Olly Wonder in the 6th at Turfway December 31, from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission:
“This 2-year-old colt, trained by Paulo Lobo and owned by Brownwood Farm, sustained an injury to his left forelimb. KHRC veterinarians administered a sedative/analgesic to assist in loading onto the horse ambulance and to minimize further injury. He was ambulanced off the track and the decision was made to euthanize him due to the severity of his injuries and a poor prognosis.”
Necropsy Report: “There were open fractures of the lateral condyle of the third metacarpal bone and biaxial sesamoid fractures. The medial sesamoid fracture was a comminuted mid-body, the lateral sesamoid was an axial avulsion fracture. The joint was disarticulated, with severe tearing of the tendinous and ligamentous structures.”
And now, the video. An ankle dangles, death beckons – and yet the “Winner’s Circle” festivities continue…
Sadly, I’m pretty sure another one just lost his life..Mr. Philly Dilly ,chestnut colt ,race 3 Gulfstream Park.
Bonnie. He is listed on race 3 results as DNF. Not a good sign
And DRF writer hasn’t answered a Twitter query on his condition. Another bad sign.
No amount of our frankly useless remarks condemning these callous and soulless people will make any difference. Money is everything to them and participating in this cruel and careless business proves it. I wonder how long it will be before decent compassionate take the law into their own hands and take revenge on those two legs who participate.
You’re correct, Ray – those who support using sentient beings as mere gambling tools don’t care about dead racehorses and they don’t care about the thousands Patrick has named here (well, they feign grief if the dead horse was one of the “elite”). But those folks are not our audience. The unknowing public is our audience – only when the public is aware of what the racing industry does to horses (for unnecessary gambling entertainment, no less!) will they call for an end to it. Education is key.
Joy
Nice to hear from you. I wishe you were right. I wish you COULD be right but I will try to prove to you that the great unwashed (a term you may or may not have heard of) but basically means the masses who let everything wash over them and accept everything they are told in the media, just don’t care.
Ok, those of the human race who are not vegetarian or vegan, but don’t like the thought of animals suffering at the farm, on route to a slaughterhouse and at the slaughterhouse, put it to the back of their minds. Try telling someone you know who eats meat, eggs, fish and drinks dairy milk that this or that happens to animals in the food chain. I’ve seen this so often. They turn away and put their hands to their ears in a theatrical way of blocking out what you are trying to tell them.
And that’s it, they’ve stopped listening because it’s too unpleasant to think about, (for those who do care at least).
There are some who believe the myth that slaughterhouse staff are careful to handle the animals coming through the system are treated with respect and humane methods of dispatching.
But we all know this is patent nonsense. Treatment is brutal and in many cases with a degree of cruelty. Many cases of kicking, stabbing, stamping on and other abuse such as laughing and imitating the cries of the animal.
I knew the owner of a family slaughterhouse once. When he discovered I was a Vegan he congratulated me and said it took guts to become one when there wasn’t much around for us to substitute. (This was about 10 years ago when that was true, before many entrepreneurs saw Veganism as a legitimate business venture.
He told me his family had a proud record of treating animals with the utmost respect and he had sacked others on the spot for enfringing that ethos. He admitted that the vast majority of slaughterhouses were badly regulated and employed “the lowest of the low.” But this is the truth that is out there and most prefer to ignore it and carry on regardless.
Watch the BBC undercover report on a dairy farmer who laughing and joking with the reporter, (not knowing who he really was of course) picked up a two or three day old male calf who was crying for its mum. The reporter asked if they always did this and he said “yeah but like him not for long”. He disappeared round the barn and a shot rang out.
“Job done” he said laughing.
Thanks, Ray, for your response. And I know exactly what you’re saying – I see it, I’ve experienced it – even the pro-racing crowd who talk out of both sides of their mouths? – they say they love the horses yet they support crippling them, killing them and sending them to slaughter – they excuse the deaths because “people die in car accidents every day”. Figure THAT out! When it comes right down to it, those types are selfish and have no courage to stand for what is right.
