I preface the following with this: Bob Baffert is not the villain. He is of course a villain, but he is no more or less so than the average trainer. If he has more kills, it’s because he has more horses. No, this is about horseracing itself, not the individuals working in it.
That said, Baffert’s day yesterday, and more to the point, his reactions on that day further underscore the obscenity of calling this, viewing this, talking about this as just another sport. Baffert, we know, lost one of his charges in the Preakness undercard, when 3-year-old Havnameltdown broke down in the 6th race and was euthanized on the Pimlico track.
Baffert then tweeted this: “We are just devastated.” He went on to say, “It is something that is disheartening. I feel so bad for that horse….” And finally: “It’s the worst feeling, and we grieve. We do grieve when these things happen. There is nothing worse than coming back and the stall is empty. He is a nice horse. … It’s sickening. I am in shock.”
Later, of course, those “feelings” were turned upside down, as Baffert “won” the Preakness itself, his 17th Triple Crown triumph.
Amazing how some people can recover from “shock” and “grief” so fast, huh?
Imagine had this happened in any real sport – you know, ones played by autonomous, consenting humans. Imagine, for instance, if Patrick Mahomes had died in the 1st Quarter of the Super Bowl. What do you think the odds would have been of the game continuing? And by some miracle if it had, do you think there would have been any celebration in the Chiefs’ locker room after the win? Please. As I said, what happened yesterday in Baltimore, what happens at tracks across America every day, is an utter obscenity.
You said it, Patrick — it’s obscene & immoral — I will be sharing, especially your last paragraph — “Imagine had this happened in any real sport – you know, ones played by autonomous, consenting Humans — Imagine, for instance, if Patrick Mahomes had died in the 1st Quarter of the Super Bowl — What do you think the odds would have been of the game continuing? — And by some miracle if it had, do you think there would have been any celebration in the Chiefs’ locker room after the win? — Please. — As I said, what happened yesterday in Baltimore, what happens at tracks across America every day, is an utter obscenity.”
It’s sickening and thousands of people do not follow horseracing. IF they by chance do, then it’s this “world class” level of racing they see mainly because of the national news outlets. For the lower level classes of racing down to the non-descript claiming level, so many people have not much of a clue about it or how bad it is for the horses. It’s bad at every level for the horses, but the newspapers rarely publish any articles and the television networks rarely broadcast any type of reporting about these lower levels. That’s where Horseracing Wrongs comes in to report the facts about the horses injured, killed in action and missing in action. Then there are those hundreds or probably thousands of horses that were anonymous and suffered at the hands of the vile people in this vile industry. This Grade One stuff is the tip of an iceberg of heinous cruelty to horses masquerading as “sport” which must be recognized as the animal cruelty that it is.
Every day horses are being exploited for racing and wagering and yet even this highest level of regulated horseracing is barely a blip on the radar of the masses.
I agree, Wanda. My heart aches for all the little “nobody” horses that are in a living hell because none of their suffering gets any coverage.
I can’t believe they are now killing horses on nationwide television. And making lame apologies and excuses. When is the American public going to wake up and be horrified, as they should be?
He grieves only for himself so the “win” wiped it away. The only part we are not seeing in this disgusting greedy entertainment industry are the horses we didn’t see. The wood chipper guys like Baffert who have so many more horses they break down day after day. Those disappear into the dark to be discarded like trash. So you see, he only pretends to grieve because there are a line of many more being bred as hopefuls to the grueling treatment they call training. Beginning to the inevitable end of these horses lives is so cruel.
He really is a mass murderer at this point. If any non-racehorse trainer person caused the death of this many horses they would be investigated for animal cruelty! With all his experience he still can’t tell when a horse is in trouble ?? Or realize this should just stop ?
“Mass murderer” sums it up perfectly. A hired killer by the greedy billionaire boys looking for notoriety as the expense of animals treated as throwaways.
Right, Tami. Also, the veterinarians who are paid to do what they are told to do by the trainers and the racetrack management, who do what they are told for the money, who are active human participants in passing horses to race that should have been scratched from the starting lineup, rather than be true advocates for the welfare and soundness of the horses should be punished severely for their part in this deliberate causing of harm and death to the horses.
What other “sport” has doctors on hand to EUTHANIZE it’s participants?!!!!!
Or a dedicated ambulance that follows the participants around the track/course, sometimes for less than a minute as in a five-furlong sprint?
Better known as the horse hearse.
I think it is more like a utility trailer at some racetracks.
DONT BET ON THEIR LIVES!!! DISGUSTING ALL THESE BABIES DYING!!! BREAKING DOWN.! TOO YOUNG
If the Hall of Shame trainer, Baffert, really cared about the horses, he would immediately get out of racing. His bloated ego likes the money too much, and the “winners” he’s trained, never mind all the poor horses he’s killed..