Book’em, two, broke down training at Fair Grounds Jan 6 and was euthanized. In his report, the Daily Racing Form’s Marcus Hersh wrote: “[Trainer Bret] Calhoun had planned to launch Book’em’s 3-year-old season on Jan. 18…. Instead, he has a hole in his stable and a heavy heart.” Vile. Hersh added: “Book’em was working five furlongs…when she injured herself turning into the homestretch….” Yes, she “injured herself.” Vile, again. By the way, if not for this article, this kill wouldn’t have seen the light of day: Louisiana claims it does not track training kills, leaving those (and stall) deaths beyond my FOIAs.
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Fred & Joan,
You folks are from the old school where horses were truly loved and given the utmost respect and concern for their welfare. Authentic horsemen like Carl Hanford for one, trained horses with what was best for their horse, time out to pasture if a horse was needing rest and refreshment, picking spots that for their horses that suited their talents of speed and distances that were not beyond their ability to handle…races that kept them getting discouraged mentally or depleted physically. The licensed thugs who hold trainer’s licenses these days are a disgrace to humanity and deserve universal contempt from all nations of the world. These people are equine executioners and deserve condemnation general society and most especially from the judicial system. And, above all trainers who really understood and considered it a privilege to stand in the company of horses never would permit a jock to abuse a horse during the run to the wire especially when that horse was giving its best effort. The muck sacks of the saddle nowadays include Pat Day, Jerry Bailey, Gary Stephens, Steve Cauthen and all the others who gained fame and fortune and continue profit and earn big bucks on the sufferings horses. For instance, Pat Day, Baffert, and their buddies in crimes sprees against horses have agencies that book them for speaking engagements (they are paid 5,00 to 10,000 to elevate an industry that is an affront to God and to every man, woman and child who possess an active conscience and a heart dispositioned to compassion and kindness for all species of life.
Sherry & Wanda all the times we galloped horses in am for official workouts, we never carried or used a whip! Good for John Wayne! Always thought he was a decent horseman. We have several times had the fastest workout time of the day without ever using or carrying a whip. Riding horses at the track for us was all about the relationship with the horses. Never about gamboling or handicapping! We became involved with racing because of wanting to be around horses not for the despicable gamboling or the many horrible people we encountered.
Today in researching I located this quote: “Horses can help us to connect with the natural world and the beauty that surrounds us.” – Jane Goodall.
Patrick, I think Ms. Goodall might be able to do some real good to the cause of stopping equine abuse not only in the U.S., but globally. Could you curate some of your work and forward it to her attention?
There was one celebrity in California who advocated for using “softer, kinder whips” as if there is anything remotely kind about jockeys whipping racehorses to make them run faster and farther even though this brutal practice leads to more racing-induced injuries in horses, because whips or riding crops do hurt.
One of the big turn offs for a lot of people is watching the jockeys brutally whip the horses especially in the stretch run. Even when the jockeys violate the “whipping rules/guidelines” during races, the penalties are barely a slap on the wrist. Even when a jockey is supposedly suspended, they can ride in a race anyway because that’s the degree of moral depravity in this greedy, heartless industry. If there are not enough “warm bodies” to ride horses in a given race, a “suspended” jockey is allowed to ride.
The filthy lie that there is anything even remotely kind about whipping a horse to make him or her run faster is an outrage. That celebrity’s name is Bo Derek.
Patrick, Fred and Joan, Wanda, supporters of horse racing wrongs,
It occurred to me that perhaps we should be contacting those high profile celebrities who champion the rights of humans and animals. I am referring to Jane Goodall, Martin Sheen, and Pierce Brosnan. These 3 champions of justice were among the thousands, upon thousands, upon thousands who responded to the plight of Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd fame. Priscilla Presley went to D.C. to address the issue of brutality being used on Tennessee Walkers. John Wayne’s family might be interested in honoring their Dad’s memory as he was a dedicated horse lover. He walked off the set on one of his westerns, and refused to go back to work until the horses in his western were given comfort of shade and watering when the inferno heat was causing distress and discomfort to the horses. The director threatened to have the studio fire him for not honoring his contract, but Mr. Wayne responded, “Go ahead.” The Duke got his way, the director had to give the horses proper care and consideration for the remainder of the shoot. Audrey Hepburn’s son Sean might be a candidate to honor his Mom’s love of animals by speaking up for abused race horses. Gary Cooper’s daughter Maria might be able to give some names of celebrity families who will throw their support behind equine justice. As for me, I am dealing with the state of Louisiana and intend to take on some very famous Christians who are doing faith without action.
Who is crying big tears for this horse abuser acting as a “licensed trainer” in Louisiana? The Daily Racing Form writes this article as though we’re all supposed to feel empathy for a sadistic human who didn’t have the horsemanship skills to know that running this two-year-old filly would cause her to become injured.
This industry continues to prove that they don’t have a clue about what true horsemanship consists of.
The horse racing industry is committing a slow suicide. Instead of changing it’s standards and practices in order to save horses from avoidable injuries they stick to excuses rooted in greed. 2-year-old in training sales and 2-year-old works and races are cannabalizing the immature colts and fillies which would have otherwise been available to fill races for 3-year-olds and older races. Prematurely Accumulated Stress of multiple works and races eventually adds up to Prematurely injured and/or dead young (under 5 yrs. Old) horses used for racing. Keep making the same stupid mistakes, keep getting the same stupid results = fewer horses for the gamblers to bet on, fewer race tracks, fewer owners/investors in horses, fewer fans and growing public hatred of horse racing continues to drive, unabated, the current death spiral in which the horse racing industry finds itself. Well you could say that the horse racing community continues to destroy itself which means the practice of workouts and races for 2-year-old’s will soon end.
Vile indeed! Not to report injuries or deaths! Galloping horses don`t just injure themselves. If a horse has proper sensation of its limbs every horse we have ever galloped would protect itself as long it was not blocked or treated with joint injections. Sadly many equine sports actively perform vet work that robs a horse of proper sensation of any impending injuries.