Through a FOIA request to the Maryland Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills at that state’s tracks last year (this is part 2; part 1 here – 27 kills in total).
Rockyhumor, Jun 24, Laurel T
“Comminuted humerus fracture consisting of two large pieces and numerous small fragments – euthanized on the track.” Also: “stomach ulcers; bots.” Rocky, below, was two years old and being prepped for his first race.
J. K. Army, Jul 12, Laurel T
“Colt was galloping and stumbled – comminuted MCIII fracture, euthanized on the track.” Also: “parasitic cysts.” J.K., below, was two years old and being prepped for his first race.
Blues of Brooklyn, Jul 30, Laurel T
“Cooling out, [horse] started showing signs of distress and they suspected she was either tying up or overheated. They took her outside to bathe her when she collapsed and died.” Final finding: “sudden death from abdomen hemorrhage.” Also: “torn sublumbar muscle; acute bleeding within multiple muscle sections.” Also: “large number of bots in the stomach.” Blues, below, was two years old and being prepped for her first race.
And the “large number of bots”:
Helen B Breezy, Aug 13, Ocean R
“Horse sustained catastrophic injury during 5th race. The driver was able to control the horse and prevent [her] from completely collapsing on the track.” In the interview, the trainer/driver, Bryan Truitt, was asked when his horse was last examined by a vet. He replied: “Never had a full exam.” Helen was two years old.
Lift the Lid, Aug 23, Timonium R
“[Horse] flipped while being saddled, possibly hitting her head, but jumped right back up. When she backed up, the groom pulled tightly on the lip chain and she flipped again, this time landing on her poll. The filly never made an attempt to rise and had tremendous amounts of blood pouring from both nostrils and mouth. She also had blood coming from both ears. Due to the severity of her injuries, she was humanely euthanized.” Also: “degenerative joint disease [all four] fetlock joints.” Lift, below, was three years old.
Chattolanee Spring, Aug 31, Laurel T
“Trainer/rider heard a loud pop and [horse] fell – bilateral comminuted humerus fractures, euthanized on the track.” In other words, she shattered both front legs. Chattolanee, below, was three years old.
Shattered, Sep 27, Laurel T
“Lame after workout, unable to move, euthanized.” Then this: “Dr. James Casey [Shattered’s trainer and private vet] later expressed frustration with the response from the Regulatory Vets, stating that he felt the situation was not handled with the urgency and professionalism it required. According to Dr. Casey, Shattered remained in pain and distress for approximately three hours before the decision to euthanize was made.” Shattered, below, was two years old and being prepped for her first race.
Haint Blue, Nov 2, Laurel T
“Injured, fell, got up and ran loose, caught, euthanized on the track – comminuted P1 fracture consisting of four larger fragments and numerous smaller fragments, along with abundant hemorrhage and soft-tissue damage.” Also: “moderate-severe degenerative joint disease [all four limbs].” Haint, below, was five years old.
Stars Align, Nov 13, Laurel T
“[Horse] was galloping when [she] broke down: [multiple] comminuted fractures, open joint, tremendous soft-tissue damage, ligament completely ruptured.” Also: “degenerative joint disease [all four limbs].” Stars, below, was three years old.
Tidal Forces, Nov 29, Laurel R
“[After wire] showed signs of distress, started to wobble, collapsed, and after approximately one minute on the ground, died.” Also: “moderate-severe degenerative joint disease [all four limbs].” Tidal, below, was seven years old.
Shake Em Loose, Dec 12, Laurel R
“[Horse] broke down at approximately 1/16 pole. LF limb: extensive muscle and soft-tissue damage and hemorrhage around fetlock joint extending up to mid-cannon bone. RF limb: soft-tissue damage and hemorrhage within joint capsule of the fetlock.” Also: “degenerative joint disease [all four limbs].” Shake Em, below, was six years old.
Since Jan 1, 2014, when Horseracing Wrongs began the unprecedented work of reporting kills in the U.S. horseracing industry, 425 (that we know about) horses have perished at Maryland tracks. That’s 425 beautiful, intelligent, sensitive beings sacrificed for nothing more than $2 bets and frivolous entertainment. Are we not better than this, America?
I literally had to go to the bathroom and vomit looking at these pictures. The agony and misery frozen on the faces of these beautiful horses cannot be forgotten. Or forgiven.
