From the stewards at Turfway, over just five days of racing (Dec 22-31):
“The claim of Chimaev was voided when horse was placed on Vet’s List.” (first race)
“Elvis Just Elvis bled and required the horse ambulance.”
“The claim of Storm Risk was voided when horse bled.”
“The claim of Expect the Boss was voided when horse bled.”
“The claim of Blanket of Roses was voided when horse was placed on Vet’s List.”
“Ten Rings was pulled up and required the horse ambulance.”
“The claim of Cruzin Tatum was voided when horse was placed on Vet’s List.”
“The claim of Aidanike was voided when horse was placed on Vet’s List.”
And vet “scratches” at Golden Gate, over just three days (Jan 6-8):
Di Laurian, injured
Canyon Crest, sick
Lakaya, sick
Tessa, injured
Absolute Scenes, unsound
Rolinga, sick
Airkita, sick
Big Newton, unsound
Zakkiyyah, sick
Phantom Drop, injured
Bold Talker, injured
Notch, sick
One Big Smile, fell on track
And others:
Early Release, claim voided, unsound
Vanisky, claim voided, lame
Good Time Dolly, “vanned off” after race
The fact that their connections were going to send their “family” out to race while injured or sick should tell you everything about the racing industry.
And apologists, don’t try the bullshit line about how these horses love to run. All those diminutive sadists constantly caught using “excessive whip” or “leaving marks” to force these horses down the track pretty much takes care of that argument.
The corny exercise of lazy losers continues (people who never worked a REAL job). So many of the dingbats in this sleaze fest say oh, i’m in it cause “my daddy” …ie, mike joyce, matt corothers …etc. Get a whiff of REALITY … this is not the direction today’s young people are moving, they are AGAINST animal abuse. The FUTURE is much better, because today’s youth are very against this archaic form of so called entertainment 🤮. I mean if you’re gonna do this ….why not just do bull fighting?
This is definitely animal cruelty AND who knows how many of these horses’ connections were also part of a race-fixing scam to manipulate the wagering handle payouts?
Causing harm to horses is not HORSEMANSHIP; it’s ABUSE of horses!
These so-called “horsemen” and so-called “horsewomen” involved in this egregious cruelty belong behind bars for their causing harm to horses. Bleeding from the lungs or any other part of a horse’s body is an obvious sign that this is egregious cruelty to horses.
Stop the government subsidies and government-directed benefits including tax write-offs to this human cesspool of animal cruelty and racketeering. Put more of these criminals behind bars where criminals belong.
Oh so well said, as always, by Rebecca, Bonnie and Wanda !!!
Take note, the horseracing industry in the USA, you are on notice re the utterly unacceptable animal cruelty every single day in your industry.
Yeah, thankfully but almost as bad here in Australia but we’ve been on to it big time for many years. Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses, the RSPCA (Dr Bidda Jones), Paul Mc Greevy (world renowned equine behaviourist), Professor Chris Whitton of Melbourne University, our Australian, Dr Peta Hitchens who has done research with the University of California on the welfare of the racehorse and continues with research with Chris Whitton et al.
When I worked in the industry (and coming from a racing family going back to the early 1800s when my great- great-grandmother from Ireland imported her fabulous Irish thoroughbreds to Australia who were trained and raced humanely and with love for their horses – i have family photos) they owned property right next to the iconic Royal Randwick racetrack. So it absolutely sickens me to see how these innocent defenceless equines are treated in the horseracing industry today GLOBALLY! Yep, GLOBALLY folks !
When I worked in the industry to find out for myself what was really going on (especially for my family’s racehorses) I simply couldn’t sleep at night for what I witnessed day in day out.
Over lunch, at a yearling sales once, an impeccably qualified ‘scout’ from Europe for a high profile international racehorse entity said to me ‘ don’t you ever go to the USA “it will kill you”.
Needless to say, since the year 2014 when I first looked into Patrick Battuello’s Horseracing Wrongs site, I thought thank you mate for doing this.
When will these atrocities cease ? These horses are like “lambs to slaughter” as the old saying goes.
Astounding- how many sick, injured, lame and unsound horses actually make it to the starting gate each racing day. Carolyn McDonald writes about how “Irish thoroughbreds [sent] to Australia . . . were trained and raced humanely and with love for their horses”.
