Los Alamitos, again the only track still running races in California, has struck – doubly – again. The CHRB reports deaths two and three there on the week (Chromie was the first). Wednesday, La Dorada Czech perished back in her stall – “gastrointestinal,” they’re calling it. She was two years old and was being prepped for her first race. Thursday, Shes Our Dasher was felled while training. She, too, was two and being prepped for her first race.
Even in these extraordinary times, with most of the world at a standstill, including all but a handful of American racetracks, this vile industry can’t help but kill horses. The list thus far in 2020 (remembering, of course, that my FOIA requests will not come until later; i.e., there are already many more dead than this):
Ruby Roundhouse, Jan 1, Los Alamitos S – “gastrointestinal”
Golden Birthday, Jan 1, Santa Anita R – “took a bad step” (broken leg)
Yorkiepoo Princess, Jan 3, Belmont S – “severe laminitis…euthanized in her stall”
Power Punch, Jan 3, Gulfstream R – “vanned off,” dead
Lrh Fast as Oak, Jan 4, Louisiana R – “fell, euthanized”
Perry Train, Jan 4, Louisiana R – “fell after wire, euthanized”
Elegant Sundown, Jan 5, Golden Gate R – “catastrophic injury…euthanized in the van”
Jest Famous, Jan 7, Los Alamitos S – “gastrointestinal”
Buckstopper Kit, Jan 7, Santa Anita S
X Y Jet, Jan 8, Palm Meadows (FL) T – “heart attack”
Secreto Primero, Jan 8, Turf R – “fractured sesamoids”
J Rob, Jan 9, Fair Grounds R – “vanned off after winner’s circle, [euthanized]”
Eyell Be Back, Jan 10, Los Alamitos R (euthanized Jan 12) – “carpus”
Big Shanty, Jan 11, Fair Grounds R – “appeared to go wrong”
Salambo, Jan 12, Gulfstream R – “went wrong…euthanized”
Indian Brew, Jan 13, Turf R – “fractured knee”
Jim’s Silverbullet, Jan 16, Fair Grounds R – “went wrong”
Take Charge Cece, Jan 17, Fair Grounds R – “appeared to go wrong”
Harliss, Jan 17, Santa Anita R – “fractured ankle”
Super Beauty, Jan 18, Golden Gate T – “gastrointestinal”
Uncontainable, Jan 18, Santa Anita R – “fractured ankle”
Katies Easy Moves, Jan 19, Los Alamitos R – “fetlock”
Tikkun Olam, Jan 19, Santa Anita T – “head-on collision”
Obligated to None, Jan 19, Turf R – “leg injured, euthanized”
Dark N Cloudy, Jan 20, Aqueduct R – “broke down…euthanized on track”
Jewel Can Disco, Jan 20, Belmont T – “sustained an injury while breezing…euthanized”
Is It Over, Jan 21, Los Alamitos S – “gastrointestinal”
Cowboy Coffee, Jan 23, San Luis Rey S – “gastrointestinal” (trained Jan 20)
A Freud of Mama, Jan 24, Belmont T (euthanized Feb 8) – “passed after complications”
Strong Performance, Jan 24, Gulfstream R – “fell while in distress…euthanized”
Quizzical Cajun, Jan 25, Aqueduct R – “catastrophic injury…euthanized on track”
Celtic Warrior, Jan 25, Turf R – “injured fetlock, euthanized”
Esterina, Jan 26, Laurel R – “pulled up lame…euthanized”
yet-to-be-named, Jan 30, Belmont T – “shaft fracture…euthanized on the track”
Spirogyra, Feb 2, Oaklawn R – “euthanized due to catastrophic injuries”
Data Hawk, Feb 7, Golden Gate S – “accident – skull”
Stay Again, Feb 7, Gulfstream R – “collapsed”
Birdies Honor, Feb 8, Laurel R – “collapsed”
Double Touch, Feb 8, Santa Anita T – “sudden death” (five years old)
Buddy Princess, Feb 9, Rillito R – “suffered a catastrophic injury”
Miss Romania, Feb 12, Santa Anita T – “fractured shoulder”
El Tristan, Feb 14, Fair Grounds R
Classic Covey, Feb 15, Fair Grounds R – “all the soft tissue structures came apart”
Major Flirt, Feb 15, Laurel R – “pulled up lame…euthanized”
Prs the Game Changer, Feb 15, Louisiana R – “stumbled start…euthanized”
Randy’s Boy, Feb 15, Rillito R
Taraz, Feb 17, Oaklawn T – “severely fractured her pastern”
Unveiled, Feb 20, Santa Anita T – “fractured shoulder”
Radio Tim, Feb 21, Los Alamitos R – “fractured fetlock”
Street Machine, Feb 21, Los Alamitos R – “fractured fetlock”
A Lonna At the Top, Feb 26, Golden Gate T – “sudden death”
Princess Rashelle, Feb 28, Charles Town R – “broke leg…euthanized on the track”
Fist of Rage, Feb 28, Fair Grounds R – “went wrong, fell”
Montauk Memories, Feb 29, Aqueduct R – “leg injury”
Thousand Oaks, Feb 29, Golden Gate S
Keck, Feb 29, Golden Gate T
Chosen Vessel, Feb 29, Santa Anita R – “fractured ankle”
Chickititas Favorite, Mar 8, Los Alamitos R
Krugerrand, Mar 9, Belmont S – “severe laminitis” (two years old)
Red River Chase, Mar 12, Fair Grounds R – “shattered leg”
Get Like Me, Mar 12, Golden Gate R – “went wrong”
Battalion Won, Mar 14, Golden Gate T
Starting Point, Mar 22, Belmont T – “sustained leg injury – euthanasia”
Flokie, Mar 29, Los Alamitos R
The Cullinan Dream, Mar 31, Los Alamitos S
Peter’s Project, Apr 1, Belmont S – “colic, worsened throughout day…euthanasia”
Royal Callan Rocks, Apr 2, Los Alamitos T
Smiling Ali, Apr 2, Santa Anita T – “probable cardiac event”
Enchanting Eva, Apr 4, Golden Gate T
Tizaprincessa, Apr 5, Tampa Bay R
Chromie, Apr 11, Los Alamitos R
La Dorada Czech, Apr 15, Los Alamitos S – “gastrointestinal”
M C Hamster, Apr 15, Santa Anita T – “fractured ankle”
Shes Our Dasher, Apr 16, Los Alamitos T
Thank-you Patrick for all your hard work and dedication to the racehorses.
