Parx, like the other five tracks in Pennsylvania, is being wholly propped up by taxpayer dollars – roughly $200M annually for the six tracks combined, almost $4B since the subsidies began in 2004. So what are the good citizens of PA getting for that? Well, among other things, animal cruelty and animal killing. On the latter, this happened at Parx yesterday within just an hour of each other:
Keeping It Country in the 5th race: “suffered a catastrophic injury in the opening 1/4 and was subsequently euthanized.” This poor boy was seven, and this was his 48th time under the whip. The responsible: Blackstone Farm, Pleasant Fields at Harmony Hill, Miguel Penaloza, Jean Aguilar. In this same race, by the way, First Money was “injured/vanned off” – wording that more often than not ends in death. We will update.
Awesome Cause in the 7th race: “suffered a catastrophic injury in the stretch and was subsequently euthanized.” While the chart did not say it, the announcer reported that Awesome fell – “there was a spill at the back” – after, that is, she excitedly called the finish. This poor girl was two, and this was her debut. The responsible: Jorge Carbajal, Jennifer Carbajal, JC Racing, Jacinto Solis, Luis Ocasio.
Two “athletes” killed just an hour apart and what did they do? Why continue the game of course. Just cart the 1,000-pound corpses off the field and play on! It’s wicked, folks, to its very core. (With our second-half FOIA report still to come, we have already confirmed 22 kills at Parx this year – and well over 500 since 2014.)
