This past Saturday, Horseracing Wrongs co-hosted a protest of the Belmont Stakes outside Gate 5 at Belmont Park. It was, to my knowledge, the first ever coordinated protest at a Triple Crown race. And it was a success: We did several interviews, executed a powerful banner drop, and generally turned many a head. Below, please find a short video made by Kiirstin Marilyn and Karolina Tyszkowska of the NYC-based “V For Veganism.” Thank you to them, and to all who came out to stand with us for the horses.
Kudos to all peaceful demonstrators, and an interview to boot!
Hooray Hooray!
I’ve been around this business since the 60’s and to think that there would be a demonstration at a Triple Crown event is mind boggling!
This is huge!
The Kentucky Derby is long overdue for a peaceful demonstration, and hopefully that will be next year.
Another huge step is the passing of the sports betting bill that rejected the mandatory LIVE RACEHORSE MEETS paving the way for tracks to provide sports betting without running live meets.
My only hope is that this trend continues all over the states and not just in New Jersey, because absence of outside financial welfare will be the demise of this business.
The horse racing business has been deliberately suppressing the facts, covering up the truth, denying transparency for years now, and projecting false deceptive business practices not unlike SeaWorld.
So a demonstration, and this blog is an effective way to provide the facts.
Their precipitous decline has now be bolstered.
Horseracing Wrongs deserves an award. Your record keeping, emails, persistence, and now co-hosting a protest is such good news. Thank you so much!
Hi Ernie, We (Horseracing Wrongs) became a non-profit last fall in order to support grassroots advocacy across the United States. We have been protesting at Saratoga Race Course for the past four years (we had over 100 protestors at our Travers Day protest last summer) and have made such an impact locally, that we knew we needed to be able to help advocates organize protests in their communities by supplying educational materials (leaflets, signs, posters), assisting with advice and event pages and press releases. Our new advocacy site will be up soon. Thank you for your support and for being a voice for the horses! Nicole Arciello, VP
Patrick, a couple of things.
One, on your alphabetical annual kill reports why is California not there?
Second, do your kill reports include quarter horses?
I think that I saw some quarter horse reporting, but not on a regular basis (as if you don’t have enough to keep you busy with the thoroughbreds).
There was a horrific breakdown of a high ranking quarter horse last week.
https://www.paulickreport.com/news/ray-s-paddock/commentary-a-fateful-decision-one-night-in-oklahoma/
This all happened under nefarious conditions.
I’ve claimed on previous posts, based on direct experience, that members of the racing commission and CEO’s of tracks seem to own and race horses under hidden ownership, which results in situations like this.
It has all the similar hallmarks.
In the stable area you quickly learn that the rules are applied to some and not applied to others.
They are immune to any type of rule infractions when clearly warranted.
These are the people who control the drug testing barn and implement the rules of racing.
In this particular example, it seems reasonable that this is the case here which is why nothing ever gets done, no neutral inquiries, no public release of the necropsy, and no repercussions.
So sorry for SPECIAL CANDY HIGH (name ironic) who died for these vile people and this vile business.
Gina, California isn’t listed because I don’t receive FOIA information for that state. That said, there are California racehorses on my killed lists – ascertained through other channels, including stewards minutes. And yes, I most definitely do report on QuarterHorse kills; I just don’t break them down by breed.
THANK YOU all for being there and raising your voices — from your lips to God’s ears …
My thanks to all involved.
Also, the video is very impactful.
And, of course, a big thank you , Patrick.