Last Wednesday, Ray Paulick penned an opinion piece in his eponymous Paulick Report entitled “Horse Racing At The Crossroads: Reform Or Die.” Sounding the alarm (again), Paulick rightly points out that the media is swarming and not letting go.
“We’ve written before about how society has changed, that a public opinion survey in 2018 made animal welfare the No. 1 issue that Americans care the most about. That was before the glare from the mainstream media spotlight on racing fatalities at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., made virtually everyone in this country aware that hundreds of Thoroughbreds are dying each year on American racetracks.”
Fairly straightforward to this point. But then Paulick can’t help but get prickly about the siege in which his beloved “sport” currently finds itself: “The media smells blood, and I’m sure you’ve heard the expression that ‘if it bleeds, it leads.’ The piling on is unfair, with graphic and often misleading articles and video segments on horse racing fatalities on everything from Voice of America and National Public Radio to CNN, Fox News and HuffPost.com (which referred to Santa Anita as ‘horse hell’). Who ever said life was fair?”
“Unfair,” Mr. Paulick? How dare you talk of inequity toward an industry that has been allowed to exploit and abuse animals for 150 years with, for the vast majority of that time, nary a peep from the mainstream media. “Graphic,” Mr. Paulick? Not hardly enough: This should be in newspapers coast to coast. “Misleading,” Mr. Paulick? Misleading is only mentioning the “hundreds [and actually it’s well over 2,000] of Thoroughbreds dying” on-track while conveniently omitting the hundreds dying back in their stalls or the multiple thousands being strung up and slashed every year.
The Ray Paulicks of the racing world are, in many ways, our greatest enemies – wolves in sheep’s clothing. Sounding intelligent, caring, and thoughtful, their opinions and ideas can, at least to the lay public, be utterly persuasive – you know, all Racing needs is a good housecleaning, a return to its roots, the “Horseracing Integrity Act.” And if they get what they want – and to their everlasting shame – countless more horses will suffer and die for it.
All horse racing should be banned. From the moment of its conception ,a racing thoroughbreds life , until it’s death , is all about abuse , all for the sake of greed.
Reblogged this on Armory of the Revolution.
If we were to kill “ALL” athletes who break their bones (especially jockeys) – you can bet horse racing would come to an end!!! It’s time to stop the cruelty and abuse!
Same with quarter horse racing, all racing on legal tracks and country roads should be outlawed.
Fortunately for the horses — and those of us informed, civilized, and humane enough to reject this hideous industry — “they” WILL NOT “get what they want.” Horse racing is finally in its death throes, and the abusers are cannibalizing one another in their feeble attempts to appear to be everything that they are NOT (compassionate, responsible, accountable, accessible, etc.)
We’ve all noticed that lately, track managers are blaming breeders, trainers blaming jockeys, vets blaming the media, so-called regulatory bodies blaming owners, backstretch workers blaming anti-racing activists, and every conceivable combination of these finger-pointers trying to hide horse deaths that can no longer be hidden. They try to explain away that which defies explanation: the systematic abuse and deaths of animals for gambling. They all use the “a few bad apples” explanation, when, in fact, the whole orchard is poisoned. Mr. Paulick and his ilk will forever refute this, of course. But nothing he (nor the entire industry) could show us will ever convince thinking people that horse racing should continue AT ALL. There’s simply no marketing horse racing back to respectability.
Thank You Kelly.
You make an excellent summary.
“They try to explain away that which defies explanation: the systematic abuse and deaths of animals for gambling.”
They should ALL go play cards and Leave the horses alone !
In most cases of animal cruelty the authorities are called in.
But in racing, racing IS the authority!!!
The sorry result is little to no accountability and woefully inadequate consequences even for egregious acts of cruelty..
The very fact that racing polices itself is the “poster child” example of conflict of interest,
I personally think Ray Paulick has lost his mind and his morals (if he ever had any) –
THE FACTS
Ray Paulick makes money on Horses being abused and beaten to entertain people
I BELIEVE THE FOLLOWING
Money is Ray Paulick’s God
Ray Paulick could not care less about horses dying at the track or being abused or being brutally slaughtered for food around the world because he does not want to give up his job making money on horses. He cares more about money than morals or what is right and decent and good.
Money is Ray Paulick’s God.
I hope and pray that his KARMA will return upon him SWIFTLY for all the LIES he has written over the years about horse racing and I hope he loses all the money he has made. KARMA will descend on ALL those people that abuse these magnificent Horses. I am Praying that it will be soon !!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DEAR GOD,
HELP US TO SHUT DOWN HORSERACING FOREVER !!!
That is my Prayer daily
Again, allow me to hurl — Paulick has gotta be kidding — he cannot be serious — I repeat, this depraved, cruel vile industry which treats its most precious Beings — the Horses — deplorably, unconscionably, sadistically, horrifically — this business must be SHUT DOWN — FOREVER — let’s continue TELLING the world the truth about this VILE, criminal Industry.