In the first of the two biggest days on the Maryland racing calendar, a kill. In race 1 at Laurel today – “Black-Eyed Susan Day” – Hit Zero, says the Thoroughbred Daily News, “succumbed to an apparent cardiac event following the conclusion.” The “apparent cardiac event,” mind you, befell a three-year-old. To add salt to the wound, the winning jockey in this race was none other than the vile Irad Ortiz.
We read many of the racing industries newsletters. One we read the other day admitted that without the “political climate changing in California & Florida to stop the leaking of oil at present rate, they`re history” They were writing of Gulfstream Park & Santa Anita & everyone in the game sees it coming from a mile away”. “All the Stronach tracks are in free fall in Maryland. Of course the article brags about how “help is on the way with the new facility at Pimlico & revised spacing of Triple Crown races that surely will come”. No mention of the terrible costs to the taxpayers of Maryland of an industry that is not popular any more being supported by tax $$. Let the racing game sink!
The owner’s daughter doesn’t want her dad to ever buy another horse again. There is supposed to be a necropsy to find the cause of death, the cardiac event. Maryland usually reveals more details than most states so we’ll see after the FOIA reports.
The Baltimore Sun has an article about HIT ZERO and his owner and his owner’s daughter and the trainer. The owner doesn’t question the care that HIT ZERO received. This was only the third horse he has owned for racing. The second horse never made it to the races. He’s heartbroken and sounds like he intends to do this again because he loves horseracing and, as always, the horse was part of the family. (🤮)
Patrick, that’s why I mentioned it. My sarcasm runs deep!
That would be the cockfighting Irad Ortiz, Nancy.
Replay..horse #7 in orange silks. The horse was running 1 and 2 most of the way pushed to the limit. Hit Zero starts to lose ground and ends way in the back still on all fours. It remains to be seen if the finish line was crossed. This undoubtedly is why the race wasn’t deleted. Another horse at the end went off to the side however on all fours as well. As usual the attention fell to the victor Irad Ortiz and not the victim Hit Zero.