From the charts (Equibase) yesterday:
In the 2nd at Charles Town, Dereka’s Bluff “was fatally injured midway on the turn and had to be euthanized.” She was seven years old, and this was her 33rd time under the whip. Her love-’em-like-family “connections” – breeder/owner Gary Carter, trainer Lyn Venham – also had her “For Sale” the day she died.
Watch till the end to see the “Winner’s Circle” celebration carrying on while Dereka’s is out on the track in the throes of dying. And, “a spill”? Abhorrent.
In the 4th at Mahoning, Candy Island “gave way turning for home and broke down mid-stretch, was euthanized and vanned off.” Yes, “vanned off” – because she was dead. Candy was four years old, and this was her 18th time under the whip. She, too, was “For Sale” (owner/trainer, Khadeem Galloway) immediately prior to being killed.
Me, I know nothing about, nor have I ever attended a rodeo, or any other event involving horses other than the races. So, Wanda, your own analysis of “thousands, if not millions, of people who actually derive pleasure from inflicting pain to horses and enjoy it without being held accountable” may be true.
Or not.
But it IS pure speculation on your part as you have no hard basis for fact.
Personally, I don’t deny the fact that the abuse of animals occurs in any event involving these sentient beings. Look at SeaWorld. They got into some hot water [no pun intended] a while back as well for their mistreatment of animals. But I think “millions” of people who are “deriving pleasure from inflicting pain and agony to horses” may be a bit more than a slight exaggeration. But that is also speculation- on my part.
-Joe
I maintain that there are thousands, if not millions, of people who actually derive pleasure from inflicting pain to horses and enjoy it without being held accountable. Not all of these people who find it acceptable and normal to treat horses in inherently abusive ways are involved in horseracing. Abusive treatment of horses happens in all events involving people and horses.
A lot of the abuse is acceptable to a large number of people so that there is very little to NO ACCOUNTABILITY as in horseracing.
One of those events is rodeo. The inherent ABUSE OF HORSES is “socially acceptable abuse” in rodeos and is not limited to the horses used for bucking broncs, but the abuse of horses for bucking broncs is more obvious in the rodeos. I doubt very much that anyone deeply entrenched in rodeos would admit to the reality that what they do to horses and cattle is animal abuse.
The fact that there is little to no accountability for the inhumane treatment of horses has been discussed many times in/on this blog to the point that I would say “LITTLE TO NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE INHERENT ABUSE OF HORSES” is the theme in the HORSERACING industry.
I maintain that there are thousands if not millions of people who are deriving pleasure from inflicting pain and agony to horses in horseracing.
There are those people who can act nice like whatever comes out of their ass smells like something from heaven and be as evil as evil can be at the drop of a hat.
No, I was not privy to a lot of things that went on in racing and remained in the dark until I stumbled across this website. Not being an animal activist, I always felt that the abuse and horrors were always exaggerated, after all, who would abuse a million+ dollar investment?
Obviously, I was wrong. Certainly today things are much worse than ever.
But when I was betting, it was always a fun day at the track, breakdowns were (I’d thought, anyway) a rare and unusual occurrence, and that the sport was, for the most part, on the up-and-up.
Yes, of course I realized there were always some sort of shenanigans going on, but not to the extent of which I am aware now.
-Joe
That would explain many things. We were there all days including dark days as well as stake racing days. On dark days the training track was always open. If you were licensed you could even use the training track in the pm on dark days for galloping horses.
Wanda,
I’ve seen the pic, and I’ve seen the post.
Reprehensible and sadistic, yes. But, as I have said, many times in this post, there are exceptions. Obviously this clown thought it would be “funny” to do so, but once his pic went viral he instantly regretted his actions. My guess is that he’s since deleted the pic, but as we all know, the internet is forever.
Obviously, we have one major a**hole here. But if this were everyday, rampant behavior, you’d find pics of trainers everywhere, almost every day pulling moronic shenanigans like this and they WOULD make the internet.. You also might find some fool lowly assistants and grooms puling a “stunt” like this for “fun”, on occasion, but my contention is that by and large, this is not the case.
Remember, I AM NOT saying that the abuse doesn’t occur; only that they do it for the purposes of winning – not for “fun”
This jackass is, obviously, one of those exceptions.
-Joe
Joe, What do you call it when a racehorse trainer sits on the dead body of a horse abused to death by the inherent abuse of racing and training? The trainer’s name is/was Gordon Elliot and he has a cellphone in one hand while straddling the body of a horse he killed.
