Through a FOIA request to the Maryland Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills at that state’s tracks thus far this year.
Going to the Lead, Apr 7, Laurel S (previously reported but necropsy wasn’t in yet)
“On Apr 6, [horse] was being treated throughout the day for symptoms of colic. Later that night, he was showing signs of severe pain and distress. Euthanized.” Necropsy confirmed: “GI rupture, hemorrhagic jejunitis, colitis, and typhlitis.”
Dr. Megan Kerford (attending vet): “At 10:30 pm, I was called back to the track as the groom reported [Going] was down thrashing and rolling. Upon arrival, he was sweating, nostrils flaring, and in distress. [After administering meds], I took him for a trailer ride for 30 minutes. Upon arrival back to the barn, he was unable to move. It took 10 minutes to get him off the trailer and he proceeded to collapse in the shed row. I [tried] to give him some pain relief but realized it was pointless. This was about 2:30 am, and the decision was made to euthanize.” Going was seven years old.
Betabcool N, Apr 9, Rosecroft R
“After completing the race, [horse] collapsed in the paddock and died. Severe hemorrhage in the lungs is supportive of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage.” Also: “cartilage ulceration [all four limbs].” Beta, below, was 14 years old.
Mr. McMahon, Apr 14, Laurel T (previously reported but necropsy wasn’t in yet)
“The colt was galloping and was badly injured near the 5/8: catastrophic comminuted [many pieces] fracture of the RF MC3. Euthanized on the track.” Also: “degenerative joint disease [all four limbs].” Mr. McMahon, below, was just three years old.
West Star, Apr 24, Pimlico S
“Laminitis, all four feet; sepsis induced by severe lung abscesses.” What happened to the 4-year-old West Star is particularly horrific – and, in my opinion, criminal – and warrants a stand-alone post, which I will submit later this week.
Lucky Sophia, Apr 29, Laurel T
“[Horse] was near the 3/4 pole when the rider heard/felt a pop: catastrophic fracture of the LF humerus. Euthanized on the track.” Also: “right ankle surgery about a year ago.” Lucky was just three years old and being trained for her first race.
Quiet Boss, May 11, Laurel T
“[Rider] heard a loud pop: fractured humerus, hemorrhage, muscle fraying. Euthanized on the track.” Also: “degenerative joint disease [all four limbs]; high density of tapeworms, too numerous to count.” Quiet, below, was just two years old and being prepped for his first race. What’s more, he had just been sold at auction a week earlier.
The Skinny, Jun 22, Pimlico T (full necropsy not yet available)
“The horse worked three furlongs and collapsed and died while jogging home.” The Skinny was but two years old – a baby – and she was being prepped for her first race.
Diane, Jun 24, Laurel S (full necropsy not yet available)
“The horse had cellulitis in the RH limb and subsequently developed severe laminitis in the LH limb. [Also], mild early laminitis developed in both front limbs. Euthanized.” Diane was five years old and had last been raced a month prior at Pimlico.
Earley Rose, Jun 27, Pimlico T (full necropsy not yet available)
“The horse was galloping when she collapsed and died.” Earley was five years old.
It’s definitely an uphill battle to get legislation passed to stop the subsidies to horse racing. One huge “in-your-face” example is in New York State.
There were certain legislators that were working on putting a stop to the basic subsidies to horse racing, and then, lo and behold, the New York Racing Association came up with this plan to completely re-do Belmont and wanted a $455-Million State-backed Bond to accomplish this.
After some time passed, Governor Hochul approved the $455-Million STATE-BACKED BOND to the New York Racing Association to “provide jobs, etc.” in the process of rebuilding the Belmont racetrack facility.
This approval by New York State Governor Hochul of this STATE-BACKED BOND also made it so that all of the effort put forth by the those legislators (who wanted to put a stop to subsidizing this egregious cruelty to horses for racing and wagering handle) became completely null and void.
Put another way, the approval of the State-backed Bond to the NYRA guaranteed that the basic subsidies to prop up horse racing in New York State would not stop AND could not be stopped.
We have to educate general society to their moral duty whether they are secular or members of God’s family. Race horses are dying agonizing deaths and what’s more they are also still being abused in Premarin Farms in the US and Canada. Premarin is a drug that causes heart attacks, heart disease and cancer resulting in human deaths, but North American farms are still using and discarding worn out mares and their foals to the slaughter house and then pipelined from the U.S. into Canada from there to Asian dinner plates.
Moreover, (in 2013 the year Horse Racing Wrongs came into existence), a horse named Backstreet Bully, (once owned and raced by the Stronach Group), became a slaughter house statistic. Evidently, The Stronach Group attempted to rescue the horse, but failed, A quote from that article should be the trumpet call to do the battle to stop the horrors imposed on horses, and should inflame all people of conscience to rally to defeat evil.
The Toronto Star launched an investigative report on the above incident and a quote is extracted from that investigative expose (March 29, 2013), Headline: Ottawa refuses to say whether horse tainted meat, etc.
