In the 4th at Oaklawn yesterday, says Equibase, Spirogyra “appeared injured and fell with four furlongs to run, vanned off.” But because Oaklawn is a top-tier track, Racing’s propaganda arm the Daily Racing Form saw fit to cover the “spill” and the horse’s fate, but only, that is, after updating the condition of the dinged-up jockey:
“Jockey Fernando De La Cruz escaped serious injury in a one-horse spill Sunday at Oaklawn Park, according to Bernie Hettel, the state steward at Oaklawn. His mount, Spirogyra, had to be euthanized due to catastrophic injuries.”
Spirogyra was three; ’twas his 9th time under the whip. The DRF also noted that “he had been claimed three times in his nine-race career.” In other words, sold three times in a “career” that started only last May. Any wonder why almost all racehorses develop ulcers? And yes, he was “For Sale” yet again just before dying.
This is horseracing.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seemed like there was an exodus of jockeys and trainers out of California relocating to Oaklawn. And par for the course,yesterday brought more than one sad sad story.
Your right Nancy-there has been a mass EXODUS out of California. A lot of them relocated to Louisiana,and other places.
Bonnie you reported the Oaklawn race casualty yesterday(Spirogyra)in the 4th. Sounds like there was another one later.
I suspect that the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition is not going to do anything to keep horses safe. I believe that they will spend money on protecting their own interests and way of life which is putting horses’ lives at risk in the first place. In other words, the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition is about protecting Thoroughbred horseracing as an industry. They are NOT about protecting horses from themselves; themselves meaning the people that abuse, neglect, injure, torture, cripple, kill, and exploit horses for financial gain through purse money, gambling/wagering handle, breeding fees and so on and so forth, and who formed the so-called Thoroughbred Safety Coalition.
The name, Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, is deceptive to anyone who does not follow horse fatalities in the racing industry and I give credit to Horseracing Wrongs for seeking out the information and posting it here. Thank you, Patrick and everyone who is involved in doing what you are able to do to protect horses from the horseracing industry.
The Thoroughbred SAFETY Coalition is nothing more than an attempt at a PR confidence trick! If anything it should be known as the Racing Preservation Coalition.
Not only does this business not care about the safety of the horse, especially the claimers, the safety of the jockey does not matter either. Of course they show “concern” for the jockey because it would be PR suicide not to. If there was concern for the lives of the horses and jockeys the industry would get rid of the numerous blatant bad actors for starters followed by the abusive sick claiming game. That will never happen.
Of course, they are all bad actors but some are slicker than others and, most importantly, big money makers.
So sorry Spirogyra for the abuse you suffered in your short life. Your only escape was through death.
Agree 100%, Rose.
Well said, Rose. Another thing that would protect horses is to stop racing babies (2-year-olds) and stop racing 3-year-olds. I don’t expect the horseracing industry to change that much. If they had a mandate to limit the number of times that a horse can be raced in a calendar year and have a limit of how many years a horse can be raced, it could be helpful to protect horses; but I don’t expect the racing industry to put that much effort into protecting horses. The Jockey Club is pro-slaughter so that is all a person really needs to know as far as “horse safety” is concerned in the Thoroughbred racing industry and the same with the American Quarter Horse Association and Quarter Horses. Quarter Horses have been extremely inbred and popular since 1940 so it’s no wonder that they have so many intense genetic defects.
EXCELLENT points!!!!! , Wanda
Thank you, Bonnie. It’s getting time to watch a kitten video, right? It is so disturbing, distressing, agonizing, heartbreaking and gut wrenching to think about the racing carnage.
They would never limit anything, in fact, the opposite because the more a horse runs the more they generate wagering profits.
Also, we’ve posted the names of racehorses who are running with as little as 3 days turnaround time which is horrific racehorse abuse.
These suggested “reforms” are not my focus as the only solution is to completely abolish horse racing now although I can understand your desire to prevent abuse.
Remember, this has been going on for years, FOR YEARS, and it’s widespread suffering and dying with a whole bunch of supporting entities condoning these horrific practices.
Second, The Jockey Club is pro-slaughter because they don’t want to be fiscally responsible for the very racehorses that make them rich the same goes for all the other business arms of horse racing who makes billions, collectively, such as the sales auction houses (Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, OBS), and the wagering firms (Xpressbet, Bet America, TVG etc etc).
