Over the course of just 7 days at Turfway (Feb 5-14), 13 horses were scratched by the regulatory vet – i.e., their exploiters had every intention of racing them – for being “injured” or “unsound,” another 17 by private vets for being “injured” or “ill,” and 5 horses who were “claimed” (bought) prior to races were subsequently returned to their sellers because they finished said races physically compromised in one way or another.
In addition, say the stewards: “Seeing Stars was fractious and fell on her way to the paddock.”
Over the course of just 11 days at Santa Anita (Jan 15-Feb 1), 29 horses were scratched for being “injured” or “unsound,” another 9 for being “sick,” and 3 who were “claimed” were subsequently returned because they finished “unsound.”
In addition, say the stewards: “Vlahos fell going to receiving barn.”
In other news, for the second time in less than a year, The Boston Globe Editorial Board has called for racing subsidies in Massachusetts to end. (We were interviewed for, and subsequently cited in, the first one last May.) Please share the piece, and if you live in Mass, send to the governor and your state legislators. Here are a couple of excerpts:
“The subsidy exists because horse racing in Massachusetts (and almost everywhere else) has been in decline for decades. The Sport of Kings has become the sport of panhandlers: in 2011, the industry ambled up to the public trough, where it’s happily fed on subsides ever since.
“The choice to put horse racing on life support has never made much sense. But it’s especially hard to defend now, at a time when schools are laying off teachers and the state is eyeing caps on health care, including dental benefits.
“It’s not like the legislature is protecting good jobs, or investing in an up-and-coming industry that could yield long-term payoffs in more jobs and tax revenue. Track workers make low wages, attendance is stagnant and sparse, and the horses themselves die in races at alarming rates.”
Exactly.
Bonnie, in regards to the naming of horses the despicable names that reveal the kind of thinking of these so-called “horsemen” as you mentioned in a previous post, I discovered that there are four registered Thoroughbreds named CHATTEL foaled in 1955, 1936, 1957, and 2016 listed on the Allbreedspedigree website.
Perfectly stated Wanda 👏
In the horse racing industry, the primary focus ought to be cracking down on trainers and everyone they deal with, and/or everyone who deals with individuals licensed as a “horse trainer” of Thoroughbreds and/or all of the other racing breeds, to hold them accountable with serving time in jail for the criminal offense of causing injuries to horses, for the criminal offense of neglecting to provide proper care for sick horses, and stop supporting this criminality with government subsidies or tax breaks. So far, it is organized groups lobbying for the richest of the rich to get tax breaks instead of going to prison.
If lawmakers are weighing cuts to K–12 staffing or constraining MassHealth dental benefits, continuing to subsidize a declining, low-wage sector can’t be justified on economic grounds. Job quality of horseracing is limited and long-term growth is flat at best. Fatalities and catastrophic injuries at tracks like Suffolk Downs and Plainridge Park Casino have intensified scrutiny nationwide. High breakdown rates have eroded public trust. If the objective is jobs and tax revenue, policymakers should benchmark racing against alternative allocations such as early education, workforce development, and public health all of which have demonstrably high returns on investment. The decline of horse racing isn’t a temporary dip. It’s a long-term contraction driven by demographic shifts, competition from casinos and online gambling, and shrinking on-track attendance. Local zoning that limits density and non-farm uses such as housing development can be achieved. We changed zoning to agricultural in my area of western PA. Large minimum lot sizes (e.g., 40–100 acres)
prohibits subdivision beyond a set threshold. The time to take horseracing off life support has long passed.