Notwithstanding the (at least) two horses killed on its final weekend, Aqueduct Racetrack was given a happy sendoff Sunday. The final race was dubbed, “It Was a Good Run,” and NYRA CEO David O’Rourke told the TDN: “It’s been a fun day. This crowd is amazing. They came out to give the old girl one last shout out. … This is a good way to go out.”
But perhaps the most perverse item in the TDN’s coverage was this:
“After winning the 4th race…trainer Michelle Nevin had a broad smile on her face. … ‘It’s good to win a race anywhere. But Aqueduct has been very good to me. I have spent a lot of time here and have great memories here. Will I miss this place? Always.'” That would be the same Michelle Nevin who trained War Anthem to his death just Friday. Disgusting.
A fan named Basil Dryce added this: “I think this [the closing] is a tragedy and it shouldn’t be happening.” A “tragedy,” huh? How about this for tragic – the surely-not-complete list of horses killed at Aqueduct just since we’ve been doing this (2014).
Uncle Smokey – “took bad step, fractured cannon, euthanized on track”
Dixie Sparkle – “fell, sustained cannon fracture, euthanized on track”
Andromeda’s Coming – “collided with [another horse]”
Sound of Drums – “[multiple] fractures”
Concept – “fractured humerus while training”
Jojonotjoelowe – “sustained injury while galloping”
Aussi Austin – “pulled up, ambulanced off, euthanized”
yet-to-be-named 2-year-old – “suffered cardiovascular event and died after breezing”
Bear’s Spirit – “[multiple] fractures”
Summer Sunset – “sustained fractured leg, euthanized on track”
Jesses Giant Dunk – “stumbled after race, ligament rupture, euthanized”
Knockher Off – “fell after finish, horse died on track [from] apparent neck trauma”
Cherokee Artist – “pulled up, ambulanced off, euthanized”
Princes On Thelake – “fell at 1/4 pole, euthanized”
Warrior’s Hero – “pulled up, ambulanced off, euthanized”
Quick Money – “fell – horse died on track due to neck trauma”
Half Nelson – “fell over fallen horse [above], euthanized”
Sage Valley – “fell after finish, horse died on track”
Ludo Bagman – “[multiple] fractures”
Celebrate We Will – “ambulanced off, euthanized”
Wicked Irish – “[multiple] fractures”
yet-to-be-named 2-year-old – “colic, euthanized”
Clawback – “found down in stall, euthanized”
Golden Bay – “fractured leg”
Shewreckstheplace – “[multiple] fractures”
Channel of Love – “fractured leg”
Apex – “fell, fractured leg”
Italian Rules – “torn suspensory”
You Take the Cake – “fell – fractured neck”
Senso – “ran into rail”
Miss Macarena – “fractured leg”
Risk the Moon – “fell, fractured leg”
Subtle Humor – “fractured leg”
Con Sneaky – “fell, fractured tibia”
Zenstone – “fractured leg”
Otoy – “fell after sustaining humeral fracture while galloping”
Mr. O’Leary – “sustained fractured leg while breezing”
Reyana an Reya Act – “slab fracture”
Little Love – “leg fracture”
Blooper – “collapsed and died”
Successful Sweep – “fell: [multiple] fractures, dislocated fetlock”
Mr Reid – “found dead in stall”
Start It Up – “laminitis both front feet”
The Lewis Dinner – “chronic throat infection from surgery 45 days ago”
Uncle Duncan – “sesamoid fracture”
Bellamy Xpress – “fractured leg”
Wild Target – “collapsed and died after breezing”
Alysaro – “fractured leg”
Kibble – “pulled up lame, suspected pelvic fracture, went into shock”
Cuantos – “fell, sustained fractures of cannon and sesamoids”
Black Doblin – “fractured leg”
Our Sweet Lilly – “leg fracture”
Kim Royale – “pelvic fracture, no improvement overnight, euthanized next morning”
Condo Prince – “fractured cannon – euthanized on track”
Actively – “died in stall – apparent colic”
Prince Zurs – “suspensory issue”
Charming Vicky – “[multiple] fractures”
Lost Note – “fell, euthanized on track”
Kristi Q – “flipped over hitting head, died”
Blameiton Brooklyn – “slab fracture”
Frat Star – “fell, [multiple] fractures, euthanized on track”
Regulus – “[multiple] fractures, euthanized on track”
Read the Dream – “slab fracture, euthanized on track”
Second City – “fractured leg, euthanized on track”
Cespedes – “fractured leg”
Flatterfly – “fell, fractured leg, euthanized on track”
Papa Freud – “vanned off and euthanized”
Hy Brasil – “suffered a fatal musculoskeletal injury, euthanized on track”
Iggy Loco – “vanned off and euthanized”
Fusaichi Red – “fractured P1”
Fortune Faded – “euthanized for chronic, severe laminitis”
Shotgun Love – “euthanized for severe laminitis both front feet”
Sing the Dream – “fell at the 3/8 pole, suffered fracture, euthanized on track”
Purring On Empty – “pulled up after finish, fracture”
A Fleet Attitude – “bad step after finish, fractured cannon, euthanized on the track”
Motown Sound – “pulled up after finish – [multiple] fractures”
Threefortyfive – “fractured cannon”
Milo Milo – “pulled up, vanned off, euthanized”
Overdraft – “fractured pelvis”
K’s Cabernet – “fractured cannon, euthanized on track”
Gotcha Gabin – “injured, euthanized on track”
Smooth Move – “sustained pelvic fracture”
Andesine – “collapsed and died after walking down the track”
Three Perfections – “suffered fatal injury”
Bluegrass Flash – “sheath laceration”
Consensus Thinking – “sustained injury, euthanized on track”
Big Mischief – “sustained injury, euthanized on track”
Jeter – “horse died while being treated for acute colic”
Westerdale – “suffered RH fracture, euthanized on track”
Tommy T – “[multiple] fractures, euthanized on track”
Tiger Man – “sustained injury to LF leg”
Queen of Umaill – “pulled up lame, euthanized”
Candy Smile – “injury to left front”
Clear the Ramp – “suffered a catastrophic injury”