I call it sadistic among other things.
Rebecca,
All true.
As I have stated many times in this post, and it bears repeating – money $$$ is the be-all and end-all for these people. Nothing – morals, sadistic “fun”, drugs, animal abuse or anything else that gets in the way of winning races is important to these people. They will do and sacrifice anything for a “win”.
But take heart – slowly and surely this s**t show is going down. It may not be tomorrow, but IT IS inevitable.
-Joe
Fredjoan-
The reason I never saw any abuse on the backstretch is because I was always invited by either a trainer or owner who felt it necessary to cater a bit some of us “big bettors” – after all, we were the ones who made this whole s**t show all happen.
Not being a horseman, only a bettor, I was not allowed on the backstretch unless accompanied by an owner or trainer, and, I was invited only on the bigger race days and at the bigger tracks – Santa Anita, Saratoga, Del Mar, Belmont, etc. Naturally everyone was on their best behavior as these characters wouldn’t want to get caught beating a horse that I or one of my buddies just might be considering placing a large bet on!
Also, I never went on the backstretch during dark days, in the AMs, and other times when abuse would be more likely to occur. Let’s face it – with a couple of heavy-hitter bettors on the backstretch on a big Stakes day at a major track is NOT the time that some a**hole is gonna beat their horse!
-Joe
Wanda,
“Warped minds” and “morally depraved” are both true.
But I don’t think they are in “constant denial of their wrongdoings.” In fact, I believe they are not in denial at all but rather, they know full well how heinous there actions are, but, again, making money for them trumps all the other cards in the deck.
And that is certianly an apt description of a “warped mind” that is indeed “morally depraved”. But I must insist that the breakdowns and injuries are not something they want or enjoy because each time something like that happens they lose money. “Sadistic” would indicate that they enjoy or would even champion the brutal pain, suffering and breakdowns, even if it cost them money. And that is NOT at all likely.
While I realize that the majority of these clods couldn’t care less about the horses, believe me, they care an awful lot about the money.
-Joe
These trainers are part of an industry that all but makes it mandatory that they abuse and torture horses in order to win – and it takes a certain kind of personality (and lack of morality) to stay immersed in that kind of environment. If I was offering $5000 to anyone who would snap a dog’s leg, the majority of people would refuse in complete disgust – and probably call the cops on me. But there’s going to be that margin of sick individuals who would not only do it for the money, but who also torture animals for free. There’s no altruism, no being trapped by their circumstances for these trainers: they have no problem with what they do because they don’t see horses as anything but a means to an end, and they’re so hungry for money they will commit the most atrocious acts on sentient beings without a twinge of conscious, and absolutely no repercussions.
As a participant on the backside from 1977 to 2004 I`m amazed you never saw abuse! We have seen horses whipped in the face by female jockeys as hard as they could strike the poor horse. We have seen them beaten down the backstretch as 2 year olds in am scared out of their wits by riders for no reason. That same horse, Last Peak & I ,later achieved the fastest workout of the day at our now gone 1 mile track using nor carrying any whips, buzzers or spurs. Yes we have seen riders use spurs in am galloping times. We have seen on the backside jockeys hit a horse before a race to ” Wake them Up”. There were & are no cameras at our bull ring tracks that are now the only ones left in my state. Racing only survives here because of a hub tax levied on all races wagered on similcast websites as since the local state horse people will NOT participate in HISA our states races are not allowed to be wagered on out of state. We later talked the owner / trainer of Last Peak into allowing me to work him as we liked the horse & he liked us & to prove a point to those “traditional ” horse racing people that a relationship with the horse does make a difference.
You say, “warped minds” and I say, “morally depraved” and that includes the sadistic behavior.
Their modus operandi is to deny and deflect. One example is when an owner and/or trainer will say that a horse with a broken sesamoid bone is “sound” while it’s a no-brainer that a horse with a broken sesamoid bone has to be retired from racing. Any horse with a broken sesamoid bone is not sound.
It’s definitely warped to not only cause harm and eventually death to horses in the pursuit of winning money, being in the winner’s circle and all that, but to also be in constant denial of their wrongdoings.
Well. folks, I suppose we can “agree to disagree” here, and I would think, like anything else, one can become inured to the “unpleasantries” – as these folks might describe it – of training.
