Through a FOIA request to the Louisiana Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills on that state’s tracks last year (this is part 2; part 1 here). Please note, however, that the response (as usual) came with this: “The Louisiana Racing Commission does not track or maintain a list of deaths that occur during training hours.” Neither, of course, did we get stall deaths. So, the true toll is greater than the 35 reported.
Oak Hill Strong, Jul 20, Evangeline R – “fell: [multiple] open [through skin], displaced fractures”
Oak Hill was four years old; this was her very first time under the whip.
Real Is Rare, Jul 27, Delta R – “fell: acute pelvis fracture”
Real Is Rare was three years old.
Yockey Betterfly, Jul 29, Louisiana R – “went over rail: fracture, multiple lacerations”
Yockey was three years old.
Jess Jammin, Aug 10, Delta R – “fell: paresis/paralysis”
Jess was two years old.
Flying Carolina, Aug 26, Louisiana R – “[multiple] fractures”
Flying was three years old.
Triple the Gold, Sep 11, Louisiana R – “[multiple] acute fractures”
Triple was three years old.
Carlos Loves Tee, Oct 20, Delta R – “fell: [multiple] open fractures”
Carlos was four years old.
Touching Aces, Oct 25, Delta R – “fell: [multiple] open fractures”
Touching was three years old.
Hermosa Corona, Nov 17, Evangeline R – “acute, displaced, comminuted fracture”
Hermosa was two years old.
Golden Flash, Nov 18, Fair Grounds R – “disarticulated fetlock”
Golden was five years old.
Golden Sun Drops, Nov 25, Fair Grounds R – “fractured carpal bones”
Golden was five years old.
Holiday Forever, Nov 29, Delta R – “fell: acute, displaced, comminuted fracture”
Holiday was four years old.
Palatial Times, Nov 29, Delta R – “fell: [multiple] compound, displaced, comminuted fractures”
Palatial was five years old.
Shine On Bye, Dec 6, Evangeline R – “[multiple] comminuted fractures”
Shine was two years old.
The Gray Blur, Dec 8, Fair Grounds R – “[multiple] fractures”
The Gray Blur was six years old.
Sonny Smack, Dec 23, Fair Grounds R – “[multiple] fractures”
Sonny was eight years old; this was his 50th race.
Savage Kiss, Dec 31, Fair Grounds R – “[multiple] open fractures, [multiple] ruptures”
Savage was three years old.
Mixer, Dec 31, Fair Grounds R – “[multiple] fractures”
Mixer was two years old.
Dr. Larry Bramlage has “stellar” credentials as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Who else could explain away the actual carnage of a beautiful and innocent Thoroughbred in a Grade One horse race?
One more thing to add to the list of criteria to determine which horses to place bets on would be: Pictures of the X-rays showing the hairline or MICROFRACTURES of the horses that the track veterinarians pass, or approve of, to be entered into the races.
Of course, I am not advocating that anyone place bets on the horses. Everyone who thinks it’s okay to bet on the horses is contributing to the daily routine abuse of horse racing. There are many different elements and degrees of abuse so that so much of this daily routine abuse is considered to be “socially acceptable” in some circles.
It is morally depraved to think that it’s okay for horses to be exploited the way these horses were exploited.
Q. If the powers-that-be in California, for example, had disclosed the picture/s of the hairline fractures of the horse named MONGOLIAN GROOM, before the race (because they did have pictures of his MICROFRACTURES before the race in November of 2019), who would have bet on him?
A. I think only a person incapable of seeing, hearing, reading, listening or putting two and two together would have bet on this beautiful but doomed horse in the Breeders’ Cup race.
[It’s in the Evaluation of MONGOLIAN GROOM by Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Bramlege that was available in a PDF form on the internet.]
Of course, the people in the racing industry aren’t going to take you by the hand and explain these simple facts to you/anyone they perceive as a fool and his/her money soon to be parted.
Thanks Bonnie. Since I left the horse racing game, I’ve no desire to go back, especially considering what I know now. I’m certain more bettors would agree with me if they knew, as well.
-Joe
Thank you Joe. VERY good points,and Insightful.
“The Louisiana Racing Commission does not track or maintain a list of deaths that occur during training hours.” “Neither, of course, did we get stall deaths. So, the true toll is greater than the 35 reported.”
My guess is that you can take out “Louisiana Racing Commission” and substitute “every state in the USA’s Racing Commission” from this quote. Hiding and side-stepping the true count of deaths, fatalities and multiple serious injuries to the horse population is paramount to this industry’s self-survival. Full disclosure knowledge to the general public would wreak havoc on the ‘sport’ as we know it, and would eventually spell the final death knell to horse racing.
Yes, even hard-core bettors [like I formerly was] would eventually shy away from this game if they were fully well aware of the actual, true conditions of “training” the horses they plan to plunk their money down on. Let’s face it – the past performances do give an indication of the horses’ speed, ability, grit and performance at certain distances- but there is nothing in the DRF that indicates how the horse had been abused, drugged, beaten, whipped and, for that matter, mentally disturbed from their living conditions and life style.
If you were planning to bet on a certain horse, but found you could miraculously read his mind, he may have told you, “I hate my life, I’m in pain, I DON’T feel like running today, can you get this little guy off my back, enough, already, I just wanna rest…”
Would YOU bet on him?
Nope, neither would I, nor any one of the many bettors I’ve interacted with most of my betting life. Who’s gonna bet on a horse that is sick, infirm, mentally depressed, or maybe just feels like sleeping today? In my betting days, we always looked for horses that were “on the muscle” during pre-race preps to help determine the likely winner. Today, though, one might have to look for the horse who is the least infirm!
Now, what if you could read EVERY horse’s mind, and you came up with the same thoughts?
Maybe you’d quit the game? As we all know, if enough bettors do so, it’s done. Put a fork in it.
I didn’t have to read any horse’s mind – the facts were good enough for me. That’s one of the best reasons for me – or anyone else- not to bet on horse racing anymore.
-Joe