Corporate sponsorship of the horseracing industry is, obviously, a critical component. The problem with corporations, as with the public at large, is that most are oblivious to racing’s horrors. To them, it’s but another sport at which to advertise their wares. So, it falls to us to educate – and pressure. Follows is a letter template. If so inclined, first identify specific sponsors of tracks you wish to protest, then feel free to use any or all. (Putting a personal touch is always recommended.) I would, of course, be happy to provide track- or state-specific death numbers. Thank you in advance. – Patrick
I am writing today in the hope that you might reconsider your sponsorship of the horseracing industry. For far too long, horseracing has been given cover under the banner of sport – indeed, “The Sport of Kings” – when in fact, stripped to its core, it is nothing but an archaic, highly subsidized (mostly non-self-sufficient) gambling business that exploits, abuses, and destroys sentient beings, inherently. In other words, it cannot be fixed or reformed; in other words, it is wrong from the start.
Since 2014, Horseracing Wrongs has documented over 9,000 American racehorse deaths; the group estimates that over 2,000 horses are dying at U.S. tracks every year. Cardiac arrest. Pulmonary hemorrhage. Blunt-force head trauma. Broken necks. Severed spines. Ruptured ligaments. Shattered legs. Over 2,000 – or about six a day. And when not dying at the track, they’re dying at the abattoir: Two independent studies indicate that most – multiple thousands annually – spent or simply no-longer-wanted racehorses are bled-out and butchered at “career’s” end.
But it’s more than just killing. Life for the typical racehorse is ugly and mean and cruel. Life for the typical racehorse is:
Forced Separation: Would-be racehorses are forever torn from their mothers as mere babies. Alone and terrified, their servitude begins.
Grinding of Unformed Bodies: Young racehorses are thrust into intensive training at 18 months, and raced at two – years before their bodies are fully developed. On the maturation chart, these equines are the rough equivalent of kindergartners.
Confinement and Isolation: Racehorses, innately social and herd-oriented, are kept locked – alone – in tiny 12×12 stalls for over 23 hours a day. Cruelty, defined.
Negation: Practically all the horse’s instincts and desires are thwarted, creating an emotional and mental suffering made clear by the stereotypies commonly seen in confined racehorses: cribbing, bobbing, weaving, pacing, kicking, even self-mutilation.
Control and Subjugation: Horseracing is lip tattoos, nose chains, lip chains, blinkers, tongue ties, cribbing collars, metal mouth bits, and, of course, whips.
Drugging and Doping: Racehorses are incessantly injected, legally and otherwise, with myriad performance-enhancing, injury-masking, and pain-numbing chemicals.
Commodification: By law, racehorses are literal chattel. They are ever being bought, sold, traded, and dumped – a stressful, tenuous existence that in and of itself causes pain. In fact, studies show that up to 90% of racehorses suffer from ulcers.
Sensibilities toward animal exploitation, most especially regarding entertainment, are rapidly evolving: Ringling closed, SeaWorld in decline, rodeo bans in multiple cities, dogracing all but dead. (In fact, dogracing has been outlawed – on moral grounds – in 41 states.) Indeed, public perception of horseracing is already changing. Most notably, in just the past year, two of the nation’s most influential papers – The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer – have called for racing’s outright end.
Racehorses, like all exploited animals, are truly voiceless; they need us, human beings, to speak for them. And nothing speaks louder or has more impact than corporate boycott. You and your corporation have the ability to extend kindness and mercy; please end your association with this cruel, deadly industry. Please, for the horses.
Thank you for your consideration.
Hey might you have a list for the Derby? I got stated and can’t find it now. Thank you for all you do and I am 💯 behind you!
Hi Kathleen! I will post a revised list here. There are many that are STEEPED in racing or industry-related sponsors and those should be skipped. But the beverage companies and other retail companies should definitely be targeted and we will do an action in the Facebook Action Group as well. You are in the group, but here is the link for others to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/887149342065006
Nicole, is there an Instagram link as well? I don’t have FB but I am on IG 0:) Thanks!!
