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The 1st at Parx yesterday: “Forgotten Magic suffered a catastrophic leg injury at the top of the stretch and was subsequently euthanized.” Forgotten was two, and this was his very first time under the whip. Once again, though, all was not lost for his exploiters – owner In The Money Racing, trainer Jorge Diaz, jockey Luis Ocasio – as they still pocketed $250 for Forgotten’s efforts. Imagine that.

If you haven’t already, please sign and share our petition to end the subsidized abuse and killing of horses in Pennsylvania. Also, I will be doing another short webinar for Education Voters of PA this coming Monday at 7 pm. Registration here.

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The following comes from a former owner who has since become vehemently anti-racing. She wishes to remain anonymous at this time.

“If I could erase your memories of whips, the lonely hours of four dark walls, and the hell of exploitation, I would look to a wide blue sky, clouds, and hills upon which you’d walk and get lost in thought until your pain fades.

“I would set you free among the trees and tall pasture grasses to replenish nature’s nutrients in your body and soul.

“I would let you run along the water’s edge as it raced forward in time supplying a stream of freshness to fill your long-held thirst.

“I would set you free to explore and contemplate and make friends with your own kind, revisiting your soul’s purpose as a horse and thoroughbred – to romp, to play, to run, and to move in unison together as nature had planned – and I would be here as you need, awaiting your return from paradise.”

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It goes without saying that the NYS Gaming Commission, like its brethren across the country, does from time to time err. Typically, it’s relatively harmless – a misspelled name, an incorrect date, etc. But several times over the years, the Commission has reported a horse as dead who in fact was not; mostly this has occurred when reporting another (actual) death from the same race. Accordingly, I held off posting about Booby Trap in the 1st at Belmont Thursday – you know, the race that saw this:

Apparently, though, the 2nd-place finisher, the aforementioned Booby Trap, was “vanned off” and subsequently euthanized. (Another reason for my initial skepticism: The Equibase chart indicated no issues for BT, simply relaying that he “held safe for the place honors.”) And so, we now officially have two dead from the same Belmont race. And lest we forget, in this race another horse, Perfect Tapatino, “fell heavily” (after colliding with Baltimore) and yet another, A Silent Player, “was reported to have bled.” How proud the suits at NYRA must be. Booby Trap was five years old.