A “Catastrophic” Day on PA Tracks

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The outcome for the 3-year-old filly Victoria Belle yesterday at Parx: “VICTORIA BELLE suffered a catastrophic injury to her left front leg after a quarter mile, was eased and subsequently euthanized.”

Then, a few hours later at Parx’s sister track Penn National: “THE MINIT I SEE U made a four wide run on the turn, appeared to suffer a catastrophic injury to his right front in early stretch.” “Appeared,” huh?

Pennsylvania’s horseracing industry receives almost $250 million a year in corporate welfare – over $3 billion since the subsidies began in 2005. This constitutes a triple wrong: it’s an affront to our free-market system; it cheats schoolchildren out of desperately-needed education dollars; and most important to us here, it allows for the continued abuse and killing (see above) of intelligent, beautiful creatures.

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6 Comments

  1. When is the Corporate Welfare to the horse racing industry and the “Pennsylvania Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association” A K.A. THE GOLD-DIGGERS EXPLOITING AND ABUSING HORSES FOR GAMBLING BETS AND CORPORATE WELFARE RECIPIENTS ASSOCIATION going to be TERMINATED????

    • *GAMBLING BETS* = *WAGERING PROFITS*
      The PA HBPA required the WAGERING HANDLE revenue to be a certain minimum amount each night in order to keep the racetracks open and operational when there were fewer people making bets during the worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The minimum amount of WAGERING PROFITS was in the MILLIONS OF DOLLARS for each night (EACH NIGHT) of horse racing. I forgot the exact number but it was something like $10 million or $30 million, something like that. That is insanely greedy besides morally depraved; using living, breathing horses as gambling chips/TOOLS in order to get Millions of dollars in their pockets and bank accounts through the WAGERING HANDLE and CORPORATE WELFARE. This is NOT OKAY!!! It is NOT HORSEMANSHIP! IT IS ABUSE, MORALLY DEPRAVED ABUSE!!!!

  2. Any time horses are run at break neck speed there will be catastrophic injuries. This must all end. Stop the subsidies.

  3. I was under the impression that ALL days are catastrophic days for Parx, especially. Their corrupt so-called regulators are right there with ’em, sponging up that tax money for killing off their beloved athletes every single day. They’ve gotten away with it for so long — and are “rewarded” with full fields to kill off daily — that they believe that’s how racing is SUPPOSED to work.
    And, know what, Parx officials? You’re right! Congrats on your stellar reputation for being the scummiest, most corrupt, brutal and barbaric, fraudulent and prolific horse killers in a sick game comprised entirely of scummy, corrupt, brutal, barbaric fraudsters who happen to kill horses for fun and profit. That’s quite an achievement you’ve got there.

    • It’s not a Boone and Crockett Trophy in the bloodsport of killing wild game animals, but the Millions of Dollars in Corporate Welfare is more or less the equivalent in the bloodsport of running horses to their catastrophic life-ending breakdowns.

  4. God how I LOATHE this industry — every day another brutal INJURY along with another horrific DEATH — whose entertainment is this, anyway? — NOT MINE — using, exploiting, abusing, tormenting HORSES — the depraved indifference to them — the hate & disrespect of Horses — SHUT DOWN HORSERACING — FOREVER.

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