I Rest My Case
On the Keeneland website, there is a page entitled, “Our Commitment to Safety.” It opens with this quote from Dr. Stuart Brown, VP of Equine Safety: “Doing what’s best for the horse is at the core of everything we do…
Miscellaneous
Read MoreI Rest My Case
Breeder: “[Horseracing] looks like a passenger ship on a collision course with an iceberg.”
In an LTE published in BloodHorse Friday, prominent breeder Roderick Wachman makes his appeal for industry unity, calling for the “agenda-driven squabbling to stop and for everyone to put their shoulders to the wheel and try to take control of…
Progress: Wagering on Racing Down Last Year
The betting numbers for 2023 are in from Equibase and the news is positive (for us). The total amount wagered on Thoroughbred racing in America fell by almost a half-billion dollars – a 3.7% decline from 2022. Excluding 2020 –…
An Uplifting Post: The Happy Ending for Killean Cut Kid
Back in 2017, former HW board member Joy Aten contributed a post about a 12-year-old Standardbred landing in a kill pen after enduring 258 – yes, 258 – races. The horse: Killean Cut Kid. As Joy detailed – please take…
In Memoriam, Saratoga Race Course
An “In Memoriam” video put together by one of our great volunteers, Linda Rydant:
“Millionaire” Dead of Colic
Here is how BloodHorse opened its article on the death of Tom’s Ready: “Tom’s Ready, a 10-year-old multiple graded-stakes winner and millionaire, was euthanized Oct. 30 at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington due to complications following colic surgery,…
Dead Horse’s Owner: “It’s just so strange to think we won’t see him again.”
Some miscellaneous notes… According to the stewards at Delaware, 3-year-old Ojitos Bellos was “lame in the post parade” Oct 5 and subsequently scratched by the regulatory vet. Meaning, Ojitos’ exploiter, Mario Serey, had every intention of running her out there…
Progress: “Foal Crop” Continues to Decline
The Jockey Club (TJC) reports that we’re looking at yet another decline in next year’s North American “foal crop” – the disgusting phrase the industry uses for new Thoroughbreds coming into the system each year. TJC projects a “crop” of…
To the Parents Who Shielded Their Kids Saturday
This from The Daily Gazette yesterday: “Less than two hours before Arcangelo won the Travers, New York Thunder was euthanized behind the dreaded blue screen, right in front of the clubhouse patrons. When he broke down, parents shielded their kids…
If Less Horses Are Dying It’s Because There’s Less Racing, Less Horses
(Please note: This was previously posted; I’ve edited for further clarity.) Regarding our annual killed lists, any comparison year over year must be considered with a major caveat: The information I receive through FOIAs to racing commissions is not always…
Progress: The End of Racing in Singapore; A Damning Column
On the progress front… The government of Singapore recently announced that the island’s sole track will be shuttered for good in Oct 2024. Noting the long decline of racing there, the government decided the track’s 300 acres could be put…
The Big Lie
A reminder… If horseracing is a sport, then that word must be redefined, for “The Sport of Kings” resembles no other accepted sport on the planet. In what other sport are the athletes: condemned to a life as literal chattel?…