In the 4th race July 3rd at Delta, 3-year-old Pink Friday hit the rail and was pulled up. In her next race, a $5,000 claiming October 3rd at Evangeline, she finished last of 10 – “sluggish, out of it.” She…
Saturday, I posted on the breakdown/death of La Ranchera at Tampa Bay the day before. Her fatal crumple, you may remember, initiated a pileup that eventually included four horses. One – Bright Promise – was listed as vanned off; the…
An update on the July 2014 U.S. horseracing casualties. 108 horses were “vanned off”; 11 of whom were later confirmed dead: My Belle Etoile, Ellis Guidopanzini, Oak Tree War Prince, Emerald Ruler of the Tribe, Emerald Kokaltash, Del Mar Indomitable…
Yesterday – Monday, one of the slowest racing days of the week – two more racehorses were sacrificed for $2 bets and racino-subsidized pots of gold: In the 4th at Parx, 4-year-old Trust in Tebow broke down and was “humanely…
I have confirmed that 3-year-old Wildly Quiet is dead after breaking down in the 10th yesterday at Sunland. She was trained by Carlos Gonzalez and owned by Armando Jaquez. In all, Wildly Quiet was put to the whip three times.…
The following horses were casualties on American tracks last week. This list, however, includes only raceday victims, for while I’d prefer a more complete reckoning, the training carnage, with but two exceptions (NY, Cal), is almost entirely covered up. Reported…
The California Horse Racing Board reports that 3-year-old Lazy Lightnin, she of two career races, was euthanized after a training-session breakdown at Golden Gate February 1st. She was trained, owned, and bred by Brian Pitnick.
4-year-old La Ranchera, a 37-race career claimer most recently trained by Marcial Navarro, is dead after crashing in the 6th at Tampa Bay yesterday. As if not enough, the fall brought down three others – Carol Ann, Juliebrowneyes, and the…
Through a “Public Records” request, I was able to confirm the following deaths on Oregon tracks last year. (It should be noted, however, that Oregon is a relatively light-racing state, with but one regular track, Portland Meadows, and a handful…
I’ve come to believe that horse-racers fall into one of three categories. In the first, surely the majority, are the grinders – those who race as career, for paycheck. Whether they were raised in the industry or came to it…
A family-fun Sunday at Fair Grounds in Louisiana: In the 1st, “TRIDENT HERO…proved best [won] under a right-handed whip”; “UNION EXPRESS [who placed] was urged along while off the pace…came under a right-handed whip…was switched to a left-handed whip…” “proved…
The following horses were casualties on American tracks last week. This list, however, includes only raceday victims, for while I’d prefer a more complete reckoning, the training carnage, with but two exceptions (NY, Cal), is almost entirely covered up. Reported…
