According to a new lawsuit brought by racehorse owners Bill and Roberta Fekkes, this happened to Heart On the Run at Grants Pass on Sep 3, 2023:
“As Hearts [sic] broke from her stall when the bell rang and the starting gate opened, substantially all of the horse’s tailbone was degloved: its tail hair and skin were torn from the underlying soft tissue and bone, leaving substantially all of the horse’s tailbone and other sensitive inner tissue exposed. The hair and skin of Heart’s tail ended up on the ground at the starting gate as the horse broke from it and ran the race.”
The Fekkes allege that a gate employee either wrapped Heart’s tail around the back end of the gate or was simply holding it when the race began. The jockey claimed to have been unaware and whip-raced Heart as scheduled (she finished second-to-last, 15+ lengths back). In the end, much of Heart’s tailbone had to be amputated, and she developed what’s known as a “hunter’s bump” – a protrusion caused by a joint dislocation.
The above is all horrific enough, but get this: The Fekkes brought this poor girl (four at the time of the incident) back to the track. Yes, after Heart suffered unfathomable pain and trauma – a trauma that surely will never leave her – this couple eschewed a quiet, peaceful retirement and instead raced her five more times, in 2024. So you see, the “wronged” are horrible people too.
As for Heart’s ultimate fate, who knows. From The Oregonian: “Kathryn Hall, an attorney for the plaintiffs, declined on behalf of her clients to share more details than the lawsuit offers, including how Heart On the Run is faring today, two years after her injuries.”
This post is deeply unsettling yet important. The raw honesty and unflinching critique of the plaintiffs’ role in the cruelty of horse racing adds a powerful layer to the conversation. It’s a stark reminder that accountability must extend beyond the surface. Thank you for continuing to expose the systemic abuse and challenge readers to confront uncomfortable truths with compassion and courage.
When someone puts sponges up the nostrils of a horse, we know why: it’s to manipulate the outcome of the gambling payouts.
Could it be that the reason for wrapping or tying/holding a horse’s tail to the starting gate is to also manipulate the outcome of the order of finish and therefore the gambling payouts?????
Ah, good old Oregon. Sometimes were ashamed to live here. Anyone read the chart? We just read it & there`s no mention of the, in our opinion, of the bad start! The chart just says start “Good for all”. How can a start be good for a horse when her tail has just been de-gloved! Noticed the poor horse was listed as owned by the Fekkes dairy. We have ridden for both dairyman & meat cutters owning racehorses. They were among the worst owners to ride for as to the treatment & aftercare of their race horses! When riding horses out of the gates we always said DO NOT hold my horse that were riding! 1’m captain of this ship & we will maintain control without any interference. Have seen MANY gate starts fowled up by gate crews holding the horse in gate & not releasing quickly enough in time.
Well said, Elizabeth! That the owners of HEART ON THE RUN would force her to perform as a racehorse after such a horrific injury is so unbelievably morally depraved and bankrupt, I can’t even put it in words.
I had this thought that her owners, BILL & ROBERTA FEKKES, would have given her a pasture retirement. Now that I read this post, it makes me feel like an idiot to have given them any credit at all for having an ounce of scruples.
This account is ghastly beyond words. To imagine a horse suffering a catastrophic injury like a full degloving of her tail at the very instant she was forced into competition is sickening. That Heart not only endured such trauma but was then whip-raced through the pain, finishing the race while bleeding and exposed, underscores a level of callousness that should shock anyone with even a shred of decency.
If the allegations are true, that a gate worker either wrapped or held her tail, the incident is not just tragic but an act of negligence or worse, cruelty that cannot be brushed aside as an accident. It points to systemic problems in horse racing: the rush to run the race no matter what, the disregard for the animal’s suffering, and the veneer of “sport” hiding profound abuse.
Heart’s pain should never have been endured in silence, nor should her story be buried. This isn’t simply about one horse. It’s about an industry that continues to allow animals to pay the ultimate price for human entertainment.