Recently confirmed by the Arizona Department of Gaming:
Obligated to None was euthanized after the 6th at Turf January 19. There was, however, no indication of impending death on the Equibase chart – nothing, that is, except for the fact that the 4-year-old finished last of 10, some 36 lengths back. “Showed Little,” said the chartwriter; “Poor Performance,” said the stewards. In fact, one could argue that Obligated was a dead horse racing. His final six:
Oct 28 – 6th of 7, 15+ lengths back
Nov 9 – 5th of 6, 13+ lengths back
Nov 19 – 9th of 11, 17+ lengths back
Dec 14 – 8th of 10, 12+ lengths back
Dec 21 – 7th of 10, 11+ lengths back
Jan 19 – last of 10, 36 lengths back, dead
Obligated was still being raced at the “maiden claiming” level, and for $3500 at that (about as low as it gets). The humans responsible – in addition to the racing secretary, stewards, vets, et al. – were trainer Kyndra McKinney and owner Robert Otero. The breeders were Mr. & Mrs. Keith Grinolds.
Celtic Warrior was euthanized after the 1st at Turf January 25 – “went wrong.” Celtic Warrior was three; ’twas his 9th time under the whip. Trainer, Sandi Gann; owner, North American Thoroughbred Racing Co.; breeder, Glen Todd.
This is horseracing.
Reblogged this on Armory of the Revolution.
RIP, 4 year old Obligated to None. It sounds as if you were not feeling well. Didn’t they care? Nope. Nobody cared about you. Well, we do, but it’s too late for you and your precious life.
Cetic Warrior, only 3 when they mercilessly killed you. We care, a lot, even if they didn’t and still don’t. You were better than them. RIP, so very sorry!
As most ownerships start out,in most cases to be a fun venture as it did for Mr. OTERO and his family. Most owners can’t wait to bring their family down to the barn on a Sat. Or Sunday to pet and feed the horse carrots.The children,the grandkids,it makes for a fun day.BUT the children and the owner usually don’t see how the groom or the trainer has to force a horse to accept an exercise rider on his back at 4 am to go to the track.OR how a horse that can barely finish his races and becomes an embarrassment to owner,trainer.Or when no one comes to the barn to give carrots anymore and after the race when the adrenaline returns to normal and the pain killers wear off and the horse can’t walk because it’s so painful. NO,THE KIDDIES ARE NOT EXPOSED TO SEE THIS! And why is that? Just think,why the kids won’t see this. Does anyone want their children to see this?
The obscenity of these criminals is absolutely mind blowing. Clearly there was a HUGE problem with poor Obligated to None ( turns out obligated to run to his death for his disgusting connections) yet they CONTINUED RACING HIM?? How much sicker can these parasites get?
2 more beautiful young lives lost. This is getting more and more heartbreaking by the day.
They need to be stopped. They need to be chained and locked up. They need to disappear. Right now.
The owners of OBLIGATED TO NONE and CELTIC WARRIOR could have sold these young horses as riding horses to someone that would love them and not run them to their deaths. But this is horseracing where horses are used and abused as gambling chips. The dastardly deeds of these depraved horse killers need to be recognized as unlawful and these horse abusers need to be punished for their heinous acts of cruelty and torture to horses.
Looks like the trainer gals in Arizona can kill off just as many horses as the “men” can. Nice work, ladies.
And, no rush at all, but on your next slew of kills, could you maybe just speed your reporting process up a bit? Thanks. Seems like AZ regulators could acknowledge your abuse victims’ deaths a lot sooner than a month after the fact. (Since y’all are clearly so into horse safety.)
Oh, and it’s especially appropriate that Patrick wrote this post today.
Race 6, Turf Pairo’deaths, just a few hours ago: Senor Grits “fell, lost his rider, and was vanned off.”
Guess we can expect the death report sometime in late March, hmmm? Because the Arizona Dept. of Gaming is all about that timely transparency;(
Turf Paradise, the track where Blazingulch was raced less than 24 hours after his last start. The same gaming commission with the safety reviews and recommendations and has not yet published the safety review report said to have been done in Sept. 2019!!
