The following tracks canceled racing yesterday due to extreme heat: Belterra, Colonial, Delaware, Ellis, Monmouth. (Several had also canceled the day before.) Who was racing? Among others, Saratoga. When the 1st race kicked off there at 1:12, says the chart, the temp was 95. But I can tell you (because I live in the region) it felt worse than that. In a word, oppressive. Undeterred, NYRA pressed on. Nothing was going to stop Opening Day!
Now consider this: In addition to being forced, via a whip, to run, at breakneck speeds, in that heat and humidity, all those poor horses were controlled with a chunk of metal in their mouths: the infamous bit. To remind, here is what equine ENT expert Dr. Robert Cook says happens to bitted racehorses. (Dr. Cook was writing off photos – at bottom – taken at Saratoga a few years back. Full post here.)
“All of these racehorses will run their forthcoming race in pain from the bit. A recognized principle of saddle-fitting is that the saddle should not apply direct pressure on the bone of the spine. The same principle is overlooked in relation to bit use, the declared purpose of which is to apply pressure on the bars of the mouth, the jawbone. Imagine how we would feel if we were ‘trained’ by the repeated pressure of one or more metal rods against both our shins? A horse’s mouth is much more sensitive.
“The horse is a nose-breathing animal and cannot mouth-breathe. In the wild it runs with a closed mouth, sealed lips, and a negative atmospheric pressure in the oral cavity. Suction pressure locks the soft palate onto the root of an immobile tongue to maintain an open airway. A bit breaks the lip seal, admits air into the mouth, and unlocks the soft palate, which now obstructs the airway. But this is not all.
“Airway obstruction at the level of the throat will cause pressure damage to the lungs and [that is] why all these horses will ‘bleed.’ As their lungs are repeatedly bruised and quickly waterlogged…some horses may experience severe chest pain and a frightening sensation of drowning. Any one of them could die from so-called ‘exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage.’ A better name for this universal problem of the bitted-and-bleeding racehorse is ‘negative-pressure pulmonary edema’; a life-threatening emergency in human medicine.
“In a word, all of these horses will experience varying degrees of suffocation…. I see that at least six of them are harnessed with two bits, a snaffle and a ring bit. A ring bit is especially severe and one horse is encumbered with this and a tongue-tie. The physical and emotional enormity of bit usage would be difficult to overstate. Its self-evident purpose to cause pain is bad enough, but its unintended consequence of asphyxiation brings to mind the method’s similarity to that of waterboarding. In my opinion, a bitted rein is a whip by another name; an unrecognized lung-damaging device that, during extreme physical exercise, inevitably causes pain, suffocation and premature exhaustion.”
“Drowning.” “Suffocation.” “Asphyxiation.” “Waterboarding.” And all the worse in oppressive weather conditions. Can we even begin to fathom what those horses experienced yesterday?
Not that this is the point, but (at least) two horses were ambulanced off the Saratoga track yesterday: Fireballin (“appearing in distress”) and Lovely Grey. The latter was part of what the TDN called a “four-horse spill,” with all four hitting the turf.
Sharon, I think it is very possible that the horses in the above pictures could be dead by now since they were taken at Saratoga racetrack July 16, 2022. I don’t know the names of these horses.
The NYRA doesn’t have all the power. Just as Sea World and Ringling Brothers had to reinvent themselves when humanity realized that there is nothing cool or entertaining about mistreating animals, eventually the horse business will have to do the same.
If they don’t wan’t to accept the fact that horse racing is on the wrong side of history, then get ahead of the curve and start writing the next chapter.
Jdoe, that sounds like a very humane idea. Unfortunately for the horses, the New York Racing Association and the New York State Gaming Commission would not be making millions and billions of dollars off of a cruelty-free event.
Information online says that the “heat index” on Friday, July 3rd, 2026 at the Saratoga racetrack was 98 to 102. They will run the horses for sure until the heat index gets to 105 according to the New York State Gaming Commission protocols. At that point, they will discuss whether or not they should cancel the races for the day.
It’s unbelievable at how many people, whether they say they love horses or not, don’t care about the absolute cruelty inflicted on the horses.
Belinda Stronach said she “hates horses” but yet she is in the business for the millions and billions of dollars of revenue from their gambling venues. I think you would have to hate horses to be able to inflict so much brutality on them and not think twice about it.
Some of the horses pictured (in Patrick’s reportage of today’s date) are definitely not in prime physical shape to be running (loss of muscle mass and underweight apparent). My guess is these horses will be raced into physical exhaustion because these poor horses are definitely showing signs of upcoming health issues if they are not turned out to tone up mentally and physically.
But what can anyone expect from thug trainers that rely on steroids and other poisons to condition their horses? I’m amazed at the versatility of these horses to endure when some of them are definitely in crumbling physical condition.
Here’s an outside the box idea.
The reason people go to Saratoga is cuz “It’s the thing to do”. People don’t actually like losing money and watching horses die.
How about giving them a summer alternative.
Create a large venue with a pasture so people can observe the amazingness of horses just being horses.
Surround this with good energy, picnic, bbq, music and dining areas.
People would enjoy this just as much and everyone gets to keep their karma intact.
What a more spectacular way to start off the much beloved Saratoga Thoroughbred race meet than to have a 4-horse spill in sweltering heat! Reminds me of the blundering failures stemming from greed going on in Washington, D. C. especially for the big 250th celebration.
Of course, the only really important thing is that the gamblers lost a lot of money betting on the four-legged gambling chips, as well as throwing their money away in the casinos, and that the New York Racing Association can boast about how great the betting handle was for opening day at the great Saratoga Throughbred racetrack.
Well, I Love Giraffes has now been diagnosed with a hip fracture, and they are “hoping” she will heal within 4 months.
I saw the race on TV and it was horrifying. They said I Love Giraffes was running erratically and got her legs tangled with the horse next to her and fell, causing a chain reaction. The race, including slo-mo versions of it, are all over Twitter. As I often say, my horses don’t get their legs tangled running out in the pasture and cause each other to fall. I can’t believe none of the 4 horses weren’t injured worse than some cuts and scrapes. I bet they are all very body sore today!
The spill was race # 8. The replay not available. I was able to find the video after searching for a while from someone who was there I guess. It is a miracle that any of the horses made it unscathed. They are claiming all’s well with the four horses. Javier Castellano had to be taken to the hospital after the fall. This also was opening day for the coveted Saratoga venue. It makes you wonder if the heat caused the first horse to lose his balance. With all this being said, nice going racetrack on your opening day.