Through a FOIA request to the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills at that state’s two tracks last year (this is part 2; part 1 here).
G as in George, Aug 2, Horseshoe R – “displaced condylar fracture”
Rocky Rush, Aug 16, Horseshoe T – “[multiple] fractures” (had been raced 46 times)
Unforgetablenataly, Aug 31, Horseshoe R – “collapsed – sudden death” (four years old)
Frida Y. C., Sep 9, Horseshoe T – “compound tibial fracture” (being trained for debut)
Big Daddy Justice, Sep 12, Horseshoe S – “advanced spinal cord lesions” (two yrs old)
Vrs Famous Cartel, Oct 11, Horseshoe R – “sesamoid fracture” (two years old)
Holy Justice, Oct 12, Horseshoe R – “[multiple] fractures”
Vicious Rumor, Nov 25, Horseshoe S – “colic” (two years old, raced three days prior)
Ugh, knew it.
I knew Holy Justice was dead by the way all the marketing people at Horseshoe Indy tried to highlight this Stakes Race of Death by making clever references to the winner’s name — and avoiding a single mention of Holy Justice’s obvious breakdown at the wire.
(Guess those wholesome, honest, Midwestern racing folks aren’t so different from the rest of the industry, are they? So direct. So accountable. So much integrity in their horse-killing.)