Imm Relentless, a “fell, ambulanced” at Los Alamitos Saturday, is dead. We know this because, and only because, the jockey was injured in what the Daily Racing Form called a “spill.” (The racing rags – DRF, Paulick, etc. – only report on the deaths of high-earning horses or, like here, deaths that also include dinged-up jockeys.) Imm was two years old.
The horse only “counts” because a human got hurt. Otherwise it would’ve been another silent disposal, another body erased with industry-approved language. “Fell, ambulanced” is just the racing version of “nothing to see here.” If media only reports deaths when the jockey is injured or the horse is famous, you’re not covering a sport. You’re laundering an abuse pipeline. Two years old. That’s a childhood, and they managed to get him killed before he even had that.
The CHRB could suspend the license of Los Alamitos Racecourse to hold a race meeting to “protect” the horses but why do that when the money just keeps changing hands, right?!
Measures Against Killing and Fatalities; Immediate Suspension Authority SB 469: The CHRB has the authority to immediately suspend a race meeting to protect the health and safety of horses and riders.
The California Horse Racing Board has the authority and the responsibility to stop this horrendous killing of horses under 1902.5 and SB 469.
It is a very corrupt organization that doesn’t actually enforce the laws. The abuse and killing of Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds for Pari-Mutuel gambling could be reduced by a large number; but the abuse and the killing of horses for Pari-Mutuel gambling is so routine that it’s like drug addicts who need a stronger and more powerful drug to get the same buzz.
The killing continues under the watchful eye of the California Horse Racing Board. Sick!