Through a FOIA request to the Ohio State Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills at that state’s tracks last year (this is part 2; part 1 here).
Alfred Hanover, Jul 11, Northfield R – “Horse got loose after race, ran erratically, and took off to the pond. Personnel ran to assist, but the horse was under water with the bike. Drowned.” “Drowned” while still attached to the bike.
Not Just George, Jul 14, Thistledown R – “comminuted fracture past wire”
Volumattic, Jul 17, Thistledown T (euth Jul 24) – “Fractured sesamoid Jul 17. 105.9 fever Jul 20. Bilateral nasal discharge Jul 21. Progressive pneumonia Jul 24. Ataxia when walking out of stall to load on ambulance. Euthanized.” (three years old)
Freddy Soto, Jul 19, Thistledown R – “fractured both LF sesamoids”
Iwinbyknowledge, Jul 21, Thistledown T – “fractured shoulder in his first [ever] workout”
Tramore Bay, Jul 21, Thistledown R – “became lame while cooling out: pelvis fracture”
Racin’ Jacin, Jul 27, Thistledown R – “fractured both RF sesamoids”
Muy Caro, Aug 2, Belterra R – “medial fractured and avulsed, all sesamoidean ligaments appeared to be avulsed”
Mort, Aug 9, Belterra T – “horse was working, collapsed at 1/16 pole, bled out”
Longlivejustice, Aug 9, Thistledown R (euth Aug 22) – “raced unremarkably; lameness identified recently – displaced sesamoid fracture”
Romped, Aug 11, Belterra R – “horse fell: compound fractures of [both front legs] just below the knees”
Fillybuster, Aug 25, Belterra R – “Horse was pulled up exhibiting hind-end lameness. Attending stabilized and shipped to [hospital]. Horse died in transit due to exsanguination [bled out] due to fracture compromising the vasculature of hind legs.”
yet-to-be-named 2-year-old, Aug 26, Belterra T – “pulled up lame: humeral fracture”
Thisbeachrghtherea, Aug 28, Northfield R – “horse broke down in stretch: complete loss of function in right fetlock”
Iamgoingtoshine, Sep 6, Thistledown T – “fell, suspected shoulder fracture”
Nevans, Sep 8, Thistledown R – “suffered catastrophic injury in stretch”
Real Miss Prado, Sep 12, Belterra S – “chronic laminitis, euthanized” (four years old)
Swaggy G, Sep 14, Belterra R – “long pastern shattered [after wire]” (very first race)
Buckititlewave, Sep 22, Thistledown R (euth Sep 24) – “pulled up lame after wire: severe slab fracture”
Sweet Evy Grace, Oct 11, Thistledown R – “broke down after wire”
Jimtown, Oct 12, Thistledown R – “horse won and pulled up lame: cannon fracture”
Lucky Quarters, Oct 14, Thistledown T – “horse suffered [multiple] fractures”
Runningforlongo, Oct 27, Mahoning T – “returned lame [with] displaced fracture” (two years old)
Paltarrevenge, Oct 27, Mahoning R – “sesamoid fracture” (12 years old, 91st race)
Cabernet, Nov 1, Dayton R – “This mare died suddenly while racing. She collapsed, made gurgling noises, had blue gums, quit breathing 30-60 seconds after falling, died soon after.” (five years old)
Sounion, Nov 2, Mahoning R – “suffered catastrophic injury at 3/8 pole: fetlock significantly dropped, sesamoid visibly displaced, euthanized on track”
Angel’s Entry, Nov 4, Mahoning S – “Horse flipped completely over while being walked and hit his head. On [vet’s] arrival, he had nystagmus, dilated pupils, blood in ears and pooling from nostrils. Euthanized.” (had been raced previous day)
Anastasia Nero, Nov 9, Northfield R – “horse collapsed on backstretch – bilateral epistaxis [bleeding from both nostrils], hemorrhage from right ear”
Purchase Point, Nov 18, Mahoning S – “started showing signs of colic yesterday morning; found deceased at 6:30 am [today]” (three years old)
Boo Thang, Dec 12, Northfield S – “Horse loose, ran into barn, and collapsed in a stall. Treated for shock and dehydration. Showed signs of colic later in morning. Palpation revealed large colon twist. Surgery was not an option for owner. Euthanized.”
Sweet Dreams Lucia, Dec 17, Mahoning S – “suspected infection Nov 29; swelling worsened, opened abscess in fetlock, euthanized”
Sharinasfirstkiss, Dec 28, Mahoning T – “lame after pulling up: multiple displaced fractures” (two years old)
Reading these lists is like reading a medieval torture how-to manual. Heartbreaking suffering. And to add insult to injury, the ridiculous undignified names of some of these poor creatures: an indication of the classless, tasteless revolting humans involved in this bloody mess.
we get a list every single day. the cost to this country is beyond belief. this is nothing but pain and horror for the horses. we need to shut down all racetracks. let people run for money, not animals forced into it
Ugly, ugly, ugly horse racing. In Ohio, and everywhere else. Notice that all of these victims were killed by racing AFTER (the ridiculously-titled) Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority took over its SAFETY management of U.S. thoroughbred tracks.
Way to go, HISA.
Way to go, Ohio horse-killers.
These are the facts. Hopefully, there is someone else who has enough ability to reason logically that can accept the fact that these are the facts as presented and are factual evidence about the callous indifference to the horses exploited for horseracing.
Hopefully, more individuals will be of sound mind enough to be able to see what the horseracing industry is capable of doing to the horses: injuring and killing horses. Hopefully, there are more individuals who have the basic ability to comprehend that this information isn’t made up, but that it is factual evidence that horses don’t have it so good while being exploited for the almighty dollar, the pursuit of material wealth without a conscience, “fame and fortune” within their social circles.
Hopefully, there are more individuals who are not okay with spending or wasting the rest of their lives existing in some type of delusional world thinking that these horrors don’t happen because, maybe because, they didn’t see it happen themselves so, “La, la, la, la, la,la; it didn’t happen.”
The truth is these horses were fatally injured. The truth is these horses suffered horrifying injuries before dying or being killed. The truth is that racehorses are killed at the hands of so-called professionals who may have been regarded as an individual, or a group of individuals, taking an Oath to do no harm. They may not have taken this Oath at all, or they didn’t take the meaning of the Oath seriously, but other people should stand up and protest these wrongs. Once you know, you know. It is not okay to look the other way.
I would venture to say our country kills more horses than any other. Am I correct on that? I bet I am.
That’s a gruesome thing to think about.
March 1 is National Horse Protection Day. It’s not so in racing, when every day is treat the horses like glorified slot machines, and if a horses dies, it’s just business as usual. Breed more. Enraging.
The story about the intense suffering of this horse that led to its not breathing and dropping dead has made me very sad. People need to stop supporting and participating in the cruel racing of horses. These precious horses deserve much better than this.