Through a FOIA request to the California Horse Racing Board, I have obtained the following information regarding racehorses killed at California tracks in 2019. Due to the volume, I will be posting incrementally.
unidentified 2-year-old, Sep 9, Los Alamitos S – “horse collapsed – ulcerative colitis”
unidentified 2-year-old, Sep 10, Los Alamitos S – “colic, acute renal failure”
unidentified 1-year-old, Oct 5, Los Alamitos S – “became violently [italics added] colicky”
Ky. Colonel, Oct 5, Santa Anita T – “collapsed – sudden death” (five years old)
unidentified 2-year-old, Oct 9, Los Alamitos S – “horse died [not euthanized] following a 9-day history of diarrhea”
unidentified 3-year-old, Oct 9, Los Alamitos S – “severe, chronic laminitis 2 months following small intestinal resection”
unidentified 3-year-old, Oct 14, Los Alamitos S – “neurologic disease”
I am hoping that the FBI could enforce the laws against extreme abuse and torture of animals including horses! I think it’s great that the FBI did an investigation and named 19 people involved in illegal doping of racehorses. I think that their job is very far from being finished!!! There are so many things wrong with horseracing on so many levels in so many ways that it definitely must be BANNED!!!! All of the horses listed above didn’t deserve the life of torture, abuse and neglect that caused their pain and suffering and eventually their agonizing death. It was a cruel fate for these horses to have been born into an existence of being used and exploited as slaves on racetracks. The horses were doomed. The breeders, owners, trainers, veterinarians, jockeys, grooms, racing secretaries other employees DO NOT care about the horses but only the money that these heartless heathens can make off of the horses’ suffering and pain and eventual death. Horseracing must be BANNED!!!!!
I really wish the FBI could wire tap many of these CA trainers. I have no doubt that we would see A LOT more indictments!
Diane, I know, right?! What about BOB BAFFERT getting away with an illegal doping violation with JUSTIFY (long before he ran in the Kentucky Derby) that was not enforced on purpose by the Stewards? So, it seems to me that The Stronach Group and the whole California Horse Racing Board and all of the veterinarians and regulators should be arrested and jailed for NOT PROTECTING HORSES. According to the legal document, which Kathleen Ryan shared with Horseracing Wrongs, it includes a specific line about “regulators” having a job to “protect horses” but that isn’t exactly how it is written ver batim. If horses were honestly being protected, the industry would not be allowed to train yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds or 4-year-olds for racing! The doping is another horrible and unacceptable part of racing but even the FBI did not protect the horses that have already been killed by greedy, barbaric, sadistic heartless heathens that want more money at the expense of the horses health or well-being.
Look at the ages. One year old!!!!! Two!!!!! etc. With those conditions? How could that not be extreme abuse?
Shut down racing forever!
It’s Animal abuse…pure and simple. The bastards in this psychotic Evil must be held ACCOUNTABLE.
I totally agree that these heartless heathens abusing horses NEED TO BE and MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!!!!!!!
Notice these deaths occurred following the so-called “disaster season” at the Santa Anita Death Track that drew nearly all the public ire toward Santa Anita itself, rather than horse racing as a whole. To confuse matters further, Del Mar had just run its super-safest-ever-of-all-time summer meet, in which the Cali racing world crowed about “ZERO” racing deaths, and boasted proudly, “See? Told you it can be done!” Never mind that they were getting set to have their bubble burst in the upcoming fall meet, in which THREE HORSES HAD FATAL BREAKDOWNS IN ONE DAY of their opening weekend “festivities.” They kind of shut up about their oh-so-effective safety measures after that bloodbath.
Of course, Los Al never admits to any equine injuries/deaths, ever, so it comes as no surprise that the trifecta of SoCal racehorse killings isn’t complete without the benefit of FoIA with Doc Allred and company.
And y’all notice Los Al has the “benefit” of still running in Orange County? They remain untouched by L.A. Health Dept. orders. That’s the only reason they can stubbornly insist on staying open through this COVID-19 pandemic. And it seems they will, at least until: 1. every backstretch worker is sick, or 2. every racehorse in OC is dead. Smart thinking, Cali racing creeps.
The gruesome cruel deaths of these defenceless voiceless horses continues unabated.
And those who have the power to intervene continue to do NOTHING!
Oh, and Tampa Bay Downs has already had THREE DNFs today: Two were van-offs and one “walked off under her own power.”
Must be tough to practice social distancing while trying to load mortally wounded animals to be hauled away to finish killing them off.
Stay classy, Florida;(
Kelly, do you happen to know who(dnf)?,as I’ve always said I’d rather hear about such things from you and Nancy…as opposed to the soulless people who “work” in this slaughter escapade.
Yeah, anybody can jump in here and check, but I counted:
1. Race 3: Don’s Marsh
2. Race 5: Bravely Bold
3. Race 7: Jophiel (walked off)
Thank you Kelly,I was very busy today, didn’t have chance to watch,or look up. I like you,wonder if a lot of owners are just gonna walk away from these poor souls-I have a bad feeling that is Exactly what is gonna happen (dumped). I’ve spotted some where the “owner” is now the trainer, looks like many will “cut and run”, this whole thing is going to be a MESS.
Exactly, Bonnie:
“CUT & RUN” has always been the mantra of the horse racing world. Now, it’s just more apparent to the public that this is how they operate. And because of COVID-19, most of them are doing their CUT & RUN right now, all at once. Saw a chart this morning that showed how drastically the claiming rate has dropped to near-zero in the past couple weeks, and it’s absolutely frightening.
It means horse racing folks can’t even rely on their traditional method of dumping their beloved family members anymore; nobody is claiming them.
