Through a FOIA request to the California Horse Racing Board, I have confirmed the following deaths:

Joy of the Saints, Jun 20, Pleasanton T
“Flipped over…and started paddling all legs. Bleeding out mouth/nares. Presumed broken neck. Multiple acute, traumatic skull fractures…with extensive intracranial hemorrhage and trauma to the brain. Horse died before pentobarb administered.”

Eagle Screams, Sep 14, Golden Gate T
“Sudden death.” Eagle Screams was ten years old and had been put to the whip an unconscionable 80 times. Imagine that the only life this poor animal ever knew was one of utter subjugation. How profoundly sad. How positively intolerable.

Arise, America.

Through a FOIA request to the California Horse Racing Board, I have confirmed the following deaths at Golden Gate Fields. (The Board redacted the names of the dead.)

unidentified 3-year-old female, Mar 23
“Horse was found in stall, down and unable to move – equine herpesviral myeloencephalopathy. Spinal Cord: moderate to severe multifocal myelopathy with multifocal vasculitis, hemorrhage, and axonal degeneration and necrosis. Brain: mild multifocal lymphocytic meningoencephalitis. Stomach: focally extensive gastric ulcer.”

unidentified 3-year-old female, Mar 23, training (found dead Mar 24)
“Sudden death, OK at 10 pm; found dead in shedrow at 4 AM. The cause of death in this horse was identified as a cervical fracture with completely severed spinal cord.”

unidentified 3-year-old male, Mar 29
“Sudden neurological symptoms beginning after 5 pm; horse had been sick 6 days. Brain: mild to severe suppurative and fibrinous meningitis.”

Through a FOIA request to the California Horse Racing Board, I have confirmed the following deaths at Golden Gate Fields. (Please note: The Board redacted the names of the dead horses; any identifications below came via other channels.)

Driveroff Thedeck, Jan 5, Golden Gate R
“Catastrophic breakdown of right front fetlock. Fracture of the proximal sesamoid bones. Full thickness, transverse rupture of the palmar annular ligament. Full thickness, transverse and longitudinal rupture of the intersesamoidean ligament. Complete, short, transverse rupture of the deep digital flexor tendon. Complete, short, transverse rupture of the superficial digital flexor tendon. Severe fraying of fibers, short, incomplete rupture and extensive, complete splits of the lateral branch of the suspensory ligament. Complete, transverse rupture of the medial branch of the suspensory ligament. Severe, focal, full thickness cartilage loss of the medial condyle of MCIII. Mild transverse ridge arthrosis accompanied by fibrillation and cartilage pitting.” (speaks to chronic grinding of this 3-year-old’s body)

unidentified, Jan 6, Golden Gate T
“Catastrophic breakdown of left front fetlock. Fracture of the proximal sesamoid bones. Full thickness, transverse rupture of the palmar annular ligament. Full thickness, transverse and longitudinal rupture of the intersesamoidean ligament. Severe fraying of fibers and complete transverse rupture of the medial short and cruciate ligaments. Severe fraying of fibers and complete longitudinal rupture of the collateral ligaments of the proximal sesamoid bones. Severe, complete, transverse rupture of medial extensor branch of the suspensory ligament. Severe, multifocal, full thickness cartilage loss of the distal articular surface of MCIII. Both front limbs were affected by moderate to severe osteoarthritic changes within the fetlock joint, including severely advanced, bilateral palmar osteochondrosis of cannon bones. Furthermore, the medial branch of the suspensory ligament of the right front limb was approximately 3 times enlarged in comparison to unaffected lateral branch, probably as a consequence of the excessive stress affecting the suspensory apparatus.” (speaks to chronic grinding of this 6-year-old’s body)

unidentified, Jan 16, Golden Gate
“This horse had cardiac arrest following recovery from anesthesia…right dorsal caudal thoracic wall, acute brusing and hemorrhage.” (she was three years old)

Through a FOIA request to the California Horse Racing Board, I have confirmed the following deaths at that state’s tracks so far in 2019. (Please note: The Board redacted the names of the dead horses; any identifications below came via other channels.)

Big Ceas, Jan 20, Golden Gate R
“Catastrophic breakdown of left front fetlock. Complete luxation of the fetlock joint with lateral displacement of the distal MCIII. Complete, longitudinal split with severe fraying of fibers of lateral branch of the suspensory ligament. Full thickness, transverse rupture of the palmar annular ligament. Full thickness, transverse and longitudinal rupture of the intersesamoidean ligament. Complete, transverse rupture of the collateral ligaments of the fetlock. Gastric ulceration, severe.”

