Through a FOIA request to the California Horse Racing Board, I have obtained the following details on some of that state’s kills this year.
Ultimate Diva, Mar 3, Golden Gate R
“After winning race, pulled up with: [multiple, as in three separate bones] open [through skin], complete, comminuted [many pieces] fractures; ligament rupture; regionally extensive, severe hemorrhage mixed with myriad angular small bony fragments in the soft tissues surrounding the cannon bone.” Ultimate was three years old.
Smile for Glory, May 14, Santa Anita S
“Acute ulcerative colitis May 13, rapid deterioration, euthanized due to grave prognosis.” Smile was four years old and had last been raced two weeks prior.
Carolina Mia, May 21, Golden Gate R
“[Multiple, as in three separate bones] open [through skin], complete, comminuted [many pieces] fractures.” Carolina was six years old.
Rio King, Jun 9, Pleasanton S
“Thursday afternoon started showing clinical signs of sweating, distressed; became recumbent by evening. Recumbent this morning with posterior paresis and reluctant to attempt to rise. Euthanasia.” Now why: “There is a complete, comminuted, displaced fracture of the 13th thoracic vertebra [with] compression of the spinal cord and severe, extensive hemorrhage.” Rio was four years old and had last been raced May 29.
Mikethedealer, Aug 4, Del Mar S
“Thoroughbred died spontaneously overnight and was found in the morning. The cause of this death is difficult to ascertain due to the degree of postmortem decomposition.”
I read the posts regularly; a sad endeavour given the level of cruelty and neglect manifest in their telling.
There are also times when what is said makes absolutely no sense, and the industry (definitely not a sport) does not care.
In the report above, we are told:
Mikethedealer, Aug 4, Del Mar S
“Thoroughbred died spontaneously overnight and was found in the morning. The cause of this death is difficult to ascertain due to the degree of postmortem decomposition.”
Can anyone tell me how a horse which died ‘spontaneously’ (seriously) overnight cannot have a cause of death ascertained due to “postmortem decomposition”? The day after the event? Unless it was weeks after the death that the postmortem was performed? In which case why would that be? It should be straightforward to determine a most likely cause of death…….there are a limited number from which to choose and there are many ways to exclude many of those.
Making bad things that happen to horses in horseracing sound like a big mystery is one of the trademarks of horseracing. Someone did something dastardly and now the people involved just want to treat the public as though they were a bunch of morons. Since the members of the California Horse Racing Board, and any other state Racing Commission for that matter, are able to operate above the laws in many cases, this is the kind of bullshit they feed the public.