The 6th race at Saratoga this afternoon was 2-year-old Butter Lou’s debut – and he won! How very exciting, huh? Just one little problem: he also died. Butter Lou, according to the chart, “was injured on the gallop-out and vanned off,” whereupon, I can confirm, he was euthanized.
Saratoga averages 15 dead horses a summer; with several weeks to go, the toll stands at six. (A seventh, the pony horse Trucking Baron, died on track grounds on June 29, but we’ll just go with the ones who were still active when they met their ends.)
Mister Bobby, May 13, training – “collapsed and died”
Strong Moment, Jul 16, racing – “catastrophic injury…euthanized on the course”
Pleasure Luck, Jul 18, racing (euthanized Jul 19) – “took a bad step”
Fattoria, Jul 19, training – “pelvic injury necessitating euthanasia”
Fiya, Jul 31, training – “injury to RH leg…euthanized”
Butter Lou, Aug 5, racing – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Heartfelt condolences to the NYRA: Now y’all have to spend several inconvenient hours pretending this didn’t happen. If only poor Butter Lou hadn’t WON while he was literally raced to death, you’d all have an easier time of it. So easy, in fact, you could avoid mention of his short existence (and horrifying, tortuous end) altogether, like you do with all your other kills.
But, alas, he won. Now you’d better send out your marketing team (your entire organization) to avoid having to acknowledge the results of his abuse. You know, delete public comments, fail to answer queries, and just generally behave as if nothing sickening and disgusting happened today at your beloved Saratoga.
Better get to it!
At the very least ,the trainer and owner should donate the DEAD baby’s money ,that the baby colt lost his life for ,to horse charities. At the very LEAST. It’s blood money, give it to innocent horses who did not ask to be involved in this slaughter.
As an ethical, as opposed to “sell out”, racetrack equine vet, explained to the New York State Senate hearing in 2019, horses shouldn’t even be mounted till age 5 or 6. Due to not having the necessarily mature and completed musculoskeletal development. Here we have equine species child abuse. No kidding. That’s what it is. Monsters abuse kittens and puppies; racing owners and trainer monsters abuse colts and fillies. Same difference. All need prison. (This is going to anger those in the industry who read it. But they need punishment.) I would like to say rehabilitation, but they are hardened and beyond repair.
I agree with you 100 per cent, Martha.
When the spokesperson for the NYRA says that their racetracks are “less deadly” they are admitting guilt that their racetracks are deadly. Whether or not they are less deadly, more deadly or equally deadly might be somewhat debatable. The fact that the NYRA racetracks are deadly is not debatable — it’s a given. They know it and we know it!
They definitely need to be behind bars for a long, long time! The incorrigible are not rehabilitatable.
Less deadly – there’s an oxymoron from these morons.
What these trainers and owners do is NOT an honorable living. Like Martha said…. it is infant/baby abuse.
Right, Bonnie, and the whole racing industry that sets up the Futurity races for two-year-olds and the Derby races for three-year-olds are guilty as sin itself.
I heard Warner Bros. pictures is in production of a horse racing movie,a young hot shot horse trainer comes up with an idea to get in good favor with the local wannabes.Coming up with a horse, a two year old who never started before,of obscure breeding and even less impressive workouts.The works would be equivalent to a very slow rehab walk on a treadmill after knee surgery.No Breeding to speak of,slow works,attracts the “TOP JOCKEY” at the worlds most premier race meet “SARATOGA” the horse outruns a horse trained by the worlds premier two year old trainer of grass horses. His horse is already proven to run very well,but some how gets beat by a full length by the wannabes horse.The horse in question was 8-1 morning line opened up in the betting 4-1 half under his morning line. He took a ton of money! To assure the win, the trainer decides to put everything,including the kitchen sink into his horses veins.The Title of the Film is to be “ WON and DONE”. RIP Lou.
Saratoga, has been on the decline for quite some time. The level and quality of racing in ny has been going down down down. So, Sophie…I think they might want to rethink that dumb idea. Hey, I just want to know who set that fire that killed horses-let alone some supposed possible idea of a dumbass movie. Give me a break 🙄.
I’ll give you a break,when you take a break from your repetitive non-sensical comments.As to “ Who set the fire at Belmont”? Why don’t you just ask,you can ask NYRA,ask their top notch security,(Juan Dominguez) ask the stewards,ask the fire Marshall you can even ask the fckin FBI. Then hold your breath.
Sophie, I was not criticizing you. I was criticizing some of the disgusting people in this gambling racket. It’s bad enough they don’t WORK a real job,you know like one that BENEFITS society. I was in no way criticizing you…you were telling us about what you had heard. AND, I don’t want these lazy slugs making anymore ill gotten BLOOD MONEY. By the way, I have appreciated your contributions to this cause.
Bonnie, I was trying to make a point.There is no movie from Warner Bros. Or anyone else.I was simply suggesting a possible scenario of what had taken place amongst the players involved.In my opinion this was a betting coup which probably raked in thousands for the connections involved.The betting on this Butter Lou was a little suspicious in my opinion. The pieces to this puzzle just did not fit. 1) His low odds 2) low odds with a very heavy bet opponent. 2) Top Jockey at the meet 3) first .time starter 4) extrodinary slow work outs. 4) Wins like a stake horse 5) He beats a Wesley Ward horse whose odds were 3/5. 6) breaks down.7) Perhaps pushed past his natural abilities ( possibly PED abuse ) here is a case that the FBI should have been involved with and investigating. This horse in my opinion was manipulated by its human connections without regard to the safety or welfare of the horse.”Won and Done” But not before they cashed in on Baby Butter Lou. Bonnie-Apology Accepted.I got a little sensitive.