Tiz Willow, Jan 25, Golden Gate
“The gross findings in this mare confirm a markedly thin body condition with serous atrophy of fat. Additionally there was a large impaction observed in the transverse colon and proximal small colon. The bone marrow fat percentage…was 2.3% which is considered very low with a reference range between 62-99% in an healthy adult horse. This finding along with the serious atrophy of fat support a negative energy balance with mobilization of fat stores in the bone marrow of this animal. It is reported that this horse was not euthanized and had died. 800 lbs [at death].”

Grace Bay, Feb 15, Golden Gate
“Horse flipped and struck head on the way to…race. Bled profusely from right ear and unable to rise and then became comatose. Acute skull fractures of basisphenoid, occipital and temporal bones with intracranial hemorrhage.”

unidentified, Feb 17, Golden Gate T
“Horse collapsed while training and then shattered left front cannon after working four furlongs. Cervical vertebrae – C2 (dens) acute, transverse, oblique, comminuted with displacement and severing of the cervical spinal cord. Presumably, the catastrophic left cannon bone fracture was the initial injury. The cervical vertebrae fracture, which caused the spinal cord to be severed and led to death, is presumed to be a secondary traumatic event immediately following the leg fracture.”

unidentified, Mar 10, Golden Gate
“Colic on 3/9 treated by veterinarian and died [note: no mention of euthanasia] morning of 3/10/19. …hemorrhage of the entrapped section of intestine and hemorrhage in the ruptured stomach. Gastric rupture with transmural hemorrhage.”

Through a FOIA request to the California Horse Racing Board, I have confirmed the following deaths at that state’s tracks so far in 2019. (Please note: The Board redacted the names of the dead horses; any identifications below came via other channels.)

unidentified, Jan 5, Los Alamitos T – “catastrophic right front fetlock breakdown”
“Severe, complete failure of the suspensory apparatus – fibers of medial and lateral branches are severely frayed and the lateral is completely ruptured. The body and the suspensory origin are also severely frayed and hemorrhagic, especially the lateral aspect/lobe. Fracture of the proximal sesamoid bone. Complete, displaced, comminuted, avulsion fracture of the abaxial margin of the medial proximal sesamoid bone, avulsed with medial branch of the suspensory ligament. Massive hemorrhage extending from the proximal third of MCIII to the coronary band. Full thickness, transverse rupture of the palmar annular ligament. Severe fraying of fibers and hemorrhage of the deep and superficial digital flexor tendons. Severe fraying of fibers and complete transverse rupture of the lateral and medial short and cruciate ligaments. Severe fraying of fibers and complete transverse rupture of the lateral collateral ligament of fetlock. Moderate fraying of fibers and incomplete transverse rupture of the medial collateral ligament of fetlock.”

Adroit, Jan 6, Los Alamitos R – “catastrophic left front fetlock breakdown”
“Open, comminuted, complete, displaced, articular, parasagittal, lateral condylar fracture of the MCIII. Open, comminuted, complete, displaced, articular, oblique with transverse component fracture of the P1. Suspensory apparatus failure with severe fraying, multiple complete splits and rupture of medial branch of the suspensory ligament, resulting in complete tear of the lateral aspect of the body of the suspensory ligament. Severe fraying of fibers, incomplete longitudinal split and hemorrhage of the body of the suspensory ligament. Full thickness, transverse rupture of the palmar annular ligament. Full thickness, longitudinal rupture of the intersesamoidean ligament. Complete transverse rupture and severe fraying of fibers of the medial and collateral ligaments of fetlock.”

unidentified, Feb 12, Golden Gate – “purulent cellulitis with secondary laminitis”
“Cellulitis in the right rear leg with multiple abscesses/deep tissue necrosis which affected the deep digial flexor tendon. Laminitis with rotation of P3 and separation from the hoof wall was present in the left rear foot…gastric ulceration.”

unidentified, Feb 19, Los Alamitos T – “catastrophic right front fetlock breakdown”
“Comminuted, complete, displaced, articular, parasagittal, lateral condylar fracture of the MCIII. Complete, articular, axial fracture of the lateral proximal sesamoid bone avulsed with intersesamoidean ligament. Comminuted, complete, displaced, articular, parasagittal, chip fracture of the proximal lateral palmar eminence of P1. Severe, extensive full cartilage loss and severe scoring of the articular surfaces of the proximal sesamoid bones. Suspensory ligament failure with severe fraying, complete splits and hemorrhage of medial branch of the suspensory ligament. Severe fraying of fibers, incomplete longitudinal split and hemorrhage of the body of the suspensory ligament. Full thickness, transverse rupture of the palmar annular ligament. Full thickness, longitudinal rupture of the intersesamoidean ligament.”

unidentified, Mar, Golden Gate R (euthanized Mar 19) – “complications…after racing”
“Multiple ulcerative wounds on the pastern with severe cellulitis and complete sloughing of the hoof capsule.”