Last week, I posted a video of 13-year-old Hes too Icy for Me taking a bad fall at Turf. Apparently, he’s alive, but amid public outrage Arizona may soon consider lowering the maximum age at which a horse can be raced (currently, it’s 13). Anyhow, I came across this quote in BloodHorse from Turf GM Vince Francia: “I like to say I have, as a general manager, time in the day to go through the entries and check everything, but I don’t. My concern since this meet began in January is singular—getting us through this meet with this virus. Talk about losing sleep at night.”
Who has “time in the day” to keep track of abused horses? Not this GM. He’s too busy “losing sleep” – not over animal cruelty, mind you, but whether the cash will keep flowing. Ah, honesty.
Reblogged this on Armory of the Revolution.
These people are so callous!
Yeah, sure. Just lower the max racing age. That’ll guarantee nearly all of Turf Pairo’Deaths’ beloved racehorses get an even EARLIER one-way ticket across the Mexican border.
Stop racing horses of all ages.
Well, why WOULD he have time to check the expendable gambling chips that the racing industry to a one claims to “love like children”? Just because he can’t be bothered checking on their welfare doesn’t mean that “the safety of their equine athletes” isn’t a top priority. Cut him some slack, folks – he’s got a lot on his mind.
As if nobody else has a lot on their mind, but COVID-19 really is something to think about. It has made staying in business much more difficult and challenging for a lot of folks. Since when did anyone in horseracing care about whether or not a horse being used as a gambling chip was being abused anyway????Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses at racetracks in Arizona and any other state or country are routinely abused in some way, shape or form. So what is new?
Attracting more owners and trainers of horses to to be used as gambling chips/tools for an increase in wagering handle income in Arizona is most likely a major part of what is on the General Manager’s mind.