“Racehorses are walking pharmacies,” said Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a veterinarian at Tufts University in Massachusetts who has studied the issue extensively. “Do you really want to be eating a piece of meat that has the rabies vaccine in it?”
The loss of Backstreet Bully should inspire advocates to stop talking and do some confronting in our communities and to get some momentum going – visit, write or dispatch a copy of the article written by Mary Ormsby. It is beyond comprehension that nations are killing horses with drugs and then selling contaminated flesh to unsuspecting consumers. How many human murders have happened because of carcinogenic meat being sold world-wide? Advocates have to reach the people eye ball to eyeball and we have to go where people seek improvement in their souls….where would we be if Jesus refused to walk into the crowds, sit at their tables, attend their weddings, etc.? If the crowds won’t come to us, we have to stand on their doorstep and bring the fight for justice into God’s House and rouse His children to defend and protect His horses from the savagery of slaughterhouses. And, for the reluctant, consider, Christ went to the Cross to save your soul, this is your chance to prove your gratitude – fight for His horses and their right to be loved and appreciated.
Christian means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.
Being a professed Christian doesn’t make it automatic that the individual or the congregation will automatically make the right choices and do the right things.
What does anybody have to lose by trying that idea though?
I think the main thing is to get people that aren’t die-hard horse killers and who aren’t even aware of how bad this is to be educated on the reality of what goes on in horse racing (whether it’s behind closed doors or not, but a lot of it is behind closed doors) and do whatever it takes to stop supporting it.
Certain individuals have confessed on this site that they supported racing in some way, shape or form for all or most of their lives, but they finally came to the realization that this animal rights activism regarding the horseracing industry does have credibility, and therefore made the decision to stop supporting it in whatever way they had been supporting even though they were not necessarily the ones doing the hands-on physical abuse and killing of the horses.
There has to be a stop to the massacre of horses that are dying across North America. Public apathy has to be challenged and the only thing I can think of is the following strategy:
It worked for Chavez, Martin Luther King, Jr. Dorothy Day and the Founding Fathers when they were fighting for the cause of Independence! Pinch the conscience of the people. Laurel, Maryland is a community that hosts horse racing and has permitting the suffering and agonies of thoroughbreds and standardbreds for decades. Time for the placid citizens of Laurel to atone for their sins of greed and profit by taking their hearts and their compassion out of storage! Laurel has 162 churches and each church should get the above posting along with a reminder that Christians are morally responsible to God for how His animals are treated. To reinforce their obligation to combat the sufferings of horses a sensitive opinion piece should also be sent to the Laurel News Leader Editor requesting an answer to why horses are being murdered with drugs and criminal training without any objections from the servants of God. Moreover, true ambassadors for Christ need to be reminded that the secular world works for titles after their names whereas Christians endeavor to earn the designation “Saint” before their names. If nothing is achieved, you can wager that they will be stunned and perhaps motivated to do compassion for horses in remembrance of the compassion Christ did on the cross for humankind.
The tapeworm issue screams neglect! These horses are supposed to be looked at by the track veterinarians. What is the excuse of the racetrack management and the stewards who let these egregious failures of basic animal husbandry slip through?
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. If you can’t take PROPER care of animals and children, DON’T HAVE THEM. These health issues are unnecessary. Really you connections of horses to not spend a few dollars to rid an animal of tape worms. It’s just sad sad sad. A disgrace on anyone who ignores proper care of their wards.
Tapeworms? That alone speaks of the compete and total lack of intelligent care or even the attempt to properly care for these horses. Loved like family, treated like royalty, my ass.
How is it that this “doctor of veterinary medicine” is allowed to continue practicing with a license? It sounds like he should have had lawsuits filed against him but I don’t know who he is or his record.
Unfortunately with these vets its strictly about the $$! With the closing of most of the tracks here in Oregon the same evil track vets are now just switching over to the ” Performance ” horse industry such as reining / jumping. One vet in our area has the well known nickname ” Dr. Needle” That vet is truly an evil person for what we have seen done to those poor horses at the track.
This is all so sickening. The horrific injuries and the internal disease these young horses suffer from are obviously human induced. How do such young horses develop things like degenerative joint disease, or just drop dead “jogging home”? And how do the veterinarians on these tracks sleep at night?
I think every one of these horses deserve a stand alone post, honestly.
I believe it would be a very impactful way to educate the public if at least some of the pictures and necropsy information of these particular horses could be put on billboards near highways. People who have no idea just how much abuse and neglect is inflicted upon Thoroughbred horses for racing and wagering entertainment could become more informed about what really happens to racehorses by seeing this information on a billboard along a well traveled highway.
It would become increasingly more difficult for the racing industry people to pull the wool over the eyes of thousands of people of the public at large who, for whatever reason, were not aware of the rampant abuse and neglect of horses for racing and wagering.
According to the people of the industry, the horses receive amazing care, are treated like royalty and are like their children and/or family members.
Well, I think it has been revealed many times that many families are very toxic and dysfunctional and therefore commit horrendous crimes against their own human family members. Therefore, it should never be taken for granted that people who exploit horses, especially for a living, are not necessarily the wonderful people that they want you to think they are.