From the Glenwood Park at Middleburg (“Virginia’s Oldest Steeplechase, Est. 1921”) website: “The Middleburg Spring Races have become the quintessential event to welcome spring to Virginia, synonymous with the blooming of the daffodils and dogwoods. Surrounded by Virginia’s famous hunt country, the tradition continues.”
Ah yes, the tradition of abusing animals for fun. In this year’s edition, held on June 13, 28 – yes, 28 – horses did not finish, including at least one who was “vanned off” and four others who merely “fell.” In addition, a horse, Royal Drumlee, who did finish “pulled up lame after the wire and [was] vanned off.”
And of course, what “quintessential event” would be complete without death? In the Stewards’ Report from the National Steeplechase Association, we learn that one of the “DNFs” “collapsed and died on his way from the race course to his stable tent.” It appears that the deceased, 6-year-old Last Shani, suffered a “ruptured aorta.”
Good, clean family entertainment.
The “defect” being that stupid, cruel people are using horses in a cold, cruel, callous way and being totally indifferent to the horses’ needs.
I’m disgusted to be a member of the human species.
Only humans can be so cruel to other living species.
No animal is sparred from the cruel and inhumane treatment while humans explolit, intentionally harm them and then dump them in horrific shape with no remorse whatsoever.
The Kill Pens.
My heart aches – there are so many, every single week coming in, lots of racehorses, and most all horses who end up there are in horrific condition, walking skeletons from months of no groceries and racing plates on that haven’t been changed in months literally crippling them.
To the horse racing business: do you think you can spend $20 to remove your racehorse’s plates before you dump them?
Or, how about giving them the vet treatment that they so desperately need after you’ve exploited them?
This is the crux of the horse racing business – exploit and dump.
I must make mention of the Amish, who perpetrate egrecious cruelty on draft horses.
They are cruel – plain and simple, very cruel.
These draft horses end up at the kill auctions all beaten up with permanent scars from wearing their harness all day long, plowing their fields, some with actual beating marks forced to pull heavy loads, in the hot sun for hours and then forced to go miles to the local grocery store.
They come in all crippled up, dumped by the Amish when they can no longer fulfill their cruelty menu.
It goes on and on, but since this site is about racehorses very few get saved from the kill pens.
Very few.
It’s getting worse as our country is in the middle of a catastrophe, people with no jobs, no income, and the first thing that goes is the horse.
You can always tell the horses that come in from a family that took care of them and cared for them, tried to sell them, couldn’t, and just can no longer feed them.
The quality of these horses are increasing every day at the kill pens – it’s getting worse.
One manager at the kill pen told me that she’s never seen such high quality horses end up here.
It’s sad, very sad, but completely preventable if 1. end the horse racing and quarter horse racing business because they account for well over 50% of horses that end up at kill pens. 2. stupid backyard breeders should stop breeding horses when there are so many unwanted ones
The unwanted horse standing at the kill pen, in despair, with one last shot of getting saved, is not the horse’s fault.
No, this is a people problem, a human problem as most problems on this planet.
Again, I’m disgusted to be a member of the human species.
Gina, as you might have known, the Amish are some of the worst offenders in keeping dogs in cages stacked inside their barns. From what I have read, the United States Department of Agriculture knows about these Amish puppy mills. It’s unacceptable cruelty to dogs and puppies.
As far as more racehorses in the kill pens, that would have to be in certain areas more so than others. In areas where there is no racing or racing limited to county fairs, since certain race tracks such as Playfair in Spokane, Washington and Les Bois Park in Idaho have been closed, there are fewer people in certain areas that are breeding Thoroughbreds or Quarter Horses for racing.
As long as this vile business exists there will always be an unwanted racehorse mess whatever geographical area it’s in.
For Standardbreds, Amish is a euphemism for slaughter. Horrible people.
Barbaric Steeplechase
Barbaric human beings.
This right here..barbaric human beings,says it ALL. Perfect,dead on response!!!!!!! It makes me want to vomit on them (so called,’human beings’).