Gideon Seelster is dead after being injured in the 3rd at Monticello last Thursday. He was five. Two days later, Unrighteous “collapsed and died” while training at Saratoga – “collapsed and died,” that is, at three. As to the latter, just a few months back the New York Racing Association announced the following on its website:
“The safety and welfare of horses and jockeys competing at NYRA tracks is our highest priority. NYRA is committed to providing the safest possible environment for racing and training by adopting and implementing the best proven safety practices in consultation with independent experts, veterinarians, horsemen and regulators.”
To date, 37 horses have been killed at Belmont, 19 at Saratoga. Add to that the 3 at Aqueduct and NYRA can now boast 59 dead at its tracks this year. 59. “Safety and welfare is our highest priority”; “committed to the safest possible environment”; “best proven safety practices.” It’s more than disingenuous, folks; it’s obscene.
Todd Pletcher strikes again
How many more can he kill
Not only Pletcher, but if you look at the NYRA breakdown database, you see many repeat offenders. These are the people that the racing community looks up to!
There are numerous dead horses for Chad Brown, the Engelharts, John Kimmel, William Mott, Gary Sciacca, and the list goes on.
NYRA brags about safety reforms and the safety of horse and rider being a priority, and yet here are these repeat horse abusers cranking out death after death, and they don’t even question why, it’s just OK with them because they are the famous ones that bring in the betting money, after all. All lies
Who would believe anything this industry says when it comes to protecting their way of making a living? The injured and dead horses are proof that racing is not safe. Their way of making a living is using horses as gambling chips for the wagering handle and creating a false front to hide behind to deceive the unsuspecting public.
The so-called regulators’ job is to hide as many dead horses from the public as it possibly can. Frankly, I don’t even know why the NYRA still bothers with its “mandatory” dead racehorse reporting requirements. Why aren’t New York tracks taking full advantage of the loopholes in this farce of a policy, just like California tracks are actively doing right now?
It’s easy: just take a mangled TB (or QH, in the case of Los Alamitos, the reigning kings of Cali horse killing at the moment), haul “it” as far off track property as you can manage, THEN have “it” put down — humanely or otherwise, as the poor animal will already have been forced to suffer immensely on the journey away from his/her “loving home” — and…Ta da! No death on a CHRB-sanctioned track or training facility. No need to report it! Genius, right? None of that pesky paperwork to fill out. No more nosy (read, non-racing press) reporters demanding answers for all the horses killed by racing. No more public outcry, because, hey, what the public doesn’t know can’t distress us, right? Everybody wins. Especially the CHRB, who can proudly point to their new “transparency” system, and say, “Look! We cut the racehorse fatality problem IN HALF. Overnight! Aren’t we terrific?”
I highly recommend all tracks, in all racing jurisdictions, make full use of this process. Sure, it’ll cause more horse suffering. But, when has that ever been factored into their business decisions? We’re talking about SAVING their whole industry, after all. Sometimes you have to do the right thing to keep your dreams alive;(
Reblogged this on Armory of the Revolution.
Safe for everyone except the horses!
Sick:just plain sick! Animals lives are NOT for explotation!! Greed is what is what is comes down to. Explotation any form is criminal! Can anyone ASK a horse or any animal ” Do you want to race?” Is that your life long ambition?? Do you want to be a fighting dog to the death?? Is that your DESIRE?? Do you want your F%$$ring head mounted on a wall?? Mayb you want to be skinned and eatten???? Humans WILL destroy our beautiful world and wild kingdom for GREED of ALL forms! I’m old will be gone soon but I have grandchildren: what will we leave them!? WAKE UP PEOPLE ABUSE OF ANY ANIMAL IS WRONG!!!!! THEY ARE ALIVE!!!!