Two days ago, I reported on the death of Dapper Dan at the Great Meadow (Virginia) steeplechase. The recently-released Stewards’ Report summed up the death thus:
“DAPPER DAN, ridden by Graham Watters, hit the stone wall and fell. THE HOLY ONE, ridden by Archie Macauley, went down on landing due to DAPPER DAN’s mishap. DAPPER DAN fractured his left front leg and was euthanized on the course.”
But then this stark admission: “The Steward’s Report’s Official Comment from the 2019 International Gold Cup [same track] bears repeating. It reads as follows: The safety of the stone wall jump on the Steeplethon course should be improved. One possible solution would be to replace the turf cap with a half round telephone pole bolted to the top and to dress the top stones to smooth their jagged edges.”
So that’s one “mishap,” perhaps, that could have been avoided. Vile. Horseracing.
And they DIED for what? What corny ass bullshit.
Amen
Ban the steeplechase course and the race completely and let the surviving horses run loose without riders in a pasture at a horse rescue sanctuary.
The top stones have jagged edges and they have not done anything to make it allegedly safer. It sounds barbaric and sadistic. It’s unacceptable to put horses’ lives at risk for something so non-essential. Even without COVID-19, steeplechase racing is non-essential.
It has seemed to me that who design these courses do them with no thought of the safe of the horse .
Well how about that, eh? they found jagged edges on the stone wall back in 2019. Didn’t notice when it was being built?
Steeplechase/hurdle racing is abhorrently cruel and must be outlawed globally.
Another jumps horse suffered a sickeningly cruel death in Victoria, Australia recently. Outlawed in my state of NSW.
Mishap or not, they shouldn’t have died that way.
What the hell is wrong with people????? I mean really,WTF. You know the longer you live…the more you realize that the majority of people are just greedy, no soul sacks of …. I would love to force people to try and jump their fat asses over a jagged wall. And then just be like…”oh well” 🤷🏼♀️ people in this ‘industry’ suck. Let them break their necks and snap legs off.
At least, the people from the Humane Society of the United States could step in and do something real to protect horses from this kind of pre-meditated, organized cruelty against horses. It’s obviously inhumane to force horses to do something that eventually causes hideous injuries, pain and suffering, and death. Humans have a moral responsibility to keep domesticated animals as safe as possible!!!! Of course, we know that so-called animal protection organizations aren’t really doing the job as long as these barbaric traditions are allowed to happen unchecked.
Bar Cat, a horse who clipped heels and fell during a race on 6/27, raced again today finishing 4th of 6. I can only imagine how sore this poor horse can be. I know the trainer. He’s not the kind that would say he love his horses like family. And it shows. Most of the people I encountered are like him.
Peggy, that reminds me a few yrs. ago at gulfstream Park there was one of those pile up accidents where horses bodies were flying in the air, a pretty little filly named CARDSPUN took the worst of it but survived, her trainer had her in another race not long after. I think he wanted her to die, because she had no success at all in any of her races.She was one of those claimers that they just race to death to fill a card. Most people in this ‘industry’ have NO MORALS!!!!!!
Barry Mackaben,
It is somewhat peculiar that you would take the repeated reports on horses being killed at racetracks around the country as a personal attack on you and your way of life. You seem to have no clue as to what experience that many of the people have who comment on the killing of racehorses at racetracks. There are many beautiful horses that are treated inhumanely and that is a crying shame!!!! Maybe you could spend some of your money on the many horses that get dumped by people in the racing industry as do some of the people who have commented on Horseracing Wrongs. Barry, is your idea of what is good about horseracing selling them to killbuyers if they survive the racing and training tracks?
Happy Fourth of July to all supporters and staff at Horseracing Wrongs.
And to those who still celebrate the carnage and cruelty of this anti-sport, well, I say, enjoy your “freedom” to torture racehorses while you still can…
Because you won’t have long to do so in the U.S.A.!
Oh my god… I just looked up that mare Card Spun, she’s 11years old now had her last race in 2018 and now recently has been put back in training. SOMEBODY!!!! please save this dear mare-she’s ELEVEN years old. She raced like 70 times!!!!! I’m in shock…no words 😥
Wow, that’s beyond disgusting. But not surprising. Florida racing scum just doing what racing scum in every state always does: destroys young horses. And if the rare few who happen to survive the horror show accidentally make it into equine middle-age, well, might as well let the tracks finish them off in full view of the public. So noble, those kingly racing creeps.
CARD SPUN – the walking dead.
Just a matter of time before she gives out.
These parasites suck on their host, and keeps sucking the life out of them until there is no more left to give.
11 year old, 67 times under the whip, getting beaten, doped and confined.
Barry Mackaben – the parasite for this one.
Her last 7 starts finished last or near last by a combined 70+ lengths.
Watched some of the replays disgusting racehorse abuse playing out right before everybody’s eyes including the parasitic gamblers who support this vile business and their widespread carnage.
For parasites like Barry that’s not enough abuse and these parasites still claim to “love” them and treat them “royally,” what a bunch of delusional idotic outright liars.
Barry’s not the only parasite as horse racing is one big parasitic nest with stewards on racing commissions owning racehorses (refer to corruption charges in PA etc.) use the rules & regulations to condone the abuse.
These racehorses have less protection than a pit bull in a dog fighting ring.
It’s vile, unacceptable, disgusting blood bath disgrace.
Just looked up Card Spun`s record. This poor mare has gone through the devil & back! Wish we could rescue her from the abusive owner / trainer who also happens to have his name on the training center this poor mares last official workouts have been.The one race she had a DNF in read like a horror story of bad track surface where it looked like almost all the horses were stumbling or having to be steadied throughout that race.We agree all subsidies in & for the breeding of race horses should be eliminated! In our state a hub tax subsidizes the purses as well as used to subsidize the registration costs of thoroughbreds as well. Let the free market prevail & the public decide whether or not they support racing without other forms of gamboling propping up racing.Her owner / trainer seems to be typical of the many we have galloped horses for at their private farms / training centers.
CARD SPUN is an ELEVEN (11) year old MARE and still racing ??????
This is really bad.
And the racing administrators allow this ???????
According to Equibase, she is owned and trained by Barry Mackaben.
According to Equibase, she last raced in 2018.
Two years on this bloke is putting her into work again (three recent workouts that I could see).
Something like 67 race starts for about $56,000 in prize money ?
What on earth is going on here.
Red flag up on this poor girl for sure.
My God — these injuries are preventable, yet these beautiful Animals are ridden to a horrific end — Because this industry is ONLY — and only about money AND is innately depravedly CRUEL to the Horses from Day #1 — precisely why this industry MUST be SHUT DOWN — there is no respect, no love for the Horses — and, let’s admit, it MUST BE all about the Horses FIRST — this horrific DEATH — premature — all due to abuse & extremely hard work — TO END THESE unconscionably cruel DEATHS : NO MORE HORSE-RACING — SHUT DOWN this BRUTALLY VILE INDUSTRY — we MUST RESCUE these HORSES.