Hi Andreea! Yes, we are on Instagram, too! The actions are harder for us to post on Instagram, but we will tag officials in the IG posts, too! Every bit helps! Thank you!
What will happen to all the horses when racing ends which i hope does. Will they all go to slaughter .
Laraine, racing will not end overnight, so there will not suddenly be thousands of horses without a place to go.
I might point out, that most “retired” racehorses are slaughtered all year, every year. That’s 10,000 – 15,000 a annually. . Racing is continuously disposing of their “beloved” horses into the slaughter pipeline.
Ending racing will not send more horses to slaughter.
I am absolutely on this!
Thank you, Christine!
What if we let those in charge on taking a venue and transforming it into a tourist attraction similiar to Ky Horse Park. Using Pennsylvania take Parx or Penn National, this would generate monies,taxes tourism,jobs,etc. Also the barns and buildings are still there and functional. This would save horses lives as they would be part of the attraction. Would Pennsylvania consider or NJ, NY, Virginia,etc.
A tourist attraction dedicated to the exploitation and abuse of horses? I don’t think so. The goal is to completely erase horse racing from anything but history, not keep it alive through attractions. It’s a vile part of society that should not be celebrated.
Rebecca. The KHP has very little to do with horseracing. There are museums and educational materials giving history of horses and their loyalty and labors in the past and present. Not a horseracing shrine at all and I would not have even suggested that kind of establishment. It is for horse lovers and learning how they figured into our lives
Apologies, it sounded like it would be built on the site and dedicated to racing.
Thankyou for your thoughts. Please if you get a chance look up Ky Horse Park and see the comments visitors make and the flavor of the place.
Hey Nancy, I am self aware enough to have always known..John Henry was MY spirit animal. I don’t suffer fools,and I have a prickly personality 😂. My tennis coach as a kid wrote me a letter once where he told me …I had a “mean streak”. Sound familiar? 😉 yup,like I said John Henry was my “spirit animal” I ❤️ John Henry,always will.
Bonnie, he used to bite everyone!! When it was time for the vet to give him a nasal medication he would lay up against the door so the guy couldn’t get in. (Cigar will always be my spirit
I would like to advise everybody that YUM YUM BRANDS are the main corporate sponsor of the Kentucky Derby and I think they could be for the Triple Crown events as well.
https://www.yum.com/wps/portal/yumbrands/Yumbrands
Good luck.
I’ve already emailed them, but somewhat doubtful that a company who supports the massive suffering and exploitation of chickens won’t care about racehorses either.
Nevertheless, it’s always good to let a business know how you feel.
They ended their sponsorship 4-5 years ago.
Here’s the list if anyone wants to start writing. https://www.kentuckyderby.com/uploads/wysiwyg/assets/uploads/Marketing_Partners_April_17_2021.pdf
Alan, thank you! This list is very helpful!
PLEASE BOYCOTT HORSE RACING! It’s seriously a ‘DYING INDUSTRY’ and I mean that both literally and figuratively! PLEASE!!!
TOTALLY agree Kate. It’s dying and it doesn’t even know it. They are Desperate.
Wanda, Thanks for caring. Fans will be in the stands soon. Please find and join a “picket line” at a racetrack near you. It is fun to see the guilt on their faces as they file in. Horse Racing Wrongs will even supply you with posters.
Warren
Oceanside, CA
Thank you for the shout-out, Warren and thank you for protesting and being a voice for the horses!
Warren, I don’t live near a racetrack. Emerald Downs in Auburn, WA is the “nearest” racetrack with actual live racing days. That’s over 250 miles away and I won’t be able to travel that far. The Budweiser logo appears on their website as one of their sponsors. I will consider writing the letter to Budweiser. Thank you for your efforts!!!
Thank you for sharing this letter, Patrick. My understanding is that horseracing has been in decline since 1986. It would be awesome if large corporations would stop sponsorship of this cruelty to horses!!!