Samurai Zip is 12 years old. Yesterday, this poor soul was raced at Presque Isle, his 75th time under the whip. When I highlight these long-suffering racehorses, in some cases the apologists will argue, “but they’re still competitive.” (For the rest, we get, “but they need a job.”) While Samurai finished last yesterday, he has indeed been “competitive” over the past couple years. But isn’t that quite beside the point?
Given that in the necropsies we often see 4-, 3-, even 2-year-old horses dying with (not of) osteoarthritis and DJD, and given that upward of 90% of active horses suffer from chronic ulcers, there can be very little doubt that Samurai suffers, probably horribly, today. And that’s just physically. As for the emotional and mental, it’s a good bet that he has spent the majority of his days on this planet in solitary confinement (to a tiny stall). But here’s the thing, as long as his exploiters – Shelly/Jake Radosevich – keep cashing in, this will continue. They, and this industry, are despicable.
Just the fact that this horse, SAMURAI ZIP, is still alive makes him exploitable, not necessarily competitive.
The owners will be able to keep the stall for the horse they scrounge up to replace SAMURAI ZIP after they kill him by exploiting him to death one way (on the racetrack) or another (sell him to a killbuyer).
He is a gambling chip for Presque Isle Downs & Casino to “justify” the “need” for government subsidies and government-directed benefits to the horseracing industry. All of these people involved in this industry should be charged with Felony Animal Cruelty and locked up in solitary confinement and let out to do physically demanding manual labor that will make their muscles HURT!!!!!!!
This couple lost a son (jockey) as the result of a fatal breakdown of notoriously unsound, unfortunate horse,
That alone would’ve made me turn my back on this wretched industry. But no.
That certainly shows the depths of their total moral depravity!!!!!!!
Marie, also D. Wayne Lukas’s son.
This is another example of extreme cruelty and abuse of horses. It is time to end the racing of horses!