Through a FOIA request to the Idaho Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills there in 2025. Two notes: Idaho has no commercial tracks, just various county fairs, which combined for just 19 racedays last year. And, I received the following with this year’s FOIA: “We do not keep record of any breakdowns during training; the only ones we keep record of are the ones our State Vet euthanizes during live races.” Needless to say, they also do not track stall deaths. So, this reckoning is likely incomplete.
Jess Painted, Jun 15, Jerome R – “front limb breakdown”
Jess was two years old, and this was his second race.
Miss Jayleen Time, Jun 29, Pocatello R – “broken RF limb”
Miss Jayleen was two years old, and this was her second race.
Mo Dandy, Jul 27, Oneida R – “front limb breakdown”
Mo was five years old.
Lisa, they mainly got busted because of the crackdown on immigrants there so naturally the issue of the gambling being illegal came up. I never saw one word about how the horses were treated. It wasn’t about Animal Cruelty at all.
And this is a real kick in the pants; a real estate agency was advertising the property for sale for $5 Million. The listing mentioned the horse racing track as if there was nothing wrong with that. The owner did not have the license to have gambling. So why would anyone want to have a horse racing track unless they just used it for a training track, if they wanted to operate within the law…?
Wanda, A couple of days ago we listened to a ORC meeting where a horse had broke out of the gate in Tillamook last August & ran the opposite way around the track as a race was underway!! The ORC was discussing how a notification system could be affected to riders on the few 1/2 mile bull ring tracks we have here in Oregon. They stated such system would cost about $14,000. They stated there was NO $$ for such a system & would have to rely on humans notifying riders in event of such problems. We know from experience can`t always rely on others as they may not see the incident in time. We always had to watch way ahead on the track & rely on the horse we were riding to sometimes go with a loose horse to avoid a serious wreck. Thankfully most of the horse were good & could be ridden away from hazards.
I just read a story of a illegal gambling raid at a track in Wilder, Idaho.
Using horses as gambling chips and a way to attract crowds at fairs and racetracks is as morally depraved in Idaho as it is in any other state.
These three young and underdeveloped horses were deprived of a healthy life. They were deprived of reaching the age of MATURITY, which is SIX YEARS of age.
They were used and abused in front of who knows how many onlookers. Were children watching? Was anyone shocked or dismayed by the hideous spectacle of a horse breaking down and consequently being “officially killed” by the State Vet?
Who knows how many horses were abused to death that Idaho feels too arrogant to account for not only for racing and gambling but also in their disgusting rodeos??!!