Worst of all, their only buyer in the months ahead will be Mr. Meat Man:(
I don’t mind if these arrogant, abusive thugs co-mingle with each other, but they should be locked up for what they do to the horses and for contributing to the spread of COVID-19. They are putting other people including health care workers at higher risk of being exposed to the novel Coronavirus. Health care workers are already at greater risk for obvious reasons plus a shortage of PPE, Personal Protective Equipment. These greedy stupid morons in Tampa, Florida (as well as everywhere else) need to be held accountable!!!!!
But, but, but….I have been told, ad nauseum, that those involved in racing love the horses like “family” members. Anyone who believes that is either incredibly stupid, a liar, or delusional…perhaps a bit of all three!
Last October, a Danielle Lyons Montgomery posted the following on FB and I quote, “These horses are like our children. We love them, raise them and hopefully (make) them the best citizens they can be.” That nonsense is enough to make me want to gag. Montgomery has an “issue” with HW reporting the FACTS yet here we have a report from the CHRB documenting horrific deaths at California tracks. A yearling and two and three year olds losing their lives so that the scum in racing can bet and be entertained. Montgomery has ZERO credibility with her asinine comment. End of story!
[They] make them the “best citizens” they can be… Isn’t that special?! So, “best citizens” are abused, neglected, forced to live a life of slavery to these two-faced heartless heathens, made to suffer broken bones, ulcers, colic, diarrhea, illegal doping, other gastrointestinal afflictions that are horrendously painful, whipped, shocked, heart attacks, heat strokes, all kinds of abuse, that, if Child Protective Services were able to step in and do something to stop this horror show, these filthy slime balls would be in jail!!!! That isn’t even all of it! They exploit the horses literally to death. If their “best citizens” survive long enough, these arrogant, abusive horseracing thugs will dump their horses like trash and let them starve to death. Lock the abusers up!!!! Lock Danielle Lyons Montgomery up!!!!
This latest Kill List is heartbreaking like they all are.
These slime balls have got to be the lowest form of parasitic life.
These descriptions are so disturbing and reflect extreme pain and suffering on these poor racehorses.
They now insist on staying open during the biggest crisis facing humanity right now.
All they think about are themselves, their wagering coffers and purse money.
Total disregard for the racehorses and human beings dropping dead.
In fact, they are doing their part to spread this deadly virus.
During times like this the best and worst come out in people.
We always knew that horse racing and the people who defend it are morally bankrupt, but their decision to remain open, knowing the consequences, solidifies that they are the worst.
Pathetic and vile.
Just when you think they can’t get any worse, they surprise us again and again and AGAIN now killing yearlings too. If these criminals could race a foal right out of the womb they would! These kill lists are not only heart shattering but paint a perfect picture of this corrupt, fraudulent, criminal industry. To allow a 2 year old to suffer with diarrhea for 9 f**n days??
We all know how these excrements operate but to keep tracks open and allow them to conduct “business as usual” during the most difficult health crisis humanity has faced since the Spanish Flu…. politicians are equally guilty, equally corrupt and equally vile! Hopefully voters with a brain and/or heart will remember all of this come election time!
I just don’t understand why the trainers of all these horses are not aware of their illnesses, surely they would know about the laminitis! I know most animals can cover up their pain but it is up to the person who owns or trains them to know their animal well enough to realize when they are in pain! There is absolutely no excuse for these deaths!
Most all know and most all deliberately and maliciously, dope to mask, and send them out to risk their life.
These are common daily abusive business practices and most all necropies are proof that detail these actions.
Recent release of necropsy report from the CHRB concluded that most all racehorses who died had chronic, pre-existing conditions that finally gave out.
For example, what starts as inflammation, heat in the effected area, is most always treated with NSAID’s (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) then with the hard pounding of training and racing that inflammation gets worse and the never ending cycle of “dope and go” continues until the ankle snaps.
The track owners and CEO’s are well aware of this destructive cycle, but they only care about filling races and their wagering coffers with total disregard as to what’s going on despite their empty words that they “care about their racehorses.”
It’s the same way in in which they “love them like family members,” but dump them after they cripple them.
To solidify their vile business practices they fight hard to keep their doping/vet records private, away from public view, because they would reveal these dirty secrets that racehorses are suffering on a grand scale.
Given the evidence presented here than it should be clear to anybody with half a brain that all the reforms in the world won’t stop racehorses from dying.
The horse racing entities are cleaver as they talk about reforms, most of which are never implemented, to alleviate public concern.
Moreover, the few reforms that they actually do implement usually get watered-down when the public is no longer paying attention, and before you know it, it’s back to business as usual until their next rash of deaths raise an eyebrow.
This is a well predicted pattern played out by apologist for years.
Again, it should be clear that the only way to stop this widespread racehorse abuse and dying is to shut it down.
These parasites don’t know their animals – they just acknowledge there’s a horse standing in a stall that can make them money. If the potential for cash disappears, then so does the horse, suddenly breaking down catastrophically on the track or mysteriously found dead in the stall. Make no mistake – these human wastes are well aware of injuries and illness: they simply don’t care.
Acute colitis for over a week? A slab fracture held by a screw? A hoof that sloughed off? Yep, these came out of nowhere.
In my opinion 40% of these deadly issues occur to trainer ignorance or neglect ( not all ) another 40%
due to indirectly or directly administering illegal, or off label use of drugs,experimenting to get a PED effect . Even as early as one and two year olds, all to try to build that super horse.All to enhance their performance.Only problem is,many of these drugs used off label could lead to deadly side effects or cause a bad reaction,which can easily founder or colic a horse.
Kelly, I’ve picked up on the EXACT same thing…they can’t even give them away…this is gonna be a Fuckin catastrophe.