They all pass the buck and they don’t care because nobody is holding them accountable.
They all make billions off the bones, backs, and lives of racehorses, but fail to enact a mandatory percentage to financially contribute or be responsible for these racehorses.
They have rendered them disposable gambling chips and they have been betraying racehorses for years.
Rose is right the Safety Act will do nothing except provide some more public wallpaper and buy them some more time to continue exploiting racehorses.
So sorry Spirogyra and for all racehorses who have died for this vile business and a bunch of parasites.
Go out and get another job that doesn’t suck the life out of a living creature.
I completely understand that horseracing is all about the money, the profit margins, and it’s been going on since most likely before 1874. It’s an ugly business that could be compared to a glass cup; they can shine it up real good on the outside but it will remain absolutely filthy (vile, depraved) on the inside. If horses live long enough to survive the racetrack and are not rescued and cannot be used for breeding, they will be shipped to slaughter and killed and the Jockey Club is fine with that. So no horse is ever safe as long as it is owned by someone that just uses horses to make money with; and as the video I watched clearly stated: in the horseracing industry, horses are factory farmed. Chickens are factory farmed as well. There is nothing pretty about that.
The jockey escaped serious injury? Well, I’ll definitely sleep better knowing that. I’d love to see that little sadists’ whip abuse record to find out just how much “guidance” he liked to give his horses.
“guidance” and “encourage” are code for flogging the horse into the ground.
In Australia, the racing industry uses the word “encourage”.
As we know, Carolyn, this is one more manifestation of racing’s deceitfulness and ongoing whitewashing of the ugly truth. The words encouragement and guidance are used in place of whipping because of the positive connotations of the words. Words have meaning and truth is important except when it comes to racing!!
I struggle to understand how and why an entity like horse racing is legal ? (I won’t call it a sport). Dog fighting isn’t legal. Cock fighting isn’t. Greyhound racing has been abolished. So how is this allowed? It’s cruel, heartless, and equally as abusive as dog fighting and all of the other horrific ways mankind has exploited helpless creatures to make money. I don’t trust reforms. Horse racing must stop completely. And thank you, Patrick, for your tireless efforts to inform the public about this scourge on society.
Lobbying.
As Wanda so fittingly put it horses are “factory farmed”. I suppose that means a disposable commodity but only after they get broken to pieces by the leeches who make so much money off their backs. Why is there not a category (such as pet) applicable to horses? One that can actually do them justice and protect them?? Why is it that these amazing beings have literally carried mankind on their backs through centuries of wars etc and all they deserve now is this despicable cruelty? In a society that claims it is CIVILIZED. Indeed… WHY horse racing industry??
The exodus was for the money. Purses are huge at Hokelawn and oversight is minimal. But that is going to change.
Wanda, it’s Always a good time for kitten videos!!!!!!!!!! And,….also a glass of wine. God knows it’s hard to put up with the torture these poor babies are forced to do…on bones that aren’t even developed.
Again, the trainer has the ultimate responsibility for the safety of the horse. LIST THE NAME OF THE TRAINER IN EVERY DEATH. THE JOCKEY, TRACK AND DRF HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS DEATH, IT IS THE TRAINER!BUT THE TRACK TAKES NO ACTION AGAINST THE TRAINERS. IF THEY DID, THE DEATHS WOULD STOP. IT IS THE BAD HORSEMANSHIP, IN THE HANDS OF THE TRAINER who collects part of the insurance money after the horse breaks down. Also note in Mexico and South America they don’t keep gelding horses and cutting out the epiglottis. It is barbaric to remove anatomical parts of these horses. Removing testicles affects hormones and bone growth, and most break downs are geldings. Please deal with this. Thanks.
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They need to leave the horses ALONE, let alone always MUTATING them!!! You scumbags in this sleazy industry…I just can’t fucking stand you…go get a life…quit torturing INNOCENTS.
The trainer is one cog in the wheel. If it were not for the gambling/pari-mutuel wagering and purse money, would there still be an overwhelming motivation to use horses as “gambling chips” at the age of 2-years-old and up? The trainer does not write the race card for babies, but the breeders and auction houses make their money exploiting babies in a major way. [Baby Race: a race for 2-year-olds.] No person should be racing babies at all.
As of last start, SPIROGYRA was trained by Genaro Garcia.