5-year-old Granny Calling broke down in the 1st race at Santa Anita yesterday and is dead. Prior to her fatal run, the veteran (who was not done growing yet) mare was for sale at $8,000. The complicit: jockey Gonzalo Nicolas,…
In his latest column on ESPN, Steve Davidowitz frets over the atypically (for racing as a whole) large field size (20) for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. More specifically, with so many horses jostling for position, Davidowitz imagines a nightmarish pileup and…
The following is a six-month update on those horses reported as vanned off in October 2013. (Please note: I began tracking casualties on October 14th.) While reading, bear in mind that two racing experts put the vanned-off mortality rate at…
Like Finger Lakes before it, Belmont Park wasted no time in recording its first victim of the 2014 meet: 3-year-old Handstand, being raced for only the third time, broke down in the 6th and was euthanized. This, after he “came…
Friday afternoon at Aqueduct, 6-year-old Aussi Austin comfortably won the 8th race, earning for his connections a cool $42,600. That, alas, would not only be his last race, but also his last day on this planet. For you see, Aussi…
“THUNDERING HOOVES UNDER THE LIGHTS!” “Come experience the thrill of live thoroughbred racing – under the lights, all year long! Everything is better at night! As you pick your winners, enjoy fine and casual dining, special events and perks from…
Yesterday in Ohio, “The Sport of Kings” was a five-horse $2,500 claiming race worth $3,000. And now we learn that one of the five, 6-year-old Caverna, never made it out of the arena alive – catastrophic condylar fracture, gone. The…
On racing’s egregious meter, steeplechasing is practically unsurpassed. These are the kinds of races you watch with an expectation of horses falling – and breaking. This past Saturday saw the 118th running of the Maryland Hunt Cup, a 4-mile race…
5-year-old Cuban Devil died in the 5th race at Atlantic City last night. His last six starts prior to Sunday – all under trainer/owner Bryant Taylor: 12/30/13, claiming race at Parx, 10th of 11 01/12/14, claiming race at Parx, last…
The following racehorses were casualties on American tracks last week: Monday Bojax, Turf, race 2, vanned off Tuesday Bubba Blitz, Beulah, race 7, “in apparent distress” Wednesday Successful Review, Evangeline, race 3, vanned off Genuine Windi Dash, Turf, race 2,…
I was able to confirm that 4-year-old Marcelino Springs, who was reported as broke down/vanned off yesterday at Golden Gate (race 8), is dead. The complicit connections: jockey Catalino Martinez, trainer Doug Utley, owner John Battle, breeder Russell Drake. To…
Just before midnight this past Monday, Standardbred Southwind Tabor died after breaking a fetlock in the 12th race at Yonkers. He was driven by Brian Sears and trained by Michael Sorentino. NY’s 2014 Death Toll: 26.
