Turf Paradise has been in the crosshairs lately, and for good reason. Last week, one of the racing commissioners said this of the Phoenix track: “We’re still killing horses at a terrible rate out there, and I’m sick of it. We keep killing horses like this, we’re going to be out of business.” Well, that killing has indeed continued. Over the past two days, two horses were said (charts) to have been “pulled up, vanned off,” which of course is not nearly the whole story. A trusted source at the track has confirmed that Ms Michelle, three, broke both front legs – both front legs – Wednesday. Dead. Yesterday, Sky’s the Limit, also three, shattered her sesamoid. Dead.
While still awaiting my FOIA for ’21, I can tell you that 26 horses died at Turf in the first third of last year, with at least 23 more (below) since October. What will it take?
Florida Two Step, Oct 28, training – “fetlock fracture”
My Proposition, Oct 29, training – “shoulder fracture”
Cats Blame, Nov 9, racing – “fetlock fracture”
Ambers Storm, Nov 10, stall – “colic”
Half Cocked, Nov 30, racing – “fetlock fracture”
Wasjuannowpaul, Dec 6, stall – “accident”
Naughty Swagger, Dec 14, racing – “collapse”
Originate, Dec 17, training – “[multiple] fractures”
Midnight in Maui, Dec 20, stall – “ataxia”
Alleyesfollowbelle, Dec 27, training – “fetlock fracture”
Tazeeti, Dec 27, stall – “flipped – head injury”
Midnight Luck, Dec 29, racing – “ligament rupture”
C Dub, Jan 10, stall – “pleuritis”
Pay Tavasco Rent, Jan 13, stall – “colic”
Raagheb, Jan 14, racing – “fracture, rupture”
Tamarando’s Mine, Jan 17, racing – “carpus fracture”
Adorable Brittany, Jan 17, racing – “fracture, luxation”
Wed O’s Champ, Jan 19, racing – “fracture, rupture”
Aries, Jan 21, stall – “colic”
Lily Malacara, Jan 21, stall – “colic”
Circus Ride, Jan 27, racing – “[injured in] gate”
Ms Michelle, Feb 9, racing – “broke both front legs”
Sky’s the Limit, Feb 10, racing – “shattered sesamoid”
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I can’t watch. How can people attend these grotesque spectacles in order to place a bet? Boggles the mind.
I think most of the folks who attend are just desensitized to the horrors on the track. They’re not gonna stop “enjoying” their favorite activity/addiction because of a couple particularly grizzly breakdowns. They’ve seen it all a thousand times before, and they’re numbed to it.
Were currently following a mare that has raced on 2 continents. She is at Turf Paradise or as we think Wanda has called the track Turf Para-death. We worry about this very good mare who has earned many $$ & won many races. We started following her when we saw her on Equibase charts racing at crummy Grant`s Pass.Wish we could have picked u[p when she was still here in Oregon. The for sale price was several thousand $$ .Higher than we could afford at the time.
Fredjoan,
Kelly is the one who calls Turf Paradise by the descriptive name of Turf Pair O’ Deaths; Turf Pair of Deaths/ Turf Pair O’ Deaths.
Also, Rose Smith described it as Turf Hell.
What is the name of the mare you are following?
Thanks, Wanda. But I’m not copyrighting nicknames for all these super-safe tracks, so you’re all free to use them as you like:)
Kelly, I just wanted to set the record straight. I have not been in the habit of using nicknames for the racetracks (except Golden Gate Killing Fields) because I think about those who are new to the topic of Horseracing and are not familiar with the names, dates, addresses, and stuff like that. It’s easy to get “lost in the dust” so to speak.
Way back in 2004 we saw & experienced a mare also break both front legs trained by a trainer who we were galloping horses for at the time. Will never forget! The trainer at the time was using SWT on the mare daily for a month up to & including the am before her afternoon race where she broke both legs.For those who don`t know SWT has a mild analgesic effect also at the same time any micro bone fractures are healing. Of course the horse feeling better goes out & runs too hard & re-injures themselves not knowing that they are not completely healed up yet. A good friend & jockey who we had ridden with many times & at many places was badly hurt because of this This is when we started rethinking of being an active participant in racing! By 2005 we had left never to return or be near any race track.
No one in the highly journalistic racing press has cultivated reliable sources like yours, Patrick. The so-called reporters of the game understand their primary allegiance is to the horse-killing industry itself. And good old Turf Pairo’Deaths is so prolific in their killing that they’ve come to lying to their regulators, and the real press, and the public about outcomes — especially when those outcomes are dead horses.
Good thing for TPD, they’ve got the super-credible racing press on their side, to help them NOT report any of their kills to the pesky, animal-loving public.
“us pesky animal lovers”. Thanks Kelly,that gave me my laugh and smile of the day. #LittleButMighty Who’s the little girl badass on SouthPark … oh yeah ….Wendy. Well we are a little army of “Wendy’s”. Don’t F with us 🤣👍!
“The pesky public” is the line that got me blocked by Mr. Racing Apologist himself, Ray Paulick:)
Kelly, tell Ray he’s a “snowflake”🤣 C’mon man up Ray,put your big boy pants on.
All the death and maiming is abhorrent. But has anyone ever wondered WHY the tracks with the most innocent names – that suggest fields of flowers, etc. – are the ones that do the most damage? Turf Paradise, Fair Meadows, Golden Gate Fields. I’m sure there are some I missed. They named them that way on purpose to hide what goes on at the races if you don’t look closer. Turf Hell is really what is is.
You rich millionaire greedy people make me sick. I don’t know why anybody is doing anything about this. Horses keep dying and dying and everyone is getting away with it with the drugging and everything else so that leads me to believe that the government is in on it too so screw them also
Well….big pharma benefits financially from drug sales and one might just be amazed at the number of politicians who have a vested interest in the profits, legal and under the table, from racing. Of course the politicians are going to look the other way.
CREATIVE PLAN a victim of horse racing from conception to death.
This 5-year-old gelding by Creative Cause was euthanized Feb. 11 shortly after arrival at Premier Equine Rehab in California. He ran his last race on Jan. 7, a starter optional claiming event in which he struggled home last of nine.
Turns out he was running on severe injuries for a very long time passing vet checks along the way, filling races at Turf Paradise while everybody watched him suffer.
Jenny Earhart, owner of Premier Equine spent her own funds to get Creative Plan out of his hell hole not the parasites of horse racing because, evidently, they didn’t contribute one dime.
Nevertheless, Ms. Earhart’s vet found this: “severely compromised suspensory ligaments and soft tissues in his left front leg. Both front fetlocks had osselets, but the right front was not evaluated further after the veterinarian saw the severity of the issues in the left front. That suspensory ligament was so swollen and had dropped so far against the back of the horse’s leg that the skin containing it had begun to split and ooze.”
“It’s mind boggling to me that it was allowed to go on. It just seemed like it was so preventable.” Ms. Earhart.
The entire story, vet report with pics that are just as disgusting as the necropsy pics posted herein can be found on her website.
Anybody who looked at this racehorse with the obvious visual malformities to the angles of his pastern let alone his skin falling off would know that this horse was suffering and you wouldn’t even have to be a horse person.
In short, like most racehorses, CREATIVE PLAN was the “walking dead,” and his suffering went on for years.
In the end, it was Jenny Earhart who did the right thing for Creative Plan based on her vet’s recommendations:
Earhart said she gave the horse a dignified last day before scheduling humane euthanasia.
The response from Turf Paradise is well, huge yawn, “safety reforms” to prevent this from happening.
You all need to take those safety reforms and whatever else spews from your parasitic mouths up your ass.