Through a FOIA request to the Kentucky Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills at that state’s tracks thus far this year (because of the volume, I will be posting in installments).
open fracture: bone broke through the skin
comminuted fracture: bone shattered into multiple pieces
displaced fracture: bone snapped out of place
Kissalot, Feb 26, Turfway R
“Horse pulled up with catastrophic injury. Left forelimb: severe tearing and hemorrhage of the superficial digital extensor tendon; straight sesamoidian ligament is severely torn and hemorrhagic. Right forelimb: moderate tearing of the distal portion of the straight sesamoidian ligament and mild tearing of the distal aspect of the superficial digital flexor tendon.” And, of course: “stomach ulcers.” Kissalot was five.
yet-to-be-named filly, Mar 5, Turfway S
“Equine protozoal myelitis.” Also: “grade-3 ulcers.” Again, so young (two, or even one) she had no name yet. The report added: “Horse was found recumbent when barn staff arrived in morning. Could have been like that since previous day since groom reported horse did not eat its dinner and was laying down at feed time previous afternoon.”
Kitten’s Temper, Mar 22, Turfway S
“Filly had been showing signs of colic since Mar 18. No sign of improvement. Euthanized Mar 22.” Also: “grade-3 stomach ulcers.” Kitten’s was three and had last been raced Jan 2.
Lugan Knight, Apr 30, Churchill T
“Horse galloped [then] collapsed and died while cooling out – exercise-associated sudden death.” Lugan was five.
Injunction, Jun 7, Turfway T
“Horse pulled up near 7/8 pole with catastrophic injury to fetlock: multiple [I counted four] open fractures.” Also: “Soft-tissue damage is marked, with rupture of the intersesamoidian ligament and the medial aspect of the palmar ligament, and tearing of the superficial and deep digital flexor tendons, the medial and lateral branches of the
suspensory ligament and the straight and oblique sesamoidian ligaments.” And: “The medial digital vein is torn.” As if not enough: “The worn and chipped enamel of the buccal surfaces of the incisors is likely indicative of stereotypic behavior such as cribbing or bar/wall rubbing.” Injunction, seven, also had a carpal-joint “severity score” of 8 out of a max 9. What a short (though long for him), miserable existence. That poor boy.
Kinetic Control, Jun 20, Churchill R
“Horse suffered catastrophic injury just before the wire: [multiple] open fractures.” And: “Soft-tissue damage is extensive, with rupture of the medial branch of the suspensory, the medial aspect of the annular ligament and the intersesamoidian ligament, and tearing of the superficial and deep digital flexor tendons, the lateral branch of the suspensory, and the straight and oblique sesamoidian ligaments.” And: “The medial digital vein is torn.” Also: “several stomach ulcerations.” Kinetic, three, was euthanized where he lay.
RIP
That was a training kill. I am very meticulous with the information I present.
Injunction must have broke down at Keeneland in April, that was his last race.
Turfway does not race in June
Finally they have admitted to Kinetic Control.
And to think – with all that damage, the jockey was still on him as he made him hop across the wire, and finally crash into the inner rail.
His leg was literally swinging, barely attached.
What a Sadist.
Injunction’s report is unbearable to read. It feels like a punch in the chest. His leg wasn’t just broken, it was destroyed, everything ripped apart inside, every tendon and ligament gone, his vein torn. And that wasn’t sudden. It was years in the making. The cribbing wear on his teeth, the ruined carpal joint, the stress injuries building until his body gave out at only seven.
He never had a chance. Day after day he was pushed past what a horse’s body can take, and this was the inevitable result: a catastrophic breakdown, pain beyond imagining, and then the end. What a miserable, stolen life. He should have been grazing in peace, not dying shattered on a track.