The fact that, as Rebecca states, they can “scoop a disemboweled horse’s guts into a wheelbarrow to get it off the track and then just continue on training as if nothing had happened” shows just how inured to the horrors of this “shit show” they really are!
No, I agree, these are not nice people, these are not the ‘pillars of society’, but for the most part, almost none of them will abuse their horses for the sheer thrill of it. Of course there are exceptions. And of course, their moral compass has long gone right out the window..
-But….
While Rebecca also states: “No, Joe, those cordial, pleasant, affable trainers are nothing but hard core animal abusers who have sold what little soul they have to the almighty dollar, and only someone who enjoys abusing animals would be so adamant about doing so even when it isn’t necessary.”
Agreed. Which is pretty much exactly what I said, with the exception that these characters have no other way to make money. They don’t abuse the animals for fun of it – again, there are exceptions. They abuse them because they need to win, are desperate to do so, and they firmly believe that these horrible tactics ARE necessary because they have no other recourse in life.
Parasites, as you say? Yup.
Cruel, vicious, horrible and any other adjective in the dictionary we can dig up? Yup.
But most trainers, particularly the very successful ones, WILL NOT do anything that might get in the way of their $$$ money trail. Yes, they firmly do believe that these heinous practices are what’s necessary to win. I am also fully aware that the ongoing abuse has been caught on camera, and I am never one to argue with physical evidence, but I must maintain that while the racing industry insiders -from the biggest trainers, like the Bob Bafferts, to the littlest guy, the smallest conditioner in the business – all do participate in the abuse, for the most part they do it because they think that’s what it takes to win.
And they may be right. Which is one reason why I no longer participate in this sport.
Of course, it’s also the best reason to shut it down. Remember, I was a hard-core, dyed-in-the-wool racing fan and I was at the track every day, sometimes on the backstretch talking with trainers, always looking for information that would help boost my win %. I never once saw any abuse of any horse in the slightest, which, as I know now, only goes to show how good these characters are at hiding their sins and atrocities.
I don’t condone this mistreatment of animals any more than you do. That’s part of the reason why I left the game for good. I’m only trying to point out what really goes on in most of these trainers’ warped minds.
-Joe
I have to agree with Wanda – these industry insiders are sadists. No one with a normal moral compass could scoop a disemboweled horse’s guts into a wheelbarrow to get it off the track and then just continue on training as if nothing had happened. No one with any shred of morality could watch the types of horrific breakdowns that happen day in and day out and still stay firmly entrenched in that environment. These parasites subject living beings to the most atrocious abuse and they LAUGH about it – it’s been caught on camera. No, Joe, those cordial, pleasant, affable trainers are nothing but hard core animal abusers who have sold what little soul they have to the almighty dollar, and only someone who enjoys abusing animals would be so adamant about doing so even when it isn’t necessary.
Well, Joe, it’s obvious that we clearly disagree on one point. I say people who stay in this industry of inherent abuse of horses for money have to be sadistic to stay in this crap-show called horseracing.
You may have been repulsed at some point by the abuse and cruelty but there are some people who are still involved in this crap-show of horse abuse.
People like “Doc” Allred and many others who have been involved in this everyday routine abuse of horses were in it long before you started your horse-racing handicapping lifestyle. Not everyone is repulsed by the killing of racehorses as you were. Could you willingly and knowingly whip horses for money? The jockeys do that. Of course, there are people who whip horses who are not jockeys. You can refer to the dictionary all day long, but abuse is abuse and anyone who can do that for 50 or 60 or 70 or 80 years is sadistic. The whipping alone is not even half of the abuse to horses in this egregiously cruel industry.
Well, certainly, none of these trainers have any great love for horses that don’t make them money. Compassion and genuine horsemanship goes right out the window in horse racing if it can’t help you win races. True horsemanship always has been conspicuously absent from horse racing. For sure, careful investing in the stock market, real estate or leveraged buyouts will earn a lot more money than training horses. But do you honestly believe for one minute that any of these characters could actually be successful at a legitimate business – of ANY sort? I don’t.
But the point I’m trying to make is that these industry folks DON’T mistreat horses for the sheer fun of it. For most of them, it’s a means to an end. Cruel? Horrible? Contemptible? Disgraceful? Loathsome? Reprehensible? Vile?
All of the above. And then some.