Lisa, since the big ugly bill was written for the purpose of providing tax breaks to the ultra wealthy, also known as the 1%, at the cost of cutting humanitarian programs for the other 99%, as far as going out and buying new John Deere tractors, there are still a lot of people who won’t be doing any buying up of machinery that may cost $250,000 and up.
There are also a lot of people in racing who are not going to be buying up racing prospects for $1 million or more at the Keeneland and Ocala Breeders’ Sales either. The big ugly bill will benefit the Prince of Saudi Arabia who owns a Thoroughbred breeding farm in Kentucky as well as some other ultra rich participants in this inhumane industry.
The Modus Operandi of so many people in this inhumane industry is that “the horses are bred for racing” so I don’t expect them to spend more money on giving the young horses any extra care that would cause any rich owner to have diagnostics done with the intention of sparing the horse’s life, but only to decipher how they can send the horses out to die on the racetrack and somehow come out “smelling like a rose” in their sick and twisted minds.
These people have the mindset that the Thoroughbreds are bred to run so they will run them to catastrophic breakdowns. With fewer and fewer horses available as “inventory” to fill race cards, the breakdowns will continue on a daily basis.
I expect the racing commissioners will use the same old playbook. They have already said how they were going to “make racing safer” (in California) by spending an outrageous amount of money on a super duper handy dandy X-ray machine. So how is that working? They are like wife-beaters continuing to beat the crap out of their wives on a regular routine basis, and how did the x-rays from the super duper handy dandy x-ray machine help that?
Hopefully, more people will see how racing is inherently inhumane and get out of the cesspool of moral depravity associated with this industry.
We also read that same article about the crummy tax deductions for the super rich & wealthy buying horses to be written off against outside incomes. This all should be stopped! Why not some huge deductions for horses being rescued from this crummy industry. Can`t hardly wait for changes to come in 3 years! Support people who enact change!
The proposed fine for the slaughter of equines in Italy is $150,000 not $150,00.
Annapolis, MD (October 30, 2025) The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced a significant expansion of animal health diagnostic services including the addition of a Veterinary Anatomic Pathologist to the Salisbury Animal Health Laboratory team. The new pathologist will provide poultry necropsy services and as well large animal necropsy services for livestock and equine cases. Apparently, Maryland includes photos with necropsy reports. Too bad horse owners aren’t more proactive and include PET, MRI, and imaging devices to provide early diagnosis and clearance before races, but the cost and time involved remains prohibitive, so they say. Let’s see if the the depreciation act for the wealthy improves early diagnoses, but I doubt it. On a happier note, Italy could soon ban horse meat as part of a law that would define equine animals including horses, donkeys and mules as pets, making it illegal to kill them. If approved, it would impose jail terms of up to three years and fines of up to $150,00 for the slaughter of equines. I can only hope this is the start of a larger, global trend.
Wanda, I recently read that the administration ‘s big ugly bill now allows further tax breaks for race horse owners in the form of depreciation on their lives. The story basically was excited about the prospect of more people investing in horses and more foals, etc. It made me think one step forward two steps back and seeing an end to horseracing.
Why is it that Maryland shows more information with pictures of deceased horses in their necropsy reports than most other states?
What goes on in the minds of the people who go to their place of work, punch in the time clock, and do necropsies of horses killed by the racing industry for a living?
The veterinary community knows full well that the equine body is not finished growing until six years of age.
They know these horses are injured on purpose through the repetitive stress, the doping, the whipping, the shocking with hand-held electrical devices, the neglect of routine worming and being confined to a small space for 23 hours a day instead of allowed to grow in the natural way that horses need to be physically and mentally healthy and free of repetitive stress injuries.
For racing and gambling, for sociopathic greed, for entertaining both the naive as well as the diehard abusers of horses, these horses were forced to be gambling chips whether they lived long enough to be raced or not.
All future injuries and pre-mature death of horses could be prevented by shutting down this cruel industry. Of course, the sociopathic individuals who participate in this inhumane industry would have a hissy fit if they were subject to serious punishment for the crimes committed against the horses.
This heinous cruelty to horses is a paycheck for some and a tax deduction for some. The necropsy reports are evidence of the callous greed of diehard sociopathic individuals and the organizations they have formed to prolong the suffering of horses. Sociopaths must be punished for their crimes, not rewarded.