Through a FOIA request to the California Horse Racing Board, I have obtained the following details on 2020 kills. (The Board redacted the names but, paradoxically, these horses have already been identified on the Board’s public database.)
Tikkun Olam, Jan 19, Santa Anita T – “head-on collision: traumatic spine fracture with complete transection of cord; ruptured vein”
Is It Over, Jan 21, Los Alamitos S – “colic of 24 hours duration”
Cowboy Coffee, Jan 23, San Luis Rey S – “colic – unrelenting pain for two days”
also: “chronic gastric ulceration”
The Cullinan Dream, Mar 31, Los Alamitos S – “four-day diarrhea prior to death”
La Dorada Czech, Apr 15, Los Alamitos S – “endotoxemia and/or septicemia”
Shes Our Dasher, Apr 16, Los Alamitos T – “catastrophic breakdown with phalanx protruding through the skin; [multiple] ruptures”
Isla’s Toy, Apr 17, Los Alamitos R – “[multiple] fractures and ruptures”
Last Renegade, Apr 24, Santa Anita T – “hit rail, fractured pelvis, hemorrhagic shock”
Rowboat Romeo, May 9, Los Alamitos T – “catastrophic fracture; severe hemorrhage”
Conquest Sabre Cat, May 14, Golden Gate R – “catastrophic breakdown with multiple open fractures – horse was humanely destroyed on track”
also: “chronic gastric ulceration”
I’ll Dash for Gold, May 22, Golden Gate S – “spinal cord compression, severe ataxia”
unidentified, May 24, Los Alamitos T – “comminuted, complete, displaced fracture”
Young Dasher, Jun 23, Los Alamitos S – “severe pneumonia, two weeks duration”
Up and Ready, Jun 26, Los Alamitos S – “acute laminitis following castration”
Street Gambler, Jun 30, Golden Gate S – “complete hip fracture; hemorrhage”
All this is because the owners and so called trainers do not value the animals they own or are supposed to be caring for. 2 year old Street Gambler could not even bring $1000 at a yearling sale. Harris Farms bred him. Apparently this is an operation that believes in breeding quantity and flooding the market with colts that they themselves don’t want. If you don’t want it, why breed it? This has to change. Where getting another horse to torture is cheaper than taking care of the one you have. You wonder what kind of mother or father these people had. To not value a precious colt that you owned the mother and father and allowed scum like this trainer(I could mot locate his name) to destroy him. It really makes you wonder what kinds of individuals are allowed on the grounds of racetracks. Worse than homeless bums. No ethics or morality.
The ONLY thing that “needs to change” Mary?
Horse racing should be immediately SHUT DOWN – obliterated from planet Earth – gone – bye – gone forever.
That’s what needs to change.
These reports of horses bred and killed by the people of the racing industry are always disturbing!!!! They breed horses to be exploited for racing and “whatever happens, happens” seems to be the mentality as long as what? As long as someone made some money out of the callous use and abuse of a horse…?
How can someone who professes to be for animal welfare think that it is okay to race horses and use “softer, kinder” whips? It is such a morbid distortion. The people who want horseracing to “thrive” have to be very sadistic people!!!! If horseracing could be done in a way that doesn’t involve cruelty, torture, pain and suffering to the horses, it would have been done already. It isn’t possible to exploit horses for organized racing and gambling without having the horses suffer for it. #Endhorseracing
You took the words right out of my mouth…they can feel a fly land on them so yes people, the whips hurt! I also want to share first hand account of the way the babies are treated at farms. The word ‘farm’ brings to mind lush green grass, gentle environment and this couldn’t be further from the truth for many thoroughbreds. The babies are grabbed and man-handled to get their shots; grabbing their ears, pushing and pulling tails. As for the yearlings, if they don’t come to be caught, the frustration of unskilled, uncaring workers, use a method to trip the horses, using a rope, and bring them down ‘a notch’ I believe it’s teach them a lesson. Well the lesson taught is ‘don’t be caught by people.’ The farm manager looks the other way, the work has to be done so it is what it is. The time I heard a guy got fired for this behavior was because the owner found out and the abused yearling was worth $100k, so finally some justice. But the others, they have no chance. Then one day one of the unskilled riders will jump on their backs, bowing tendons during training or worse. Then off to the track to be locked in a box, ‘trained’ some more and then it is just a matter of time. I am not sure of the current statistics, but I believe only 6% of horses bred make it to win anything. And we know, even those winners end up in rescues or slaughter houses. It is a disgusting sport.
YES, Kathleen, it’s all bad,and all UNNATURAL , they are treated as commodities to be USED and ABUSED.
Ah, more good times with the California Horse Racing Board. They never see the sheer ineptitude of their own so-called regulation, do they? They redacted the dead horses’ names?! Most of these deaths were front-page/breaking news throughout California (and beyond, depending on which Death Track hosted them.) But, hey, let’s pretend a black sharpie can make all those hideous killings somehow disappear, shall we?
The CHRB has flubbed every single issue they’ve attempted to handle — from their secret meetings, to disciplinary meltdowns, to incessant non-action on issues like whipping and medication abuses, to the most outright disgusting, obsequious worship-fest bestowed upon freaking LOS ALAMITOS officials as they were (not) facing a shutdown for KILLING 31 HORSES! They’ve proven time and time again to be worse than ineffectual. Their very existence is destructive to horses (and to people, as well, since they deliberately bowed out of all tracks’ COVID-related protocols. And we all know how well that turned out.) They can’t even be bothered to keep their own website accurate or up-to-date! But they’re redacting horse names?
Somebody, please, tell me how all things racing could possibly get any worse for Cali horses if the whole agency just up and disappeared. I’ll wait.
Well said Kelly.
As a former Associate Steward on the CHRB and apologist I was even shocked at how they operate.
I attended countless meetings full of words and non-action on even the most minimal protections for racehorses.
For example, toe grabs.
All reputable vet studies proved that toe grabs contributed to lameness, and/or breakdowns.
I fought hard to BAN them, but because golden cheating boy, Bob Baffert, was a frequent user of toe grabs it couldn’t get passed!
It took years to make this change while racehorses were dying (the ones with the toe grabs) and it wasn’t for a total ban, but a modified version last time I checked.
Vet/treatment records to follow the horse which is a major contribution to saving lives, but not the CHRB. The doping, killing Trainers, their Owners and the Private vets fought hard to keep them secret.
You would think people who claim to care would be chomping at the bit to pass this as a mandatory requirement- not the CHRB!
Racehorse aftercare. We found out that millions in unclaimed wagering was sitting in an account whose time limit to claim was expiring.
So we attempted to send the money directly to California aftercare farms for financial support. Incidentally there were farms in desperate need of this money.
We then found out that then President of the Thoroughbred Owners and Trainers Association, Mike Pegram, long time Owner of Bob Baffert allegedly helped himself to the money.
We can’t confirm these allegations, but the horses were not even given aftercare money.
In fact, the contributions were so minuscule that 2 of the major racehorse aftercare farms had to shut down and the horses were dispersed.
So when I hear of them talking about “reforms” it’s one big pathetic lie and delusion that is just another excuse to keep their killing show going.
It’s time to do right by our Horses — The history of mankind is carried on the back of the Horse — All HORSES deserve to be respected and protected no matter who says what about their worth — END HORSE-RACING — FOREVER — SHUT DOWN this brutal, cruel, unconscionable racket PERMANENTLY.