This from Equibase for the 4th race at Penn National last night: “EAGLE DANCE suffered catastrophic injuries to both front ankles, fell and was humanely euthanized.”
“catastrophic injuries to both front ankles”
Eagle Dance was four years old; ’twas his eighth time under the whip.
This is horseracing.
Inconceivably heartless, inhumane and driven by greed. It continues.
Eagle Dance (L) suffered “catastrophic injuries to both front ankles, fell” at Penn National on Thursday. The 4-year-old, purchased for 260K as a yearling, took the typical route from pricey-acquisition to death that many racehorses do.
Claimed by Jorge Navarro (R) – whose comments “were captured on a smart phone video at a Monmouth clubhouse bar…making coarse comments that brazenly referenced the use of ‘juice’ (i.e., performance-enhancing drugs) in racehorses and the alleged cashing of a big bet with illegal bookmakers” – after an earlier DNF, the bay gelding was dropped lower and lower in his short 8-race “career”.
Navarro also “served a 60-day Florida suspension in 2013 for multiple flunixin positives, some of which were 300 times above the permitted threshold for the painkiller…[and appealed] a Florida positive for cocaine in a post-race equine test.”
Navarro still trains. Eagle Dance is dead. And THIS…is American horse racing.
http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/juice-comments-leave-navarros-owners-scrambling/
Thank-you Joy for providing this very disturbing information because just this example alone clearly shows an industry that can’t provide even the most basic protections to racehorses nor do they care.
Unfortunately, Navarro is one of many who have a long history of killing racehorses.
Then when you further examine their maiming and killing record, leading up to the deaths, it’s another clear indication that neither the vile people in this business or people who are proponents don’t give a damn.
They don’t even suspend killers from racehorses which is not unlike handing a drunk driver they keys.
There’s no difference because the safety issue is paramount because it often leads to racehorses dying and jockeys getting maimed (although it’s difficult to garner sympathy for the horse beaters that have no problem beating the crap out of a racehorses who is, most likely, tired and sore).
Nevertheless, this industry operates under total impunity because if they can BAN SeaWorld trainers from riding orcas (which they should BAN the entire captivity thing anyways) citing safety issues and violations then it sure as hell makes total sense to BAN jockeys from riding racehorses and to BAN “trainers” with killing and doping violations.
These “trainers” who kill most often have a lengthy record that clearly shows a racehorse abuser and to keep handing them another horse to abuse or kill is utterly unacceptable.
For every track that shuts down I will rejoice knowing that we are one step closer to getting rid of these hell holes for racehorses.