Sophie, Thank you for sharing this information about BUTTER LOU and the corruption connected to his life and death. I don’t follow the betting odds on racehorses, so your insight is much appreciated. It does sound like a possible script for a movie, even though this whole game of abusing and killing horses (for profit) is horrendously disturbing and morally depraved. I believe drugs were most definitely administered to BUTTER LOU and it most certainly demands an investigation by the FBI.
Wanda,I’m am definitely not saying this took place.Only that it is more probable than not,that these events occurred.The drug factor,if there was any used would be their insurance.Especially if someone is betting thousands of dollars.My guess is a large bet was placed offshore hence the early opening odds being so low.The horse continued to take money throughout the betting.Hey congratulations to the connections,ripping off the betting public while making tens of thousands of dollars and being lucky enough that Butter Lou had not broke down before the finish line,where all of their money bet would have been gone.Close call for the bad guys and the cheaters.
Sophie, I understand that your suspicions of a betting coup are not proven although it sounds logical enough that the FBI should be conducting some type of investigation. Maybe they are, who knows for sure. I believe that if there was a list of trainers of racehorses that don’t administer illegal drugs to the horses they are paid to make win races, it would be a very, very short list. I think the illegal milkshake race injection is standard for all racehorses that are winning at all and most likely to horses that are not winning as well. There are multiple drugs both legal and illegal, adulterated and unadulterated, that are standard for pain-killing and performance enhancing in this gambling business of exploiting horses.
Thank you for explaining the facts of this very fishy demise. I agree with you on the facts leading up to his very first race. One of the RARE times I ever bet on a horse was when I had a dream Keen Ice beat American Pharoah. Of course that was many years ago. Sadly, for quite some time NY seems like it has been the state that kills the most! Therefore, I feel A LOT of scrutiny should be placed on NY.
When will who ever is responsible for these horses welfare be held accountable.
BUTTER LOU – a baby got killed there and Saratoga facilitated it.
However, all the racehorses are one step away from dying and they know it.
TWISTED TOM (TT) a 7 y.o gelding who was a multiple stakes winner in his younger years only set him up for the inhumane treatment that followed and is STILL in play at Saratoga.
TT won over $923,000 and that isn’t enough for these parasites to give him a safe retirement.
He was knocked down into the claiming ranks where he has been claimed so many times including the infamous Python Pat (Patricia Farro) had a go at him and it’s a miracle he made it out of her barn alive.
Then the abuser was Bruce Levine, a multiple racehorse killer, who ran him on July 30th where he finished last by some 20 lengths where he was claimed yet again by Merfkhan Kantamachi.
No money is EVER enough for these racehorses to get their well-deserved retirement.
TT is on borrowed time and he could die any day now and this business is solely responsible for his demise.
If these poor horses don’t shatter on the track, their reward for a lifetime of making money for their unscrupulous connections is the slaughterhouse. It’s beyond disgusting how these horses are shuffled from barn to barn, raced even though they continually finish dozens of lengths back, and then are simply disposed of in the most horrendous manner. The fact that any of these apologist can dare to suggest that race horses are loved makes me furious.
They love the money that they can make from exploiting the horses.
Holy Ignorant Brain Dead Stupidity….just saw on twitter,some brain dead moron said it was so sad about BUTTER LOU, but they love running. Holy ignorant Bullshit !!!!!!!!!!! Are these losers for real? I can’t even…
They might as well say that the horses love being whipped and forced to gallop faster than they ever would otherwise. As if nobody knows that horses have been shocked with buzzers either. There might be some people out there that are not aware of that fact, but that’s no excuse for brain-dead ignorance of all the horrible things that are visible without undercover videos; the whips, the chains, the bits, the tongue ties, the illegal milkshake race injection drugs, other performance enhancing drugs, and all the devices of torture and abuse. Yeah, they might as well say the horses like being tortured and forced to run on a racetrack.
Separated from their mothers and locked up in stalls so they can’t enjoy a life that horses being of a gregarious nature would normally have if they weren’t being tortured by racing and Pari-Mutuel gambling creeps is every racehorses nightmare come to reality. But, in racing creep terminology, they say that the horses love it. The racing creeps are sociopathic and sadistic people who should be locked up away from everyone else and everything that they do to torture and kill horses.
I saw the race and the end…the moron announcer said that the jockey “lost his irons” and nothing more. Maggie Wolfendale added that he was safely loaded in the horse ambulance and returned to his trainer’s barn…”for evaluation”. In the meantime, the moron offered his congratulations to the “connections” and mused as to the impact that the horses’ win would have on the Pick 5. After that, no more mention of Butter Lou and his fate.
I’m surprised they gave him that much attention and thought. Usually the horse is forgotten before he finishes hitting the dirt. There must have been potential money involved.
I saw the race also and this poor horse barely stayed upright when he broke down, and as he hobbled on 3 legs. To think they then made him walk into the ambulance. I saw on twitter he was booted, but still.
I heard the audio of this Death….Greg Wolf immediately said OH,that does not look good—you could instantly hear the panic in little Paul Loduca’s voice…he goes no no no he’s alright. As if little Paul knew..we (ny) can’t keep being the worst,biggest killer of horses.You could HEAR the panic in Loduca’s voice. Do you have no shame? ny—you better quit being the WORST Killers.The scumbags of ny must stop killing. And, clean up the corruption of ny. Yeah, like that’ll ever happen 🤣. And no chin todd pletcher gets honored today,one of the worst killers,if not THE worst,of all time.
If you can’t be the best of the best, be the best of the worst, right, Todd?
Horse racing must be abolished. This is another case of the horse dying as a result of cruelty and abuse.