I just know that what is happening to horses in the name of “sport” is cruel, it’s wrong, it’s completely unnecessary and I cannot NOT speak for them.
I totally agree
Ray, this site brings more attention to the extreme abuse of racehorses and if everyone concerned does whatever they can, large or small, to bring about a change in the will of our state governments to stop subsidizing horseracing and the use and abuse of horses as gambling chips, every comment on this site is fuel to the fire, figuratively speaking. I like Jane Fonda’s attitude in her activism about climate change. She is willing to be arrested in order to bring attention to that cause. I think everyone needs to choose their own path but I personally don’t recommend unnecessary violence. “The power of the pen is mightier than the sword.” Writing letters to Senators and Representatives is a way or a path that should be exhausted before resorting to taking “the law” into your own hands. Extremists are touted as whacked out nut jobs and I don’t think our elected officials are going to be influenced by breaking the laws. As you said, the horseracing offenders only care about the money. When the government subsidies to horseracing dry up, the purses at the racetracks will also dry up. At that point, the bottom of the multi-million dollar market in breeding Thoroughbreds could fall out. When the bottom of the market falls out of any breed of horse or pony, some people stop breeding those particular breeds. There have been instances in the past when markets for Shetland ponies and Arabians were created by rather deceptive practices. In 1963, the bottom of the market in Shetland ponies fell out.
Dear Wanda
Oh how I wish you were right. In an ideal world you are quite right. We should be able to contact our representatives and convince them of the wrongs involved. But in truth they accept money from the big business people and money always talks.
I guess you are American as you refer to Senators and Congressmen. I live in the UK. Our Members of Parliament are just as corrupt, and they can be because of course those in businesses, (or foreign countries military regimes etc) cover up their bribes and kickbacks to avoid complicity becoming public knowledge. Accused of corruption they use the press to condemn such allegations and demand proof.
But let’s turn to Ireland as an indication of what I have already said.
Greyhound racing now loses millions a year. Tracks are closing, and the government (at least up to this year with elections a week ago putting Sein Feinn in power were spending taxpayers millions to keep tracks open, despite the evidence of thousands of dogs being brutally killed even before they run. The rest of their lives is well known, they run, they start to get slower and get injuries and are taken to the countryside and left tied up somewhere remote to die. Or they are shot or bludgeoned to death and their ears cut off so the legally required tattoos can’t be traced.
In one very famous case in the UK a man who wasn’t involved in the racing business was found to have killed around 10,000 Greys in his yard using a captive bolt, totally unsuitable for use on a dog. Their remains were found buried on his land and the only reason he was convicted was on public Health & Safety! Many of those dogs were only stunned when buried. YET IT IS SIMPLE TO TAKE YOUR GREY ALONG TO ANY OF HUNDREDS OF DOG RESCUE CENTRES IN THE COUNTRY and just hand the dog in, no questions asked. The other method of human lethal injection at a Veterinay practice cost around £60.
There is a campaign now to ban the use of palm oil. It’s totally unnecessary and soley to save costs it takes the lives of Tigers, Orangutans and many other primates, birds, snakes and insects.
In this case you can at least contact the producers and convince them to change to the old Sunflower and Rapeseed. Involve a politician in the campaign and you have to ask yourself, what are they getting in back handers to foreign bank accounts.
Sophie D., your wish has been granted in this post. The owner of this horse, OLLY WONDER, a 2-year-old colt (Baby Race: a race for 2-year-olds), abused by racing and killed by racing, is named. The owner is named as Brownwood Farm.
It’s almost beyond belief (except that it happens daily) that a living sentient being can suffer a catastrophic injury of this nature in front of thousands of witnesses and on broadcast television and there is NO movement among animal welfare groups or even horse owners – who claim to love their horses – to stop the wholesale abuse and killing that goes on EVERY SINGLE DAY on these racetracks. And the racing industry is so concerned with its imaginary image it would force a critically injured horse into a trailer just to try to hide yet another death – and with an injury like that there’s no way in Hell the people involved at the scene didn’t know immediately that horse needed euthanasia – but they wanted to make a big show of that “love” they’re always blathering about, so they inflicted more agony on that poor horse just for a fictitious prognosis back at the barn. The more they try to force a show of how much they love their horses the more needless suffering and abuse the horses have to endure.