But NOT sadistic: our good friend Noah Webster describes “sadistic” as “deriving pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others.” I believe the only pleasure these folks derive from horse racing is their ill-gotten gains $$$, the horses be damned. I’ve met and hung out with many big-name trainers. Almost every one of them is focused on winning, winning, and more winning, at almost any cost. Whatever it takes. But also, every one of them I’ve met is cordial, pleasant, open and affable – to the public. But the competition to win is fierce and so inevitably, and sadly, the abuse ramps up. No, people who abuse horses are not nice people. But putting on their game face is more important today than ever.
Bottom line – breakdowns really do interfere with their ‘game’. They don’t like it, and it’s bad press, something they surely don’t need these days..
-Joe
I believe there are plenty of ways to make money that don’t involve hands-on cruelty to horses. If trainers (and others) didn’t enjoy inflicting cruelty on horses, they would ideally get out of the occupation that “requires” them to engage in sadistic cruelty to horses as in racing.
Maybe there are some people involved in this industry who see the cruelty and want out but they are trapped by their cruel and greedy bosses, especially if they are either illegal or on a work visa and the trainer refuses to pay them. This circumstance is often called human-trafficking. There have been reports of more than one trainer not paying their hired help.
I completely agree that so many people are in it for the money but once you see just how much the horses suffer, you can’t stay in it if you have genuine compassion for the horses. I never considered myself to be an activist. I have had hands on experience with horses. I speak from the platform of what I deem to be true horsemanship.
I know there are a lot of people experienced with horses and somehow they can continue to look the other way on the aspect of buying, selling and shipping horses to slaughterhouses as one example of hideous cruelty to horses. They evidently make a living at it. At least some of them do. Killbuyers don’t want animals to have rights. Another way to say it is they don’t want to be punished for using and abusing animals for “fun” and profit.
A person who stays in this inherently cruel business (horse racing) has to be sadistic in their heathen hearts.
Wanda,
Certainly in this industry, like every other, you’ll always find a couple of real whack jobs who’ll get their kicks from causing pain and suffering. But, by and large, in the racing indutry this is the exception, not the rule. Mistreatment of these animals is a simply a means to an end in order to make money, because the bottom line is here is, as always, money.
Drugs, beatings, forcible high speed running is what these characters perceive will make their charges run faster, because as we know, slow horses don’t make the big money.
Also, remember that trainers have to answer to owners who’ll want to know why their high-ticket investment has suddenly dropped dead while thundering down the backstretch. Not all horses are insured, and owners can change trainers at the drop of a hat if they see too many breakdowns, or, worse [in the owners’ eyes, that is] not enough wins. No trainer wants to lose clients, big or small, so I’d still have to say, no, they don’t like breakdowns. Losing money in this game, to them, is the worst mortal sin of all.
Despicable? You bet. But there is no altruism at work here when I say these birds don’t like to see breakdowns. They simply hate to lose money.
-Joe
Joe, I agree with you on most points but I still believe that sadistic people get a sick thrill out of causing pain and suffering to sentient beings.
Not all racehorses are high profile horses. Without the Freedom Of Information Act requests and reports shared here of horses at all levels, including the lowest of the low level claiming horses, there are a lot of people who would not even know how rampant the sadistic treatment of horses is in this gambling racket.
The racing industry has a way of putting a shiny face on something that is disturbingly cruel. Forcing babies to gallop, especially at top speed, is sadistic in itself. It’s a recipe for breakdowns and the veterinarians and the drug companies know it.
No, racing insiders, from trainers, to owners, to the racing commissioners DO NOT like to see these breakdowns any more than you do. But for different reasons. No one likes to see their stock prices plummet on a bad day at Wall Street and that’s the mentality of the racing insiders.
There is an abject stupidity at work here among these people, though, that seems to make them think that their horses will run like machines even when they abuse them beyond belief.
But no, animal activists hate breakdowns because of the pain and suffering inflicted on the horses by their abusers. Bettors, [former] like myself, hated to see breakdowns because, not even considering the money we wagered, many of us were fans of the horses in the same way that one might be for a star football or baseball player. Racing insiders, though, hate breakdowns because, quite simply, they’re “bad for business.”
-Joe
I wonder if some of the people in horse racing get as much of a thrill out of seeing a horse breakdown and suffer in pain and agony as they do when their horse wins a race. In this egregious cruelty to horses, you can’t have one without the other. You can’t have horses winning races without having horses suffering from fatal injuries.
Reading these break my heart. These are the days I go out to my barn and hug my horses because I am so grateful they are in my life and that they survived these shit shows.