Brought Back to Race After Two Years Away, and His People Are Running Him Into the Ground

On Jun 29, 2022, Tapaway finished 8th, 13+ lengths back at arguably the worst track in America, Mountaineer. His exploiters – Nancy Ramunno and Richard Vickers – also had him “For Sale” that day at the bargain-bin price of $4,000 (not surprisingly, no takers). He then seemingly disappeared. Being that he was a cheap loser at seedy Mountaineer, it was reasonable to suspect the worst. But lo and behold, Tapaway resurfaced.

Still under the yoke of Ramunno and Vickers, the now-7-year-old Tapaway returned to Mountaineer this past Jul 24 and has been raced five times since (all at Mountaineer). In only one (Aug 26) was he somewhat “competitive,” though in that race he was said to have “weakened late.” The results of the other five:

Jul 24: last, 11+ lengths back (“trailed throughout”)
Aug 7: second-to-last, 25 lengths back (“was always outrun”)
Sep 8: 6th, 18+ lengths back (“was always outrun”)
Oct 13: last, 50+ lengths back (“stopped”)
Nov 6: last, 74+ lengths back (“stopped, eased to wire”)

And, of course, he was “For Sale” before each of those six races, still at just $4,000.

For these scumbags who seem hellbent on running this poor boy into the ground, it’s an attractive risk-reward. Mountaineer only exists today because of taxpayer subsidies. In addition to jacking up overall purse money, this corporate welfare allows Mountaineer to pay first-last. So regardless of how far back Tapaway finishes – 50 lengths, 74 lengths, no problem – Ramunno and Vickers cash in. Now, it’s not a lot – $790 over the six races this year – but it’s enough. And icing on the cake, if Tapaway should happen to break down and needs to be euthanized in the dirt, the track pays for it. Vile people, vile industry.

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4 Comments

  1. Lisa, it sounds like these horse killing monsters will continue to “tap away” at the poor horse until there is nothing left to tap. They all should be in jail for Animal Cruelty. It would be great if the horse could be rescued from these blood-sucking parasites.

  3. He’s experienced with killing them off, as his My Pink Baby Bird broke down this year at the same track.

  4. Mountaineer pays for the cost of euthanizing a catastrophically injured horse? And the disposal of the horse’s remains? To the landfill we go…
    This is literally subsidized killing of racehorses. That’s so sick!

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