When I last wrote about the Jockey Club’s “Equine Injury Database” (EID), I pointed out, among other things, how grossly misleading it is. Today, I build on that a bit: In 2017, according to the EID, Saratoga Race Course, one…
When it rains… In Wednesday’s Louisville Courier Journal, Tim Sullivan writes, “Of the 25 racetracks that share their casualty counts with the public, only one [Hawthorne] was more deadly last year than Churchill Downs. Over the past three years, only…
Saturday, the Houston Chronicle ran an article entitled, “At Sam Houston, only one horse fatality this meet.” The writer, Hal Lundgren, opened it thus: “Texas tracks have avoided the frightening number of horse fatalities that have darkened racing at Santa…
Back in December, the Daily Racing Form ran an article entitled “Symposium attendees hear strategies on avoiding dog racing’s fate.” It began thus: “One of the topics being discussed among racing officials over the past two days outside the conference…
In the wake of 23 dead horses since Christmas, Santa Anita cancelled racing yesterday and is closed indefinitely. But let’s identify this for what it is: marketing-101 damage-control, nothing more, nothing less. After being hammered in the media – practically…
The following is being sent to every Pennsylvania legislator in the newly-convened 2019 Pennsylvania General Assembly. Please read and share, and also please consider contacting members on your own. Thank you. I am writing today in the hope that you…
As I’ve frequently written, much of U.S. Horseracing hangs by a thread. The anachronistic “Sport of Kings” can’t compete with its 21st Century rivals – lotteries, full-service casinos, and now, all-sports betting. And so, because they’re losing the (free-market) fight,…
We posted the following petition yesterday on change.org. We see this as another effective tool, a fine addition to an already formidable arsenal (protests, tabling, speaking engagements, media interviews, editorials, and, of course, this very website). And the beauty here…
Citing a survey that named “animal welfare” the number one cause in America, Ray Paulick, in his eponymous Paulick Report, sounds the alarm (not for the first time) among his fellow apologists: we’d better start taking this stuff seriously or…
I recently came upon a 2007 article on the role of “On Call” vets at big Racing events – there as a liaison to the media, to communicate and explain injuries to horses during races. As this was published by…
“Our goal is to reduce the number of racehorse deaths and injuries to zero, and we have taken many productive steps toward reaching that goal over the past four years.” – NYS Equine Medical Director Scott Palmer, VMD Midway through…
In a recent Los Angeles Times article, John Cherwa, author of that paper’s “Racing!” newsletter, wrote this on the death of Magic Mark at Los Alamitos Wednesday: “No doubt, this is the part of the sport that is most difficult…
