Last week on U.S. flat tracks (racing only):
Dark Tricks “fell, DNF” at Charles Town
Ceeky “went wrong, vanned off” at Churchill
Amber Pass “vanned off” at Delta
Magic Butterfly “fell after wire” at Evangeline
Powerupjustice “vanned off” at Indiana
Myuddermamasapaint “vanned off” at Churchill
Prudent “vanned off” at Del Mar
Parolee “vanned off” at Hawthorne
Triple Happy “fell, DNF” at Remington
El Valiant Hero “vanned off” at Will Rogers
Zoomn On Bye “vanned off” at Will Rogers
Jack’s Ruca “vanned off” at Charles Town
Rough Entry “fell, DNF” at Churchill
Moms Corona “vanned off” at Evangeline
Master Plan “fell, DNF” at Montpelier
Flip the Script “vanned off” at Belmont
On the Muscle “vanned off” at Hawthorne
Hes Resilient “vanned off” at Will Rogers
Babygotherbluejeanon “vanned off” at Will Rogers
While not all the “vanned” end up dead, most do, as borne out by our year-end FOIA reports. But even if death is not the ultimate result, the above are victims nonetheless, suffering painful injuries – in the case of the bleeders, pulmonary hemorrhage – so that some men may gamble, others chase pots of gold. (For any new confirmed deaths during the week, please see our running annual list.)
My heart sunk when I saw Myuddermamasapaint. He has quite the story behind him, but I just googled his FB page and they believe he has a tendon injury. Hopefully that’s all it is!
Thinking about the name Myuddermamasapaint, I can’t help but think that the breeder used a nurse mare for this horse as a foal. The other possiblity is that the birth mother was a (high white) paint, but the Jockey Club doesn’t recognize “paint” as a color pattern in Thoroughbreds. I don’t know how they came up with the name Myuddermamasapaint but it does make me think of the numerous mares and foals (that are not racehorses) that are coldly and callously used by the racing industry — the breeding side of this barbaric industry.