Out for Justice is a 5-year-old gelding who was first raced in March 2019; through January 11, he has been raced 29 times. Lately, though, those turns under the whip have been coming with an out-of-the-ordinary frequency. He was raced three times in November, three times in December – with all of those in but a 15-day period – and twice thus far in January, those two just seven days apart.
Out’s primary abuser is owner/trainer Alejandro Gomez, who bought (“claimed”) him for a paltry $3,000 on November 16. In that race, by the way, Out finished 55 lengths back. But here’s the thing, because Turf Paradise (Out has been raced exclusively in Arizona) pays first-last, Gomez has every incentive to keep throwing him out there. On January 4, for example, Out came in dead-last – but Gomez still banked $130.
Out for Justice is slated to be under the whip again on January 26, in another $3,000 claiming race. That will make it three straight months of three races per. Here are some relevant phone numbers should you care to voice your opinion:
Vincent Francia, Turf GM: (602) 375-6401
David Johnson, Turf VP, asst. GM: (602) 375-6431
Robbie Junk, Racing Office: (602) 375-6442
John Adams, Association Steward: (602) 375-6445
Arizona Department of Racing: (602) 364-1700
Stewards: (602) 375-6445
Horseracing is so blatantly CRUEL! This ongoing ABUSE & NEGLECT of horses must be stopped now!
I totally agree with Wanda Diamond.
Arizona abuse at its finest!
There will be no justice for Out for Justice in spite of his name!! There are no rules to protect against such blatant abuse.
Congratulations Arizona racing you are the bottom of the barrel and that takes some doing in this business!!
Thank you, Patrick, for bringing attention to this sick situation. Phone calls are in order.
PS The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG)
“Arizona Fatality Breakthrough Project” (2017 – 2018) noted the racing fatalities for the state were more than double the national average!!!
In the same report, under “Lessons Learned”,
(LOL!) there were all kinds of needed safety measures listed followed by the disclaimer they were just recommendations and implementation depended on a list of variables mostly money ( big surprise!!!)
Also, it said there would be an annual safety report due each Fall.
To my knowledge, there has been nothing since.
Who is looking out for these horses?!!