Last year, I related the problems I had with Florida, problems that included the joke that is HISA. Well, this year it’s even worse. My FOIA went utterly ignored until, two months in, a woman from the Gaming Commission finally answered one of my messages. She explained that FL trainers and owners are no longer reporting deaths to the Commission, that they are – ha – reporting directly to HISA. How, I asked, can the state claim to care about its horses when it doesn’t even know how many are dying? She, and another sympathetic person from the Commission, agreed with my assessment that in signing off on this, the state of Florida is derelict. But at this point, no changes are in the offing.
Here’s the upshot: Florida, long among the nation’s leaders in racehorses killed, is now giving me nothing. So remember that when considering our 2022 and 2023 tallies.
The above said, I have been able to confirm (through other channels) the following eight racing deaths in Florida last year:
2-year-old Seeking Stardom, killed at Gulfstream Jan 29
3-year-old Blank’s Hat Trick, killed at Tampa Bay Jan 29
3-year-old Defend Yourself, killed at Tampa Bay Feb 12
2-year-old Maxx Magic, killed at Gulfstream Mar 10
2-year-old Strategy Jak, killed at Gulfstream Oct 29
4-year-old Trululu, killed at Gulfstream Nov 18
3-year-old Adorian, killed at Gulfstream Dec 9
3-year-old Romashka, killed at Tampa Bay Dec 30
We have taught many horses to gallop, sometimes up a hill that they wanted to go willingly. Never used force or whips ever. Thoroughbreds & most horses that have any spirit become bored doing the same things over & over & are quite willing to try something different as long as there is no pain or force involved. Going To Get You Bill was 1 of the easiest Thoroughbreds we ever taught to gallop as he was always willing since we had had built up a trusting relationship with him which is the foundation of any good horsemanship.
This cruelty, corruption, greed, and awful carnage of horseracing, i.e., in which horses are made to run —-[and in my opinion, no animal, none, should ever be ~**m.a.d.e.**~ to run]—- results, as we all know, in these horses being routinely, on a daily basis, ………… injured/ severely injured/ dying/ euthanized.
The painful, agonizing, and stark reality for the poor, sentient horses is also overlaid —[i.e., from top-to-bottom, owners to >>> trainers to >>> jockeys]— with a THICK layer of …………………… plain ol’ “Cowardly ‘Covering Up’ What They’ve Actually Done,” as well.
These days, I sometimes wonder if folks —[not only within horseracing but, additionally, across the span of contemporary society]— might actually be taking an online course entitled, **”How To Cowardly ‘Cover Up’ What You’ve ~A.c.t.u.a.l.l.y.~ Done”**,
…………………… or somethin’, you know.
Looks to be HISA is just another way for a major racing state to hide the injuries from Freedom Of Information requests. My state of Oregon`s racing people won`t even participate in HISA as they don`t want to abide the rules for HISA as abysmal as they are.
Ocala, Marion County, Florida is said to be The Horse Capital of the World. This is really sad because there are so many young horses that will be produced for being exploited in such horrifying and traumatic events that will end badly for the horses.
Expect other states to follow suit. The myriad of horse deaths and injuries does not bode well for this dying sport, so naturally – “deceive and deflect” – can be added to their arsenal of defense against the truth. The truth is that more and more race horses are dying in droves and this trend can be directly related to their care, conditioning and the poor environment these animals must endure in the racing world.
It bears repeating, and I will. I’m glad I’m no longer involved in this game
-Joe