel quietly went back to the buffet after the race and then prepared their bets for the next race.
Those in the industry will say that better regulation can prevent these events. They are completely wrong. I have followed this industry for 40 years and it has not really improved. The only way to prevent such hideous cruelty is to stop wagering on horse racing, just as we stopped wagering on greyhound racing in most states.And let’s stop supporting Saudi tyrants in the process.
I still feel sick about my presence at Laurel, and in fact I have always felt somehow ashamed of my wagering. I can now look forward to a clearer life and limit my involvement with horses to supporting them in the most positive ways.
Thank you, Brian for your comment and sharing. I feel sick to hear that Just Jack was mercilessly beaten with the whip, no wonder he broke down and died, pushed beyond his physiological and psychological limitations and, if he did in fact die from a “heart attack”, then this evidences the extreme and unnatural stresses forced on these innocent horses.
Couldn’t agree with you more, when the wagering stops the inexcusable cruelty stops.
And these wagering companies/entities are complicit in the cruel abuse of the miserable lives these horses suffer.
Thanks for your comment Brian.
I’m sure your not alone because many others that witnessed horses dying at tracks probably feel the same as you.
As for this business?
Your 100% correct that not much has changed in 40 years.
The only thing that has changed is dissemination of information via social media that has literally forced this industry to respond, but they probably begrudge every minute of it.
Non-transparency, secrecy, and lack of response to the wagering public has always been part of their business model while racehorses die in the dirt for bets.
Even to this day they are eliminating Race Replays to cover-up racehorses dying during the race.
Their lip service may be more sophisticated now, but under that is the same old BS.
There are no changes that can mask what this business is about: the exploitation of a racehorse to increase wagering profits is their primary motivation.
The “we care for them,” “we love them,” “we send them out to pastures,” is a massive delusion designed to provide coverage for the dirty world of horse racing where dying is an everyday occurrence.
Thank you, Brian.
Yes, thank you, Brian, for your resolve to move away from an industry that exploits horses. I wish there were more like you.
HALOS AND ANGELS is still slaving away having earned the grand sum of $85 for coming home 8th/10 by 19+ lengths
for her connections today.
According to Equibase, she “faltered”. Well, given her history her so called “faltering” simply means she’s struggling to stay alive when racing for her life. This mare naturally tries to keep up with her herd (the rivals in the race) for safety, inherent in the self preservation prey animal, the noble equine.
Coming home 19+ lengths (along with her other poor performances) evidences that she’s not coping with the cruel and unjustified demands made on her.
But, her owner, O Mason Racing and trainer, David St Clair clearly have no regard for her safety and welfare in pursuit of the $5,000 sale price on her head, it seems.
Poor HALOS AND ANGELS. My heart goes out to her.
Sadly, she’s not an anomaly, but neither are the connections, and neither is this entire business model that permits such blatant animal cruelty to continue.
They permit this poor Angel to be entered, and raced. It doesn’t take an idiot to see that this poor darling is being abused.
They could easily deny entry based on non-competitive PP’s.
It’s not only the race itself, but the intense confinement, the doping regimes, the sore limbs, the denial of everything natural that leads up to the cruelty ring.
Like I’ve always maintained there are only 3 types of people in horse racing: 1. Abusers 2. Enablers of the abuse 3. Both.
The connections that make the decision about her fall into category 3, while all the others fall into category 2.
Will she make it out alive?
That remains to be seen.
Make it out of racing to where, Gina ? Sadly, like so many others, she is probably doomed thanks to this sick, ugly “business”. No help will come for her.
HALOS AND ANGELS is entered to run at Mahoning on January 11.
My heart is breaking for this mare. As previously mentioned on this blog this racehorse has proven time and again that she’s not coping with racing. In at least one race she was unable to finish, history of poor performances and coming home distanced. As noted above, she came home 19+ lengths 8th/10 on January 3 earning the grand sum of $85.
She’ll be raced until she breaks down.
Carolyn, and she is running for a $7500 tag in a 14 horse field. Unbelievable, but, then again, this is horseracing.
Do you remember a couple years ago when Patrick first wrote about Halos and Angels and Ms. Michelle Dunnan Sheets said that Halo’s owner thought we were part of some kind of cult and that we wanted to abuse her for our “own entertainment?” Oh, and then Sheets babbled that we had a “hard on” for the horse. I kid you not. I still have the screenshot to verify what I just stated. What I can say is that Ms. Sheets must be incredibly stupid or delusional….perhaps a bit of both….since Halo’s connections have exploited, and continue to exploit, this sweet horse for the entertainment of the betting public. Anyone, with minimal intelligence, should have realized by now that this mare is non-competitive so why are the stewards at Mahoning even allowing her to race? Could it be about the money and not the welfare of the horse?
Yes, I do remember that , Mary.
Always about the money and never about the safety, health and well-being of their ‘much loved’ horses.
I urge all of us horse lovers here to write and/or call the Racing Commission about HALOS AND ANGELS. Now I realize that it seems like a waste of time – I get that, but at least it’s something.
I must do something, be a voice for poor Angel, because she is heading straight for our DEATH statistics here.
The writing is clearly on the wall for people who truly care about her.
HALOS AND ANGELS
As mentioned in an earlier comment above on this page, this burnt out mare is still being forced to race.
She raced again on 11 January 2017 at Mahoning Valley racetrack coming home 6th/12 by 8+ lengths.
Although it appears that this result is okay, it’s highly likely she was up against ‘slower’ horses in this insidious claiming race at this terrible track being held in freezing cold conditions.
(See Mary Johnson’s comment above for further insight).
It appears that the connections have increased the sale price on her head from $5,000 to $7,500.
The chart says –
“HALOS AND ANGELS broke slowly then failed to reach contention”.
http://www.equibase.com/premium/chartEmb.cfm?track=MVR&raceDate=01/11/2017&cy=USA&rn=6
Having worked in the racing industry and researching the welfare of the racehorse for many years now,
I can say that when a horse jumps out of the gates slowly it is indicative that the horse is not up to the task and usually has a health issue e.g. bone fatigue, pre-existing injury, sore, tired. From my observations, it was not uncommon to come across a horse that broke down in a race had been slow to jump out (which is very different to missing the start) and also horses that suffered an injury and/or disappeared had been slow to jump out.
This uncompetitive racehorse (one only has to look at her profile to confirm this fact http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=9141192®istry=T )
is racing for her life and clearly her connections don’t give a damn about her safety, health and well-being.
And neither do the stewards (and the vets) at the MAHONING VALLEY and THISTLEDOWN race courses!
The last 17 runs of her 36 race starts have been at the abovementioned two race courses.
Filling races to increase wagering profits, and to have the possibility of picking up a check is the main reasons why Halos And Angels is being abused.
Shameful that an industry who claims to “love” and “care” for their horses is really an industry that is rife with legitimized animal abuse, and the enablers of the abuse such as the commissions who permit this poor girl to race.