This past week, prominent owner Mike Repole announced he would be bringing a lawsuit against some of US Racing’s yet-identified power brokers. Apparently, Repole has never been a fan of the “old boys’ club,” and decries the inability of individuals like himself to have more input on major decisions. Obviously, I couldn’t care less about animal exploiters duking it out with other animal exploiters. What caught my eye, however, was this Repole quote in the Thoroughbred Daily News:
“We have an industry that can’t even solve what should be a simple and moral aftercare issue. … We’re worried about the 200 or so horses that die every year on the track [note: this is a categorically false number; see our annual lists], and I am, too. But what about the 2,000 that don’t have aftercare homes or get shipped to Mexico for slaughter or go to Puerto Rico or somewhere else? How about the horses that wind up in kill pens? I guess because the optics aren’t as important as they are when it comes to horses breaking down, it’s not an important issue to the industry.”
Yes, folks, they still slaughter spent racehorses, and yes, folks, the industry still shrugs. And by the way, when Repole says 2,000 he’s only talking about Thoroughbreds.
Angelic Appeal was the horse injured race 7 at Santa Anita.
Another nasty breakdown in the 7th at Santa Anita. It only took them minutes to edit the replay this time.
Wanda – I think you’re exactly right. Repole’s lawsuit may or may not win in a legal sense, but it already succeeds in one very important way. It shines a very bright, very public light on what a mess the entire industry is, and horseracing is one of those worlds that has survived for a long time precisely because so much of its dysfunction stays hidden behind tradition, prestige, and insider silence. Publicity is the last thing that “good ol’ boy” system wants. The people in power won’t suddenly have a moral awakening and fix anything. These are the same entrenched interests that have been tolerating and enabling the suffering, the breakdown rates, the medication games, and the revolving-door accountability for decades. Economics is a much more ruthless force. When the money keeps shrinking, it may be that the industry doesn’t change because it wants to. It changes because it can’t afford not to, or because it simply collapses in on itself. Fans disappear and sponsors get skittish. The whole ecosystem starts to hollow out. Negative publicity accelerates that. Fewer owners, fewer bettors, fewer tracks, fewer excuses.
How often do sale auctions provide a public platform for horses to be bid up to a ridiculously high price but no money changes hands?
The auction house can publicize a particular horse as having “sold” for this ridiculous amount of money when in reality no money changed hands. This tactic happened regarding Shetland ponies way back when and articles were published giving people the idea that to raise and sell ponies could be a profitable venture.
Who knows how many people thought getting into the breeding and selling of horses for racing could be profitable by this deception?
Wanda, they may very well go bankrupt as most subscribe to the idea of breed & choose horses “by the #`s” & only pick horses that have outrageously high stud fees or over inflated auction $$ values. We no longer use a prominent vet in our area as we don`t want any of our $$ in any way going towards racing, locally or regionally.
If the stewards would have allowed Mike Repole and Todd Pletcher to run FORTE in the Kentucky Derby with a bruised hoof, the two of them absolutely would have run FORTE in the Kentucky Derby with a bruised hoof.
Also, the rules on doping had been violated regarding FORTE by Mike Repole and Todd Pletcher.
I think it is great that Mike Repole is filing a lawsuit against the different groups that have the power to make changes because I think the publicity will bring more attention to what a dumpster fire horseracing is.
I don’t honestly expect any real changes to be made by the “good ol’ boy network” in this inhumane industry because of the lawsuit. I do believe that the economics will continue to spiral downward so that participants with smaller bank accounts will fold and possibly sooner with more negative publicity.
All is not lost if the publicity from this lawsuit causes more people to reject this exploitation of Thoroughbreds due to more of the facts being made known to the public about the cruelty to the horses.
The suicide races at the Keeneland and Ocala Breeders’ Sales need to be made against the law. The diabolical cruelty of the suicide races is so cruel and abusive that anyone who participates should have to answer and be held accountable. There are no racing stewards to oversee these horrible and absolutely unnecessary races.
It is only fitting that an industry made up of morally bankrupt people who routinely commit acts of CRUELTY causing pain, suffering, and death to horses also goes financially bankrupt!