I believe the same was true many years ago in the US, but with the decline in interest, attendance and handle and the taxpayer-funded subsidies, today’s race conditions and treatment of these animals has certainly gotten much worse, until we’ve arrived at where we are today – a sad, sad state of affairs that can’t be fixed.
Unquestionably, without the subsidies, horse racing would be dead in the water already – and don’t think for one minute the industry doesn’t know that.
I had gotten a call yesterday from one of my old wagering buddies, Dan, [not his real name] who was on his way to his local OTB to “bet Gulfstream today.”
Why, I asked him.
“Joe, what do mean,” he replied, “and how come you’re not betting?
“It looks like a good card today!”
“Dan,” I told him, “wake up! “You’re being conned. “The PPs mean NOTHING any more!”
“Are you aware of the number of sick, injured and lame horses that enter the starting gate, on a regular basis, all of which you have NO IDEA about because NONE of that information regarding the horse’s current health is printed in the ‘Form’?”
“You’re handicapping and betting based on false information,” I said, “in other words, pal, YOU’RE BEING CHEATED, right and left, every day you place a bet!”
“And the horses all suffer because many of them shouldn’t even be AT the race track let alone in the starting gate! “A horse that showed great promise in the PPs three weeks ago may have gotten hurt, or developed laminitis, or any number of things that would prevent them from being competitive today, and you have NO CLUE who’s entering the gate, sound, OR lame!”
I also mentioned to Dan that nowhere in the Racing Form’s PPs will they show what drugs the horse is on. Of course not, because most [if not all] are ILLEGAL!
I recommended to Dan that he should give up betting on racing and stop losing money. It’s like playing with loaded dice.
While I’m not sure if Dan will stop betting tomorrow, he did listen. I also mentioned this site and asked him to check out the many horses on Mr. Battuello’s injured list. To hammer home the point in terms he could understand, I asked him how many of these horses did HE place a [losing] bet on?
For the record, Dan lost that day, and I said maybe some of your bets today will show up on HW’s injured list . Be smart, I told him, STOP losing money – stop betting on a rigged game!
Even one convert at at time, it can only help.
-Joe
Joe, I appreciate you sharing your personal testimony of how horseracing is so crooked and sharing your experience and knowledge with others.
This site definitely does help to educate people about the dark realities of horseracing regardless of who you are or what your interests are concerning the horses or anything connected to horseracing.
Not all the drugs administered to racehorses are illegal. I think there are very, very few horses running in training or racing that are not on some type of painkilling medication/drug, but sometimes they use overages or more than the legal amount. For trainers to sneak something “in under the radar” would be just one of the many variables that a bettor would have to contend with and the more people that know this, the better for the horses. Hopefully, the more gamblers who bet on the horses who learn about how crooked it is will help to bring an end to the government subsidies and government-directed benefits including tax write-offs to the racing industry SOONER.
The thing about forcing horses to run with medications, legal or illegal, is absolutely unacceptable cruelty to horses. Of course, the outcome of the race will be affected, but how can people do this to the horses knowingly and willfully? This is the caliber or calibre of the so-called horsemen and horsewomen in this industry.
Took me awhile, but after a steady stream of losing, [no matter HOW well I thought I was handicapping,] and the ‘Baffert incident’ surrounding the Kentucky Derby’s winner, Medina Spirit, was enough to swear me off wagering on horse racing forever.
BTW: I also told my friend ‘Dan’ that he might try learning some of the table games at the casino. HIs odds of winning are actually much better than horse racing, since the games are at least conducted honestly. Casinos will lose their licenses if they get caught cheating.
I wonder why horse racing is exempt from cheating?
It may take some time, but just look at how greyhound racing has folded – can horse racing be that far behind?
-Joe
Glad you came to your revelation Joe …it’s a shame though that it wasn’t the big brown soulful innocent eyes of a living breathing life of a sentient being , but rather it was gambling end of it that did it for you. I’m not against gambling, but, there are millions of options to gamble on that don’t involve an innocent living breathing soul that doesn’t have a voice to consent.
Regarding the Greyhound racing, it isn’t completely gone. I recently received a petition through my email from Change.org telling about the Twin Spires/CDI (Churchill Downs Incorporated) promoting Greyhound racing in at least one state in the USA and also in Mexico. It also says that there are no animal welfare laws in Mexico to help protect animals.
Even though there are laws in the United States that allegedly protect animals from horrendous CRUELTY, horrible things still happen in the USA to animals as you know.