They talk a good a good line. Meanwhile, the horses will continue to die in AZ at twice the national average. Wonder how many of the “safety” recommendations have been put in place?!!
Absolutely no responsibility/accountability. Shameful.
The “fake stewards” for every racetracks names should be posted prior to every days card so that comments can be sent to them. They are responsible for the safety of the horses as well as the veterinarians. But they don’t do their jobs and I believe are poorly trained for the very important position. Otherwise why would horses that come in last every time or at the very back be allowed to enter over and over. I had a good friend in Illinois named Barbara that trained her own horses. They came in last by a huge margin every time they ran. After a season of this, she was asked not to return. This is what should happen at every track. But Turf Paradise in Arizona is one of the worst racetracks. On a par with Parx and Mountaineer Park.
Thank you, marymbaggaley. You have a good point. If the racing Secretary at Santa Anita had to answer to a higher authority for accepting entry (and $200,000 as an entry fee) for MONGOLIAN GROOM who was on a vet’s watch list on October 31, 2019, maybe the gelding would still be alive. But, nobody wants to take responsibility. But, they evidently loved taking the $200,000.
In my opinion a thoroughbred that is non-competitive in all of its starts,especially at the lowest claiming level or any level for that matter should not be racing. What would make anyone think that this horse would race any different than its previous start. There has to be some oversight regarding a trainers competency and/or his decisions to race a horse. ( And don’t tell me this horse was training great) this act of negligence is abhorrent. The trainer and their racing commission need to be examined by an outside federal investigation.Don’t you think this is the right thing to do,for everyone,Including horse and rider.
Sopher D,
I think everyone that cares about horses and their health and well-being would love to see the horseracing industry be held accountable to any higher authority. The United States Department of Agriculture probably doesn’t really care because they regard horses as livestock and all horses being shipped to slaughter must be chipped and tagged with a USDA number. A lot of Thoroughbred racehorses are “retired” to a slaughterhouse. It’s sickening!
Of course the USDA doesn’t care . If you are looking for anyone directly or indirectly associated with this business to truly care about these horses you’ll be looking a long time. As soon as that trainer has to look at that horse everyday and that horse is not earning money anymore,you will see the love leave,real fast. And the horse that might have bedded down in the stall directly opposite the trainers office is now moved to a stall out of the trainers sight . This is done so the trainer doesn’t have to be reminded of HIS failure ,day after day. And as soon as that trainer needs a stall for another horse, Guess where the unwanted horse is going ?
So the Arizona HBPA opposes the “sudden” shut down of racing at Turf Paradise – of course. But what they had to say about the matter is another peek into the reality of racing and the “welfare” of the horses they exploit…
“[The shut down left] owners and trainers in a lurch with nowhere to send their horses after the stable area is completely shut down…Not allowing horses to continue training after Monday also shows a lack of concern for the safety and well-being of race-ready horses, who risk injuring themselves in their stalls if not allowed appropriate exercise.”
WHAT WAS THAT? They have nowhere to send their horses? – their beloved family members? SURELY these horses who they love like their own children will live on their farms, lovingly cared for, like one does for one’s horses that mean so much to them…right?
And they’re going to injure themselves in their STALLS?!? – the same stalls where they spend 23 hours a day?
Keep talkin’, you morons.
It all sounds very disturbing that they don’t care about the horses anyway whether they are racing or not.
Most likely, in my opinion, some of these horses will be sent to an auction to be sold to the highest bidder which will 9 chances out 10 be a killbuyer. Some of the killbuyers do direct ship to Mexico or Canada. Some of the horses could stand around in a feedlot for awhile and be exposed to Strangyles (spelling?) and every other bacterial infection and disease known to horses. Sad. 😢
Yeah, right, they love their horses so much as if they were “like their own children” that they throw them away or discard them at the drop of a hat as soon as they cannot suck anymore life out of the horses than they already have sucked. Or, they just plain kill the horses by sadistic and barbaric cruelty and torture which, of course, includes the illegal doping and drugging.