Both your work, all the board members and supporters of HRW has been invaluable in our fight to end horse racing.
These are FACTS not delusional misinformation and outright lies claimed by the apologists.
This forum has given lots of latitude to those of us who know the truth and who continue to air our frustrations.
I’m grateful for this as it’s been a cathartic process for me as I’m sure others.
I view this as an education process to each other and to the others who read our site daily.
We are the voices of the racehorses.
The hell hole and killing pit called Los Alamitos needs to shut down now.
They have been killing racehorses and quarter-horses for years like all of the tracks.
To all of the above racehorses, and to those who died before you – I’m so sorry for all of you.
This is unacceptable, state-sanctioned and endorsed animal abuse, cruelty and killing.
It has got to go and it can’t come soon enough for the racehorses.
2 yr olds,in other words Infants!!! Who the F at this point can continue to defend this bullshit?
All these deaths reported as “gastrointestinal”, is that the California name for colic now?
And one poor horse, J Rob, made it to the winner’s circle at the Fair Grounds, then was vanned off and euthanized for what??
Classic Covey’s died or was euthanized at the Fair Grounds because “all the soft tissue came apart”??!!
And, of course, the classic “went wrong” and some “appeared to go wrong”….
At least 5 horses just dropped dead….
These deaths and the whole industry are an affront to human decency. No pocket of society should get away with such obscenity.
So, if all the killing of horses are going on, why are they culprits not captured and in jail for life?
Money.
There is WAY too much suspicious nonsense with these horses’ deaths. Aside from the brutality and cruelty of racing which has been documented so well in HRW, some of these incidents are downright incomprehensible, especially for horses as young as some of them.
Why is this shithole place still open at ALL??????????????????
Sent to Congress members via http://www.usa.gov:
When do see relief for America’s horses and competent enforcement at the tracks?
When do we see relief from the breeding sheds, the breed-to-kill industry which supports Mitch McConnell and the usual offenders?
When do we see Congress members stand up and call out the Blood Money Boys? Why not read the list of the innocent dead, too? They were 2 years old.
Imagine how many journalists would rush to share the information before the next election.
Voters are waiting. We are getting more impatient every day.
Its time for all these innocent, voiceless horses that this hell-hole race track was shut down PERMANENTLY. The ‘owners, trainers and jockeys’ do NOT give a damn about these horses, you know the horses that they profess to ‘love like family members’ All I can say, if they treat their horses like ‘family members’ how do they treat their real families when they’re ill or injured or can’t work now more……I expect they shove them in homes, dump them or even have them killed, just like the horses.!!!!
2 years old. No matter how often I hear it, it still sickens me! The one who died in the stall, you know it was probably due to not being allowed to naturally graze, to being forced to live in a stall for most of the day, and being fed on a rigid schedule. Horses systems were not designed to be fed like this, or to be confined like this. You’d think by now, owners and trainers would recognize this, that tracks would have access to pasture, that some sort of system would have been figured out, to let horses who aren’t on the track, to be allowed to graze, and to move about freely, and also, to socialize. Horses cost so much to buy and keep, in racing. You’d think that they would at least do this, to just protect an investment. Because thats what they think of racehorses as, nothing more than investments. I suppose all thes e owners and trainers told some reporter, that “this horse was like family.” Well, even with social distancing, and keeping inside the house, we have room to move around, to eat when we are hungry, to go out into the yard, to walk the dog down the street! These horses were nothing more than overworked before they were ready prisoners.
They keep them locked away in solitary, Karen, precisely because they are assets – can’t run the risk of having them be injured in a pasture or playing with other horses. To the racing people, these are not the intelligent, feeling, naturally autonomous beings we (and, of course, the scientists) see; rather, they are resources to be mined, things to be used, assets to be expended. It’s as simple as that.