This from the Stewards’ Report for the Tryon Steeplechase in North Carolina Apr 13:
“Larger Than Life fell at the 8th fence and was euthanized off course.”
The stewards closed their report thus:
“The course was in excellent condition and the event ran smoothly. Credit to [the] staff for a well-run event. Special recognition should go to the veterinary staff…who handled a difficult horse injury/fatality with the utmost professionalism.”
Yes, it was “difficult” to see a horse killed, but it sure was a “smooth” and “well-run” event!
Some people act like it’s a type of fashion show to attend steeplechase/ jumps races and show off their clothes. Same with the Kentucky Derby which is also barbaric.
If we had a documentary to show all of the baby Thoroughbreds produced and callously exploited for racing in the Grade I &II races and show all the ones who were brutalized along the way, it would be appalling. I keep seeing the headlines about these young and underdeveloped colts who are dropping out from being qualified to run in the Kentucky Derby. Who knows how many were bred for the KD but didn’t make it to a race track? I don’t expect to have that information.
The regulars here know my stance on Steeplechase.BARBARIC ANIMAL ABUSE..run miles with 130 pounds on their back, jump sometimes 20 “hurdles” being smacked to keep up. Fall and break pelvis,neck,legs,shoulders,etc all in a moneymaking fun family day!
Agreed I’m sure that’s not just your opinion I’m sure you took the words out of everybody’s mouth almost
Here we go again with “professional” horse-killers doing a “great” job.
Without seeing videos of this particular event, but having watched videos of steeplechase races from the past, it is logical to assume that most, or all, of the jockeys were whipping their mounts relentlessly between jumps.
The abuse is basically non-stop. What kind of people think it’s okay to relentlessly whip horses to make them run faster between jumps? These horses are giving it their all and getting punished for it. To be whipped is to be punished.
These steeplechase horses must carry more weight than flat track racehorses plus they have to run 3 or 4 miles which is much farther than the flat track racehorses must run. They have to clear several hurdles carrying roughly in the ballpark of 150 pounds of a whip-wielding rider. It’s abuse, not horsemanship.
#EndHorseracingNOW
#HorseracingIsAnimalCruelty
Here’s what was said:
“The course was in excellent condition and the event ran smoothly. Credit to [the] staff for a well-run event. Special recognition should go to the veterinary staff…who handled a difficult horse injury/fatality with the utmost professionalism.”
Here’s the translation:
“While we do our best to maintain the course, it’s inevitable that horses will die, and will continue to die as long as they keep running at breakneck speed, but as long as we can cover our sorry a**es – yeah, we’re all good with that.”
“The event ran smoothly because we were able to hide the death of the poor horse before anyone could make too much noise, which would give us one helluva P.R. nightmare – so that’s a good thing.”
“For us.”
“Credit to the veterinary staff for doing their utmost to continue to put the welfare of the horses dead last, because if the world at large actually found out the truth, we’d run be run out of business in a heartbeat. “Thank God we have enough vets ‘on the take’ allowing us to effectively hide the inherent horrors of this ‘sport’ to the general public”
My opinion. That’s how I see it.
-Joe
The NSA actually edited Larger Than Life’s fall out of their replays. So much for transparency. You would think they would be proud to show off the excellent conditions, the smoothly running event, and the professionalism of the vet staff! Apparently, the difficulty of the situation was only a minor detail, as the races went on the rest of the day, along with horses continuing to fall, or pulling up “tired”.
What’s to hide, NSA??