Yesterday, says the NYS Gaming Commission, three horses were killed racing – or in the case of one, while they were attempting to race him.
Starting at Finger Lakes, this for 5-year-old Seventh Race Shake prior to the 4th race: “While loading in the gate, horse reared and flipped – experienced severe head trauma, euthanized.” Oh, the unmitigated horror of that – so bad the race was canceled (they hardly ever cancel races). That poor, poor boy. This rotten, evil industry.
In the 4th race at Monticello, Puzzling “broke down at the 5/8 pole.” He was nine years old and had been put to the whip well over 100 times. And yet, his exploiter – Winter Asher-Stalbaum – wanted more.
In the 4th race at Saratoga Harness, Forgot Thewallet suffered a “broken fetlock” and was euthanized. This poor girl was eight and she, too, had been under the whip well over 100 times. Her exploiters: Rob Harmon and Chris Long.
In the combined 418-year history of America’s four major sports – baseball, basketball, football, and hockey – there have been three in-game deaths. That 418-year total was matched by horseracing on a single day, in a single state. A “sport”? Only to the ignorant.
The only thing that will stop the deaths, James, is the complete eradication of the scourge that is horseracing. And on that, while it may not always seem so, we are winning: https://horseracingwrongs.org/shuttered-u-s-tracks-since-2000/.
Can anything be done to stop horse deaths, horse racing ?
Nancy, since the Louisiana State Stewards refuse to be members of HISA and therefore not subject to HISA rules, Paco Lopez is more than welcome to whip horses repeatedly multiple times in succession with his hand above his head/helmet as he strikes the horse he is paid to whip, and to ride as recklessly and dangerously as he pleases in their state.
Louisiana’s blood-stained/ blood-soaked RED CARPET has most likely already been rolled out for Paco Lopez!
To everyone! Paco Lopez suspension 30 days for causing Saratoga Spill where I Love Giraffes recovering from a broken hip and the others went down. Javier Castellano was hospitalized after this race.
Equine Atrocities Continue Unabated….example: National Weekly Rulings (HISA Rulings) July 2-8, 2026. The savage abuse of horses continues because the penalties are mediocre for the harm and injuries that are imposed on horses. In the list of violators 10 were listed as drug abuse, 3 jockeys fined for whip violations (referred to as Crop Violations) when whip is more appropriate since the horse receives the vicious sting and welt of a whipping. Additionally, a nasty infraction that was explained thusly: Violation of Rule 3216(c) Name of Individual provided and fine imposed of $25,000, but the details are not publicly available!!!!! Slap the slime on the wrist with a fine and let the abusers run amok on the backstretch, and the HISA presents this penalty as Justice? The entire industry is nothing more than death camps for horses and a gold mine for the ignominious and the vile. Source: Thoroughbred Daily News
Jockeys and harness drivers demand that the horse gives 100% effort in a race except when the raced is fixed.
There was a jockey (sorry, I can’t recall his name) who talked about having the horse underneath him stop giving 100% effort and he cussed him saying something like “you sonofabitch!” and went to whip the horse to push him but it turns out the horse was dead. The horse died while running with a jockey on his back (a jockey that only cared about crossing the finish line first for the sake of the amounts of money to be made). Sorry, I don’t remember if the name of the horse was mentioned since this was something I read about several years ago. This is the so-called “sport of kings” and it is a ruthless industry.
A horse named ForgotThewallet?
What’s in a name? Turns out a lot, actually. People cherish and pass down names of family members out of love and respect. Conversely, they also use derogatory names to emotionally harm people they don’t care for. There is a long tradition of failed attempts at wit on the part of those who name their racehorse. It’s no joke, but it is very revealing. It reveals the disrespect and utter lack of dignity they give to the horse right from the beginning. Some apparently consider their horse unworthy of a beautiful name. They indict themselves without knowing it.
A vast majority of racehorses are killed as young horses.
The actual location is just a formality.
Three horses killed in one day. Three lives treated as disposable in the name of gambling and profit. Calling this a “sport” doesn’t make it one. It is the routine exploitation of vulnerable horses for entertainment. If three athletes died during a single day of competition in any major human sport, events would stop, investigations would begin, and demands for accountability would be immediate. Racing deserves the same scrutiny. Horses are not gambling chips, and their suffering should never be dismissed as the price of tradition or profit. Enough excuses. Enough euphemisms. End the exploitation and hold those responsible accountable.