Oklahoma Kills: “Head Fracture,” “Cerebrum Hemorrhage,” “Extensive Gastric Rupture” – And More

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Through a FOIA request to the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills at that state’s tracks thus far this year:

Kuhl Cash, Mar 28, Remington R – “[multiple] fractures”

Thunder River, Mar 30, Will Rogers T – “humeral fracture” (being prepped for debut)

Spent It At Harrys, Mar 31, Will Rogers R – “fracture, [multiple] ruptures” (chart: “jumped the rail”)

Acting Sweet, Mar 31, Will Rogers R – “cervical fractures” (same race as above; must have happened in gate)

Deal the Lady In, Apr 1, Remington T – “head fracture” (being prepped for debut)

T C’s Image, Apr 19, Will Rogers S – “cerebrum hemorrhage” (four years old)

Classy Melody, May 3, Will Rogers R – “sesamoid fracture”

Jess Good Advice, May 8, Remington S – “extensive gastric rupture” (three years old)

One Hidden Feature, May 13, Remington R – “sesamoid fracture”

Pals Still Flyen, May 13, Remington R – “[multiple] fractures” (next race after above)

Missingsomeparts, May 14, Will Rogers T – “humeral fracture” (being prepped for debut)

Big O, May 21, Remington R – “[multiple] fractures”

Never Out Ofmy Heart, Jun 2, Fair Meadows T – “LF fracture” (being prepped for debut)

Fightin Girl, Jun 5, Fair Meadows R – “[multiple] fractures” (two years old)

Mr Bell N Wire, Jun 13, Fair Meadows R – “LF fracture” (two years old)

Boot Camp Brad, Jun 15, Fair Meadows R – “RF fracture”

Mover Shaker, Jun 20, Will Rogers T – “humeral fracture” (being prepped for debut)

Mr Black Gold, Jun 28, Fair Meadows R – “scapula fracture”

Lupes Valentine, Jul 3, Fair Meadows R – “fracture, rupture” (chart: “fell after wire”)

Catch This Star, Jul 12, Fair Meadows R – “[multiple] fractures, rupture”

Saint Levi, Jul 19, Fair Meadows R – “[multiple] fractures”

13 Comments

  1. HORSERACING is Animal Cruelty! Ban this HORROR SHOW! Horses deserve to be treated with patience, respect, kindness and TRUE horsemanship. This despicable industry is responsible for the horses being used and abused/brutalized as gambling chips/tools. This must be ended soon!

  2. It’s being reported by multiple outlets that Bernardini is dead at 18. Euthanized due to laminitis. I would think at that a stallion of his value would not have developed this disease.

    • Nancy, I don’t see how the value of a horse has anything to do with the horse getting laminitis. Unless you mean that you would think that the people responsibile for the horse’s care would take better care of the horse.

      • Wanda, that’s what I meant…I do not have the expertise others here do, but it is amazing that horses if they are well taken care of (anyones horse ) would not get alot of these ailments that should be preventable.

        • I’m not an expert on all things laminitis and/or founder, but I have personally known of two different Shetland ponies that foundered in their later years. Sometimes I think it can be something as simple as turning them out on a pasture with lush grass to graze on and “bam!” the next thing you know they are foundered. It sucks for sure!!!

          • I had an Arabian that was foundered when his former owners turned him out alone on 10 acres of springtime grass. Caring for a foundered horse has a whole different set of rules, but with PROPER CARE they can have long healthy lives.

            • The Shetland mare lived for I don’t remember how long after being foundered, but quite awhile. The Shetland gelding was a different story. I can’t remember all of the technical terms of the anatomy of the hoof now, but the inside of his hooves were separating from the outside of the hoof wall. There was raw flesh slightly visible at the coronet line. A tiny jag of bone was sticking out. My sister was keeping him on a pasture but it was not lush. The evening of the next day after I saw him like that, my sister informed me that he had died that morning. So it was less than 24 hours later, he died. At some point, there is no return to normalcy.

              • It does depend on how severe the founder is. I know ponies are notorious for foundering. Thankfully my horse had very minimal rotation of the coffin bone, and as long as I kept his feet trimmed like clockwork every 5-6 weeks he had no problems.

                • My dad started raising Shetland ponies, before 1952. So I grew up with them and we had no problems with founder/laminitis normally for decades. He rented a pasture of about 250 to roughly 300 Acres. We would keep them at wherever we lived for certain lengths of time and at some point turn them out on the large Acreage for certain periods of time. It was when the older mare was moved to a small pasture closer town where one of my older sisters lived that the foundering occurred. That was probably in the late 1960s. The gelding was on a pasture of approximately five or less Acres in about 1998 at my younger sister’s house and property. My dad shod horses as a sideline among other things, in the 1960s and part of the 1970s. He made a living working at the lumber mill. So I did see some horses that had been foundered but none of them were racehorses.

    • Laminitis can be brought on by a number of factors, including reactions to medications. I’m sure many of these stallions are continued on drugs during their breeding careers. It does seem like this happens disproportionately with Thoroughbred stallions, just like colic, laminitis, “sudden death”, broken necks, pelvises, spines, and legs, and nasal hemorrhages happen disproportionately to Thoroughbreds compared to the other equine venues.
      To be honest the only horse I know of in Show Jumping that died during competition was Hickstead – a heart attack at age 18, and up until then he was still successfully competing.

      • Rebecca, that whole video was so sad when Hickstead collapsed. There was a big discussion about whether the horse helped protect the rider when he fell. I was on the yes he did side and will believe that forever. Just another reason how incredible they are

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