Yesterday, we held our first protest of the season at the most celebrated of American racetracks, Saratoga. As I’ve often said, the reason to protest is twofold: to engage the public – educate, obviously, but also to make entering patrons uncomfortable (not to shame) in their purchasing decisions; and to garner media, which, it goes without saying, disseminates our message exponentially. While measuring the effectiveness of the former takes time, the latter, at least yesterday, was immediately successful. We were covered (and interviewed) by no fewer than five outlets:

SpectrumAlbany
The Daily Gazette (front page, below)
NBCAlbany
Focus on Albany
Hill Country Observer (article to be published in August)

A warm thanks to all who turned out…

We are profiled in the Times Union – the Capital Region’s (NY) largest newspaper – today (print edition tomorrow): “One man’s war on horse racing.”

Takeaway paragraph: “But I don’t doubt that Battuello is on the winning side of the argument. As the near-disappearance of dog racing and certain circuses shows, the future of animal-based entertainment is dim. Undeniable cultural changes will eventually curb horse racing, too.”

Our 100 activists-strong protest at the Belmont Stakes Saturday, presented in video (courtesy of fellow advocacy group “Their Turn”) and pics. (We also had a good day with media, with no fewer than four interviews, including this from CBS Radio.)

(This event wrapped up our Triple Crown campaign, featuring, most prominently, six mobile billboards. Your support allows us to continue this work – the work to end horseracing in the United States. Please consider joining the herd. Thank you.)

HW was well-represented out in front of Pimlico Race Course this past Saturday, Preakness Day. In addition to our regular Maryland/Delaware protesters – superbly led by the indefatigable Jennifer Sully and Peter Herrera – we had two mobile billboards traversing the area all day long. We also, you might remember, did the same at the Derby. And yes, we will be at Belmont, too.

A warm thanks to Jennifer and Peter, and to all who lent their voices to the suffering.