Former congressman Tom Rooney has been tabbed to succeed Alex Waldrop as the head of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. (Waldrop, you might remember, infamously admitted to USA Today that multiple thousands of his industry’s beloved “athletes” are being bled-out and butchered every year.) Rooney, no surprise, is desperately trying to put a positive spin on all things racing. In an interview with Thoroughbred Racing Commentary, in addition to touting the ratings for a single race (the Derby) among thousands run each year, he fondly recounts his trips to bustling Saratoga and Keeneland this summer/fall, as if those two tracks are somehow representative of American horseracing. They’re not. It was his answer to the final question – “If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?” – however, that was most revealing, and, in my estimation, damning:
“Racing has gone through huge changes in safety and welfare over the last decade and now we have HISA on top of all the advancements. We need to keep up the progress in these areas and we need to reassure the public and government leaders that we’re doing everything we can to protect the athletes.”
Imagine. Only over the past decade – a blip on this industry’s century-plus history – has Racing gotten serious about “safety” and “welfare,” and “protecting [its] athletes.” Never mind that the kill numbers haven’t changed in any significant way. Our lists are proof of that. This newfound emphasis is simply a function of exposure (us, primarily) and the bad press that that has engendered; it has nothing at all to do with concern for the horses. These people are as transparent as they are shameless.
(One of our longtime readers/supporters, Carolyn McDonald, has already left a comment on TRC; please consider doing the same.)
You are dead-on correct Patrick. ONLY because they got CAUGHT. I would like for all the greed driven animal abusers in horse racing to be held in a prison together somewhere and watch that baby girl EIGHT BELLES snap off both front legs after being whipped to cross the finish line in the asshole Kentucky Derby, and play it on a constant loop for them to be forced to watch,for a very long time. I mean loooooooong time. I hate these greedy scumbags ….they NEED to be locked away. For good. Society doesn’t need sinful, EVIL, greed. We already know they are ALL guilty of SLOTH!!!!!
It’s very disturbing to say, or suggest, that “Racing” has gotten serious about safety, welfare and/or protecting the horses (as athletes) because the psychopaths of horse racing are NOT serious about the safety, welfare or protection of racehorses. The psychopaths of the horseracing industry are only interested in how much cheating and lying they can get away with to continue doing what they have always done. They worship “the almighty dollar” as their “god” and if that means lying and pretending to care about the safety of horses in order to get the support of the general public and the politicians, that would be in keeping with the MODUS OPERANDI of these filthy, lying cheaters who exploit horses. One case in point is MAJOR CABBIE. Did the extremely expensive whiz-bang X-RAY MACHINE at Santa Anita Park save MAJOR CABBIE from being raced to a catastrophic, life-ending breakdown??? NO!!!!!
The only way to make horseracing “safe” is to end it altogether!
“They Only Care About The Killing Because They’ve Been Caught” – yes and they LIE about how much their equine slaves “mean to them” (“they’re like our FAMILY, our CHILDREN”) until the truth comes out…
Racing supporter Laura Hillenbrand gave trainer Wayne Potts a platform when his money-maker American Sailor was killed in a barn fire. Below, Potts’ “achingly beautiful eulogy to American Sailor” that Hillenbrand shared on her FB page along with a photo of Potts hugging the sweat-drenched horse after a stakes race win;
“I am heartbroken to say that American Sailor [was] unable to be saved and perished [in the fire]. American Sailor was a part of my family and took my operation to a new level. This was a horse that owed me absolutely nothing…[he] took me places in my career that I had only ever dreamed of going. He was one of the sweetest horses to be around in the stall, but when he stepped foot on the track-he was nothing but business. He was family.”
Have you heard something nearly exact before? – how about the following from the January 8, 2020 Paulick Report;
“With deep regret, I am sorry to notify you that X Y Jet died this morning as a result of a heart attack. X Y Jet was more than a horse on my trained [sic] list, it was the one that took us through a wonderful and exciting roller coaster of emotions. Beyond the racetracks, X Y Jet becomes part of my family, was like the older brother of my children…since his arrival at my stable at the end of 2014, I immediately felt that connection with him, which remained until today and will surely remain with me until the day of my departure. I owe X Y Jet so much…I do not say goodbye to a horse, I say goodbye to a friend that I will carry forever in my heart.”
Of course, as you all know, that was Jorge Navarro’s eulogy, if you will, for the horse – “his children’s older brother” – that he, well I will just use HIS words…”I gave [the adulterated and misbranded performance-enhancing drugs] to [X Y Jet] through 50 injections. I gave it to him through the mouth.” (Bloodhorse, March 9, 2020)
Thank you, Joy. Who does not refer to their most beloved family member as an “it” by the way? Who does not dope their “child” with illegal drugs to the point of causing death to that “family member” as a matter of showing their “love”? How completely ridiculous and what nauseating garbage comes out of these filthy liars’ mouths!
Exactly, Wanda. Nearly as nauseating are those who give these abusers a podium and microphone with which to spew their lies.
You said it, Patrick — so much evidence has been collected showing the depraved indifference and sadistic cruelty to Horses on so many levels —— the apologists continue intentionally to be blind and ignorant – SHUT DOWN the evil HORSERACING industry – FOREVER.