The 3rd at Mountaineer last night, in the cold, terse telling of the chartwriter: “Simply Jack took a bad step inside the 8th pole, pulled up, euthanized on the track.”
In the race that immediately preceded this one (same track, Oct 13), the 6-year-old Simply finished last of 10, 25+ lengths back. Before both races, his loving owner, John Fanelli, had him for sale, dirt-cheap ($4,000).
This is horseracing.
There’s no such thing as a “bad step.” The people in the industry know this, but they perpetuate the myth in order to absolve themselves of the responsibility.
Horses break down because of existing injuries. They’re not stepping into gopher holes on the track. Horses can get injured running around in the pasture being silly, but it’s very rarely fatal. They’re also not the catastrophic injuries where multiple bones, tendons, and ligaments are obliterated.
Here are the results of a study published in 2014 that proves breakdowns are caused by pre-existing injuries. Note it was sponsored by the KHRC, in other words, the racing industry.
https://thehorse.com/149935/kentucky-necropsy-program-disproves-bad-step-myth/
Everyone at Mountaineer racetrack should be charged with Felony Animal Cruelty. It’s outrageous that they “make a living” mistreating horses and running them to catastrophic injuries and in so doing cause harm and death to horses on purpose.