Dark N Cloudy – “broke down – euthanized on track”
Quizzical Cajun – “catastrophic injury, euthanized on track”
Montauk Memories – “leg injury”
Mr. Tag – “exam revealed necessity for euthanasia”
Sky of Hook – “injuries necessitating euthanasia”
Stay Fond – “suffered an injury to her RF leg”
Tied Up – “returned in distress, collapsed fatally”
Thursday – “[multiple] fractures”
Hit It Once More – “[multiple] fractures”
Sander’s Empire – “suffered an injury, euthanized on track”
Spy Story – “took bad steps”
Nisbet Beach – “fell heavily…euthanized on track”
Creative Style – “took a bad step”
Kiss Me Dave – “fell fatally”
Unrelenting Force – “sustained injury to RF leg”
Genetic Gem – “injury freezing hind end, euthanized on track”
Rosey’s Peach – “found in distress, euthanized”
Noli Temere – “broke down”
Sweet Mary Lou – “pulled up, vanned off, later died”
Big Little Risk – “took a bad step”
Cara’s Daydreamer – “injured past the wire”
Obsessed – “suffered an injury approaching 3/4 pole”
Winetastic – “suffered an injury, euthanized on the track”
Johnny Fontaine – “suffered an injury nearing 1/8 pole”
A Colt Named Susie – “suffered an injury…euthanized on track”
Cazilda Fortytales – “collapsed fatally”
Lord Licorice – “fell heavily, euthanized on track”
River of No Return – “fell heavily to ground…euthanized on track”
Azaria – “catastrophic injury, distress, euthanized on track”
Towering Orbit – “pulled up, vanned off, euthanized”
Cajun Commander – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Stormy Lass – “collapsed and died after wire”
Biondi – “pulled up, vanned off, euthanized”
Ninth Hour – “suffered significant injury, euthanized”
Tapizearance – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Firing Carol – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Garth Road – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Slow Down Summer – “vanned off in distress, euthanized”
She’s a Black Belt – “injured foreleg, vanned off, euthanized”
Jelly Nougat – “suffered injury, euthanized on track”
Amman – “sustained injury to RF”
Practical Julia – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Perceived – “injured after finish, euthanized on track”
Moon Frolic – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Perfect Senorita – “catastrophic injury, euthanized on the course”
Bowl of Cherries – “collapsed, pronounced dead”
Holding Au Pair – “flipped over [after race]”
R B’s the Boss – “fell heavily, euthanized”
Foreign Influence – “fell heavily, euthanized on track”
Howzyourcashflow – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Frosty Invasion – “vanned off, euthanized”
Diamond Collector – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Midtown Rose – “suffered injury”
Listentoyourheart – “euthanized due to severity [of] fractures”
Flip’s Dream – “collapsed and died on the track”
Login Required – “collapsed after wire, died – unknown cause”
Authorize – “horse collapsed, euthanized on track”
Freddymo Factor – “vanned off, health declined”
Destin’s Mission – “suffered injury, health declined”
Secret Money – “horse experienced [multiple] fractures”
Cinderella’s Cause – “[multiple] fractures”
Uncorrelated – “cardiac event, collapsed, died on track”
Night Effect – “horse experienced injury”
Jemography – “catastrophic injury, fell, euthanized on track”
Steppin’ Hawk – “fractured knee”
Black Rain – “horse experienced multiple fractures to LH leg”
Belle of the Ball – “full carpus-to-fetlock spiraling cannon fracture”
Dr. Barry – “suffered displaced fracture”
Anarchist – “[multiple] fractures, [multiple] surgeries”
Ferris Muler – “experienced a fracture”
Spun and Won – “catastrophic injury, euthanized on track”
Sweet Rhythm – “fell heavily…euthanized on track”
Cara’s Dreamchaser – “[multiple] fractures, suspensory failure”
Heavyweight Champs – “catastrophic injury, euthanized on track”
The Golden Gorilla – “suffered injury, transported off, euthanized”
Good Money – “LF fracture, due to poor prognosis horse was euthanized”
E Z Bourbon – “transported off track via ambulance, euthanized”
Morlock – “apparent cardiac event”
War Anthem – “broke down, euthanized on the course”
She’s Grand – “vanned off, euthanized”
It sounds logical that the morally depraved people who are so shamelessly greedy and sadistic and get paid to engage in the physical and mental abuse of horses with no jail time as a consequence for criminal activities would miss a place where they were enabled to get away with Animal Cruelty (and corruption) for so many years and call it a sport rather than the crime that it is.
The chief executive officer of the New York Racing Association referring to the racetrack as “the old girl” sounds especially twisted and perverted. If it wasn’t for the subsidies, the Video Lottery Terminal Payments, and the $450-million State-Backed Bond Loan, the Aqueduct racetrack would be going out in a different way and they wouldn’t have the “refurbished” Belmont Park racetrack to depend on for their government-funded horse-abusing and horse-killing and getting away with it.
All of the people who killed horses at Aqueduct racetrack should be in jail for their misdeeds against horses.
Corporate welfare to the foxes that watch the hen house is an egregious miscarriage of justice!
I took a fast count of the dead horses and since this branch and others in Toronto allow misconduct of adults and kids using abusive language, lengthy cell phone calls at the computers it is difficult to concentrate. However, I counted 173 dead horses. The entire industry obviously has parked its conscience with the devil himself.