Rebecca, it is sickening that these horseracing people proclaim to love their horses while they abuse them to the point of catastrophic injuries that cannot be mended. If they truly loved their horses, they would not be putting them out there as gambling chips in the first place. The people that do this to horses are NOT true horsemen or true horsewomen, but rather truly depraved and money is their god. Money is what they love. So, when they kill a horse, it’s really the money they are concerned about. But, I think that there are those morbid and sadistic people that love to kill. It needs to be de-funded, obviously.
And he was made to walk onto a horse trailer with a leg like that!! Just proves even more that those involved in racing have no heart towards these beautiful animals that suffer for them!
And racing loves their horses like their own children? – yet they prolong and exacerbate their injured horses’ suffering by making them walk (and load/unload) with an OPEN fracture, a dislocated ankle – an injury that WILL necessitate euthanasia. TORTURE.
And another at Oaklawn, Race 6. You know it’s bad when the chartwriter says, “pulled up in apparent distress, vanned off.”
*And ANOTHER, at Fairgrounds. DRF reporter says screens are STILL UP.
Not watching video.
Same here, Alan. Can’t. Won’t.
Plus, so far today, there’s been THREE NEW ONES. Major tracks and at least one stakes race. I support this site’s efforts to post these horrifying, sickening, gut-wrenching images (with warnings), because, until very recently, nobody except racing supporters knew how disgusting they are.
But, I. WILL. NOT. WATCH.
Makes me absolutely ill.
I’m so sorry baby, the pain must have been horrific. Your life was just a $ to the cowards and barbarians.
Nothing is worth the horrific deaths of these Precious babies. These people need to “get a grip” and turn their life around. Torture of Animals is the lowest of the low. Learn a skill,do something positive and productive.
Bonnie, I completely agree with you that these people in this racing industry could make a decision to learn new skills to earn a living that does not include the abuse, torture and killing of these beautiful horses! Many of the breeders own large acreages of land that could be used for growing crops of organic vegetables for human consumption. In many places, there are “food deserts” where healthy food is very scarce. There are such things as Community Supported Agriculture that would be a good option for horse breeders. I think CSAs would be especially appropriate for owners of Thoroughbred farms in Pennsylvania since Governor Tom Wolf has proposed the subsidies be given to students instead of to horse killers, the horseracing industry.
There were other ones besides that one. Bill Mott had a horse break down in The Fairgrounds Stakes and I believe a horse broke down at Laurel yesterday as well. And my Big Brown horse at Aqueduct who went off at 2-5 came back lame in tbe right front and dead last. Horrible day of racing yesterday with many good older horses not running well and many favorites not showing up.
No – they were made to “show up”. But in the only way they can – tried to tell their connections that maybe they can’t run anymore, and of course, the connections disregarded that. And apparently the “good” older horses are also telling their people they’ve had enough of the drugs and soreness, but because they are “good” at bringing in hefty paychecks, there they were, toiling again to try to earn even more for their humans.
Watching the injury happen was devastating to me. As someone who loves horses with all I am and as a human being I continue to be appalled that this sport is allowed to continue. No other sport takes it’s young, trains them before they are mature enough to with stand the rigorous strains on bones, tendons and ligaments. Then runs them in races on empty stomachs, dehydrated from no food or water on race day, injected with an unnecessary diuretic uses whips to make them run beyond their capacity. These horses are the equivalent of children, yet the corporations who own them only see a profit making machine. They break legs legs beyond repair have their mouths ripped open by jokeys pulling too hard on the bits . When the tragedy occurred on track the horse is ambulances off the track to be put down and forgotten. If the horse can survive the track what happens at the end of her/his career? Most likely the slaughter auction. Rarely if ever are they retired to live comfortably on a farm or loved by someone. Trained for an career. Now wouldn’t that be a better option than slaughter?