In the 2nd at Churchill yesterday, six horses went down, with three subsequently carted off by ambulance. From the chart:
Lutkenhaus “injured, loaded into ambulance”
Shacklebolt “fell over fallen rival, transported by ambulance”
Industrious “fell over fallen rival, loaded into ambulance”
Ritornello “fell over fallen rival, DNF”
Midnight Rumble “fell over fallen rival, DNF”
Steve Wood “fell over fallen rival, DNF”
At least one, Lutkenhaus, has now been confirmed dead. This poor boy – like all the others in this race – was but two years old; this was his first race. The responsible: Team Valor, Rodolphe Brisset, Cristian Torres, and all who support this vile industry in any way.
So what then happened after this horrific display? From BloodHorse: “There was a 34-minute delay before racing resumed to ensure all onsite medical personnel, including veterinarians, were returned to their assigned positions for racing to continue.”
What more is there to say?
Nothing gets in the way of raking in more dollars. Can’t keep those bettors waiting, can we?
All Animals Deserve Love and Respect…Not Abuse or Death by human hands!!!
Sue, We stepped away in fall of 2024 after seeing a mare we had galloped in am break both front legs at the head of the stretch at our old track, Portland Meadows. A devastating event on a mare we had ridden several times in the morning. CDI does not care about the horses being used for their gamboling revenue! The people are just as expendable as the horses in our experience. We have been there at our small 1/2 mile local tracks here in Oregon. Obsolete is putting it mildly.
Such open deranged contempt for the life of another. Recently we had a workman here and I was telling him about racing and he, not even a vegan, said to me, “animals are just other humans” ( obviously knowing the distinction between species but saying they share our abilities to think, feel pain and emotion, bond and love, panic and mentally suffer and will fight to live). I so agree with Wanda about the human criminals being put behind bars, and for a very long time, I might add.
How do those in the stands not harbor at least some guilt and not walk out?
Although at times it’s slow going, Nancy, we are winning. One track at a time.
“The horses were expendable. The schedule was not.” Perfect, Elizabeth. Thank you.
The house of horrors continued the evening even after a nightmare incident. I wonder how many spectators stayed for the remaining Saturday night outing. Adding here that the silence was deafening from those in charge concerning the status of the six horses after they were taken in the horse hearse ambulance. What’s it going to take to end this barbaric form of cruelty?
I hope this will be covered across the country on news broadcasts and in newspapers. These stories need much more attention!
Imagine the scene. Horses struggling to rise. Others unable to move. Veterinarians and emergency crews rushing in while the clock ticks and the day’s program waits. Try to picture that scene. Frightened, injured young horses scattered across the track, veterinarians and emergency crews rushing to them, ambulances carrying the wounded away. And then, after 34 minutes, the gates opened again.
Why?
Because the medical personnel needed to be put back into position so racing could continue. That sentence should haunt everyone who reads it. A two-year-old had just died. Other horses had been seriously injured. Yet the central concern was not stopping to confront what had happened. It was restoring the machinery of the spectacle. The horses were expendable. The schedule was not. Lutkenhaus entered his first race and left the track in an ambulance. He will never race again. He will never go back to his stable. He will never see another morning. This is the obscenity at the heart of racing. Catastrophe can unfold in full view and once the blood dries, the bodies are cleared, and the emergency crews are back in place, the spectacle resumes. Six horses went down. One died. Thirty-four minutes later, the gates opened. That is the indictment
Tripadvisor includes the FIVE DOMAINS OF ANIMAL WELFARE that obviously the so-called horsemen at Churchill Downs could not care less about because their business is based on violating all FIVE DOMAINS OF ANIMAL WELFARE on a daily routine basis for money, for revenue, for their very psychopathic and sociopathic personalities. These people, including Team Valor, should be locked up behind bars. They should be made to suffer real punishments.
For now, the bold move to stop ticket sales and bookings to Churchill Downs through Tripadvisor is a major advancement in the direction of getting legislation passed that gets these diehard horse-abusing, horse-killing people charged and arrested and put behind bars for their heinous crimes against two-year-old Thoroughbreds.
I hope I live to see that day when the legislators pass laws that will put these heinous criminals behind bars instead of propping up this egregious cruelty with taxpayer funding.
Even pro-racing folks were shocked racing wasn’t cancelled the rest of the day. There were quite a few verbalizing they are sick of seeing the deaths and horrific accidents and are stepping away from racing.
This is why I stepped away.
Yesterday was carnage at the currently largest, most elite tracks around the country. If this happened there, we can only imagine what happened at the small, obsolete tracks that we will never know about.