Returning from their long weekend, the good folks at the CHRB had a bit of updating to do. Declared dead:
Urban Dance, Los Alamitos, Friday – “accident, shoulder.” Urban was three years old and being prepped for her debut.
My Panache, Golden Gate, Sunday – “accident, head.” Panache, too, was three and being prepped for her debut.
Desert Fog, Golden Gate, Monday – “accident” in gate prior to race. Desert was five.
Hong Kong Cowboy, Golden Gate, Monday – “took a bad step” (same race as above). HKC was seven, and this was his 54th time under the whip – but second in nine days.
yet-to-be-named 2-year-old, Santa Anita, Tuesday – “stall accident, tibia.”
That’s five fresh kills at California’s “safer” tracks. They’re lying to you, America.
VILE and will continue to happen as long as this killing business is operating.
Wondering what words Scott Chaney will twist this time?
I must admit he’s come up with some pretty creative word phrases to justify the ongoing deaths of racehorses to uninformed California residents or to whoever listens to him.
What ever happened to Bill 469?
Oh, there it is, laying in the mountains of manure that sends bacteria into local California residents drinking water probably.
Oh, and on the environmental front that gets buried under the pile of dead racehorses?
As water supplies dwindle to dangerous low levels in California and will continue to get worse under Climate Change, California residents were warned that they will be under severe water restrictions this summer.
Yet, Santa Anita track alone requires 30,000 gallons of water PER DAY just to water their track (source: Thoroughbred Owners of California AKA TOC) then there’s Golden Gate, Los Alamitos and a whole bunch of fair meets during the summer.
So on any given day in the summer there’s about 100,000+ gallons of water per day required to keep this unnecessary gambling venue going.
Then there’s the racehorses who require much more daily intake of water in this artificially-induced environment that they would ever require in the natural surroundings that they were intended for such as grazing on grass that contains water to suffice most of their water requirements.
That would probably add another 20,000+ gallons of water per day.
From the breeding shed to the slaughterhouse floor this is clearly an antiquated business model that has no place in any civilized society that now has the added stress of environmental crisis issues.
Is it my imagination or is the murdering in this shitshow getting even worse!!!!?? What is it gonna take to get these evil cretins to GO AWAY and get a REAL J.O.B.
The 2022 Del Mar racing season starts on Friday, July 22nd and ends on Sunday, September 11th, but then they have more racing days from Friday, November 11th to Sunday, December 4th, 2022. I don’t know how many gallons of water they need.
Every dirt track (Del Mar currently has a dirt track) requires about 30,000 gallons of water PER DAY to prevent it from turning into cement (for lack of a better term) and if you think there are injuries and death now?
Well if they don’t water the track then they might as well dig a death pit in the middle of Del Mar because that’s what will happen if they don’t keep watering the track properly.
When California mandated synthetic surfaces on racetracks their main concern was to reduce racehorse fatalities, but a study also touted the benefits of reduced water usage based on the report I read.
I was a contributor and proponent of synthetic tracks for both reasons stated above.
At the time, back in and around 2005/6 there was little regard or consideration for this precious resource which is becoming increasingly important with Climate Change.
I can’t express the outrage that opponents of synthetic tracks expressed and most came from gambles who said it was effecting their bets because any given racehorse’s PP’s were based on a dirt track unless they were a turf horse of course.
In fact, Bob Baffert was such a vocal opponent of synthetic tracks that he actually convinced Frank Stronach to change their track back to dirt (many articles on this just Google it).
Then followed a bevy of pro-horse racing attorneys and politicians who reversed the mandate so Del Mar went from a dirt track to a synthetic track (2007) back to a dirt track (2014).
Who foots the bill for their gigantic water bills and for the multimillion dollar track surface projects?
California taxpayers it seems based on some paperwork that I was able to access via public records.
The tracks pay little to nothing and ask them for their water bills and receipts if you don’t believe.
Insane isn’t it that at a time when California is running out of water we are abusing this resource so that racehorses can run around in circles?
Yes, Gina, the insanity of not only forcing horses to run around in circles or ovals and to be whipped and shocked to run faster and faster as well as the huge amount of water needed for racetrack maintenance during a drought is glaringly unacceptable.
Gina, your points about the WATER (Lack of water) are dead on correct. Some people don’t grasp how horrific the not so distant future is going to be(with lack of water). Unfortunately, I think it might be too little too late. I have actually read that future wars may be fought over WATER.
Some people still deny climate change. There are always those people who deny climate change just as there are those horse-abusers who deny that they do anything wrong.
My favorite Chaney-ism is “No overhand cropping.” He actually used those words to celebrate the virtues of one of those new, life-saving, super-safe, California Horse Safety measures the CHRB is so proud of. I’m guessing he’s suddenly become uncomfortable throwing around the word WHIPPING. (Even he understands how disingenuous it must sound to the animal-loving public to hear the W-word used in this context as a HORSE SAFETY measure:
“Oh, you mean they’re no longer allowed to beat exhausted animals with full-force, overhead WHIP lashings to motivate and encourage them? Wow, CHRB! Thanks for making horse racing so unbelievably SAFE for its victims.”
In the event that a jockey becomes “overexcited in the heat of the moment” or some such excuse and “forgets” to refrain from overhand “cropping” or whipping or beating with the riding crop, will there be a penalty? Will it be a sad, sick joke as per usual?
Well, just a year ago, at the SADT, Ruben Fuentes continued to whip Multiplier AFTER he’d broken down. Poor Multiplier was given the needle. But our hero, Mr. Fuentes, got a THREE-DAY suspension from the super-safety-conscious CHRB.
So really, any jock caught WHIPPING his/her victim with overhand strikes should now only get, oh, I’d say, maybe a one-race suspension, to be enforced at the time of the jock’s choosing, and only after all appeals have been exhausted. It’s only fair;(
The California Horse Racing Board is the epitome of corruption.
As if 😒🙄
As Gina puts it: public wallpaper.
Hahahahaha at “the good folks at the CHRB…”
There’s really no non-sarcastic way to describe them, as they’ve surpassed even themselves in corruption, cronyism and sheer horse-killing incompetence. But they think they’re, um, Killing It in the racing “regulator” game.
How many California horses REALLY suffered fatal injuries on CHRB-licensed tracks and training centers this past week? The fact that they’ve admitted to five deaths tells me there were actually several MORE who were whisked away for “treatment” while their hearts were still beating…
But, no need to ever publicly report those deaths as fatalities. Is there, CHRB?
MULTIPLIER, 😭
I would like to think my outrage and speaking out about Multiplier, caused Andrew Lerner his trainer, to reevaluate his life choices. He did quit this evil after that. Now, if the other loser scumbags can be as smart. I did NoT let up on this. Same as I would do for any animal.
Animal cruelty is not taken seriously by society. It is not seen as the red flag that it is and certainly not given consideration as a mental health issue as it should be.