Through a FOIA request to the New Jersey Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills at that state’s tracks thus far this year.
Cinnamack, Feb 25, Freehold R – “open [through skin], comminuted fracture of cannon – distal portion of the limb was attached to the proximal portion of the limb only by the skin and tendons; [multiple] ligaments and tendons torn or ruptured; extensive soft-tissue hemorrhage” also: “osteochondral disease [all four limbs]” (eight years old)
Coconut Beach, May 27, Monmouth T – “sudden death: pulmonary hemorrhage – copious amounts of frank blood and bloody fluid drained from the nostrils and mouth” also: “osteochondral disease [all four limbs]” (five years old)
Jamminjl, Jun 4, Monmouth R – “disarticulated fetlock [details pending]; extensive hemorrhage” also: “osteochondral disease [in three limbs examined]” (six years old)
Bikini Baby, Jun 17, Monmouth R (euth Jun 18) – “[multiple] complete, displaced fractures; [multiple] ligament ruptures, [multiple others] severely torn; severe soft-tissue and intra-articular hemorrhage” also: “osteochondral disease [all four limbs]” (five years old)
“Just disgusting” doesn’t even begin to describe my feelings about this carnage.
New Jersey..why don’t you take this prime real estate and make something beneficial for the good of community? Stop the abuse at Freehold, Monmouth and Meadowlands. Jersey shore properties with Meadowlands New York metro.
Does anyone really believe these numbers of catastrophic injuries are normal? I assure you, they are not. Horses from a century ago, didn’t even resemble the thoroughbreds we see today. Breeding these unsound horses must stop. You can blame racing itself, but you are overlooking the fact that today’s thoroughbreds are not fit for anything. They suffer from severe fragility issues and when animals weighing a thousand pounds have weak flawed bone structures it spells tragedy. A ban on racing alone won’t end breeding or change our destructive breeding protocols. Breeders will continue to churn out unhealthy flawed horses to be sold abroad if for no other reason. It’s not fair to the horses to have bodies that can’t sustain them.
Karen, animals should never be used as gaming chips PERIOD. It’s a moral issue
Should horses be bred for speed until every last fiber of their being is compromised and unsound? You don’t seem to understand that racing is only part of the problem. Once that is eliminated, what then? Top bloodlines will continue to be bred and sold to foreign interests, countries with no animal rights. Their abuse will be far worse in places like Korea and China than here and they will be food for some slob in the end. That’s not a “moral” issue? Ruining an entire species is not a “moral” issue? I beg to differ. It’s a major issue. With all due respect, you appear to have tunnel vision. Equine abuse encompasses a wide spectrum of issues. Racing is just one of many.
Just like I suspected…you karen want it to continue….the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over,and think you’ll get a different outcome.
Karen, we understand a lot more than you are aware of.
The breeding of Thoroughbreds has already been in decline since1986, wagering handles are down and several racetracks have been put out of business. Meanwhile, the temperature of the Earth has increased steadily since 1950. At some point, it’s very possible that hay (and grain) crops will not be produced in abundance and will be scarce and therefore too expensive for the average person to buy.
Besides that, some people already neglect horses to the point where the killbuyers post pictures on Facebook of some of these extra-skinny horses that they bought at the livestock auction. Supposedly, they are “direct ship” horses but some of those “direct ship” horses look too thin to be strong enough to endure a trip standing on their feet and being jostled around for several miles and several hours in a truck or trailer loaded with a bunch of other horses.
Of course, the killbuyers want to make a profit so if they can sell the skinny ones off to somebody else (“bleeding hearts”), they won’t have to scrape the remains of the horses that didn’t make the trip alive off the bottom of the truck or trailer bed.
There is no end to the abuse and neglect to horses but it would be totally irresponsible to do nothing to bring attention to the horror that cruel human beings subject horses to daily.
Saratoga race 1 today. At finish, the horse leading fell. Jose Ortiz to hospital and all his mounts canceled. They SAY the horse is ok even tho they vanned him off precautionary. He went down on his head but he did get up. It didn’t look like any limbs were broken. Maggie and Lafitte being criticized for concern over the horse and not Jose
Horse #7 name Same Old Fears