Follows are some of the heartening comments and emails I have received. Progress.

“I am writing you because I saw what you posted about Mariano Intheninth. My family and I live in Louisville. I have never been a huge fan of horse racing but my family got free tickets to the track that day and were taking my 85 year old grandma for a day out. I was there when Mariano Intheninth broke his leg…about 30 feet away from me. I will NEVER forget it. Everyone was worried about the Jockey while I was concerned about the poor horse who was obviously afraid and in pain. I have not stopped thinking about it since. I just wanted to thank you for acknowledging his existence and short life as well as the hundreds of others who have pointlessly lost their lives. I for one will NEVER return to Churchill Downs or any other track ever again, and this experience has only further opened my eyes to this disgusting ‘sport.’ I wish everyone knew the truth. Thank you again Patrick.” – Meghan in Kentucky, 6/15/15

“Hello Patrick, I love what you post, you post the truth and only the truth. I am so sick of hearing of the horse deaths. I ride and ride for fun, Thorougbreds, Quarters, etc. My last race was Del Mar 2000, horse went down. Seeing it live was horrible. Never went back, but still ride and love horses. Thank you for posting and saying ‘the truth.’ I hope it helps. Live in Sacramento, CA.” – name withheld per wishes, 5/21/16

“I came across your website last night trying to research the horse in the subject line. In the 4th race at Emerald Downs on July 1, 2016, Corporal Agarn fell and, to my untrained eye, clearly broke one of his front legs. The only information I know about him now is that he was ‘vanned away.’ I am quite sure he was euthanized. You seem like you are well on top of things, and I commend you for the research you’ve done on your website. I just want to make sure this one doesn’t fall through the cracks – and I’d like to be absolutely sure of what happened to him. As a member of the betting public for the past three years, it was easy for me to justify the risks of this form of entertainment. It’s a lot harder now, seeing it live in real time.” – name withheld per wishes, 7/2/16

“I’m a longtime writer and a former horse owner, and I’ve been following Horseracing Wrongs for a couple of years. I wanted to say thank you for the work you do – painful though it is to keep track of these stats, what you’re doing is extremely important, especially in an industry that refuses any form of transparency. I’ve been posting on social media and sending messages to friends and family, to encourage others to spread the word about the atrocities of the racing industry. Some of my friends are following suit, and I hope the movement will grow. If there’s anything else you can think of that we might do to make a difference, I’d be happy for the information.” – name withheld per wishes, 8/27/16

“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. 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.” – name withheld per wishes, 1/3/17

“Thanks for your blog. If more people knew about the mistreatment of these beautiful animals they would choose to spend their money on other forms of entertainment. I joined a friend at Lone Star Park last night because she wanted to see the horses in person for the first time. This will be her last trip to the racetrack. In race three the winner broke down right at the wire and was euthanized on the track in front of hundreds of horrified spectators. I saw several children in tears as the curtain came out to hide from view what I knew was going to be the unfortunate death of another race horse. You can see the replay at the Lone Star website. The name of the horse is Hidden Talent. Something was hidden alright, and that was the cover up of this innocent victim dying in front of our eyes. There was no mention after the event of the unfortunate demise of an unwilling participant – only the condition of the jockey. This is horse racing. I won’t be back.” – Brad Forster, 10/1/17

“I read your posts and I decided I would not support horse racing anymore. So I am totally out of any industry that promotes gambling or mistreats animals. I would feel good about horse racing going out of business. Thank you.” – Richard Tindall, 11/19/17

“I started watching horseracing occasionally years ago beginning with the triplecrown won by the great Secretariat. Recently we moved to New Jersey and we began to attend Saratoga racecourse once a year. Then I discovered TVG. I enjoyed watching the beautiful horses parading in the paddock, and picking winners. Then one day early in 2018 I saw a beautiful gray horse, Electric Alphabet, in the parade. I watched during his race as he took a ‘wrong step’ and went down. I waited to hear from the announcer what had happened. No word except that the jockey was ok. That’s when I found your website and confirmed what I dreaded. He had been euthanized. He was 12 years old and still racing? I read comments from your site and realized this was not an occasional thing. I still couldn’t believe it. I watched more, horses kept getting hurt, announcers kept under-reacting. The last straw was this weekend. Through sheer luck I did not see the horse collapse at Gulfstream. In what other ‘sport’ do you witness death on a daily basis and think that’s acceptable? Do baseball players going for a long fly hit the outfield wall and slump over, dead? We would surely all be horrified. What if a downhill skier lost control and we witnessed her or his detached leg flying down the mountain alone? I don’t think anyone would enjoy that. But horses collapsing at an astonishing rate is ok? Shame on us.” – Linda Murphy, 2/26/18

“I don’t bet on racing anymore. I’m saving my money to help rescue those who have been shipped to sale auctions for slaughter.” – Tonya Stephenson, 3/17/18

“I saw Boom Boom Bango break down in the 9th at Santa Anita on March 18th. Looked bad and threw the rider. I am hoping the worst is not true. The track announcer and camera crew are trained to de-emphasize the event. Follow-up news updates are intentionally almost non-existent and information is always minimal. I am hoping I do not see Boom Boom Bango on your list tomorrow [she is in fact dead]. …I am not going back there.” – Randy Bramstedt, 3/18/18