Through a FOIA request to the Washington Horse Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills at Emerald Downs in 2019.
Midnight Retreat, Mar 15, Emerald S – “gastric rupture”
Fury’s Prospect, May 18, Emerald T – “fractured humerus”
Shanghai Billy, May 20, Emerald T – “ligament rupture”
U Nomutt, May 22, Emerald S – “colic” (raced just five days prior)
Formal Joker, May 25, Emerald R – “unknown” (9 years old, 66th race)
Private Star, Jun 1, Emerald T – “fractured carpal”
All My Heart, Jun 2, Emerald R – “fractured carpal”
Glenwheresmymoney, Jun 7, Emerald R – “pulmonary hemorrhage”
Doc Brown, Jun 23, Emerald T – “fractures both front legs” (three years old)
Oreosong, Jun 28, Emerald R – “fetlock joint luxation”
Audacious Sadie, Jul 7, Emerald S – “cecal impaction” (two years old)
Racy Opinion, Jul 21, Emerald R – “fractured spine” (first race)
Informed Lady, Jul 21, Emerald R – “fetlock joint luxation”
Gypsy Chick, Jul 26, Emerald R – “fractured carpal”
Smokin Wild, Jul 27, Emerald R – “fractured sesamoid”
He’s Not Grey, Jul 28, Emerald R – “fetlock joint luxation”
Calex, Sep 7, Emerald R – “fractured sesamoid”
Tapalot, Sep 14, Emerald R – “fractures both front legs” (three years old)
It really beggars belief that members of the public will put up with this. Absolute scandal and disgrace.
These poor horses have to endure so much pain and suffering in order to be used as gambling chips. This needs to stop! If everyone that gambles on horses could feel the pain and suffering that these horses had to feel, they would at least think twice about making $2 bets to make someone else rich and horses suffer in life and die a miserable death.
What else can be said that hasn’t been said already? Fractures, gastric ruptures etc. All testament to the incredible, horrendous, unimaginable cruelty and abuse these beautiful athletes have to endure at the hands of human excrements. Be done with it!! Enough!!
WTF?! A fractured spine in the horse’s very first race? And of course the double fractures in both front legs. Defend this apologists! Explain how these horses are treated like kings and loved like children! What is wrong with you people that you defend this sadistic shit show?!
The gastric rupture isn’t something that is so easy to see but these people are supposed to be “horsemen” (which they are not, in my book) so how can they not see that their horse is suffering? I cannot imagine that the so-called “horsemen” even care. A horse would have to be suffering in excruciating pain for hours and possibly days before a rupture occurs. It is absolutely CRUELTY AND TORTURE. All of these injuries are CRUELTY AND TORTURE and completely preventable and unacceptable. Stop racing them. Stop the abuse. Stop the cruelty. Stop the torture. Stop exploiting horses as gambling chips.
Every day horse racing spirals down further into moral depravity,it is beyond soul crushing. The part that bothers me,amongst many, is how STUPID people are…they don’t understand that their money,THEIR MONEY …is going to keeping this evil bullshit -barely on life-support. Dear god, too many people are not educated.
Bonnie, I agree that more people need to be educated about what is really happening behind the scenes and learn why they need to stop gambling on horseracing. If more people can understand that it isn’t “just Santa Anita” I think fewer and fewer people will choose to contribute to the CRUELTY AND TORTURE of racehorses by placing $2 bets.
Reblogged this on Armory of the Revolution.
The horrible pain those horses must have been feeling, how could no one realize that something terrible, like colic or whatever was going on inside a horse not be noticed by the trainer. Of course, they would have had to really care about the horse’s health!
It is hard to believe that we are still reading and dealing with this horrible animal abuse. These race tracks all need to be shut down into eternity. How much pain and suffering do these poor horses need to go through just for some bullshit entertainment of the general public. If you people understood and cared about animals in general you would not even consider placing your ridiculous bets which only allow for me horses to be slaughtered daily and endure incredible and horrible pain. Stop allowing this to continue and stop being part of the promotion of the deaths of these gorgeous horses.
Fractured spine and both front legs! – colic – cecal impaction (both horses probably riddled with ulcers) – a ruptured stomach , OMG! – what an excruciatingly painful death for the horse and, of course, all the horses.
The disrespect for the horse in life and in death along with the horror that is his life is dehumanizing. It speaks volumes about the character of all involved.
Found myself fixated by the sheer REGULARITY of these deaths, so I looked up Emerald Downs’ 2019 race schedule: Only two and three days per week for a grand total of 67 days racing on the year. Same old story: fewer horses in fewer races, YET, they still manage a fatality every 3 to 4 DAYS as if right on a schedule. I still don’t know how they got through August without a killing. Must have had a “Safety Spike,” which ended, as they always will.
Oh, and the fact that Patrick had to use FOIA to be granted access to these appalling numbers tells me that there were others that simply didn’t get reported to — or were buried by — the Washington Horse Racing Commissioners. Gotta love horse racing’s so-called regulators.