Yesterday, as many of you have probably heard, Bold and Bossy “escaped” Ellis Park before the first – and her first – race and ended up on a Kentucky highway: Apparently, the filly is all right – for now. But…
Back in June, Oregon State Senator Peter Courtney introduced a bill to ban horseracing in that state. While it has yet to gain traction, we certainly applaud the senator’s bold, courageous action – to my knowledge, the first of its…
In Delaware, an animal-cruelty suspension for trainer Amber Cobb has been reduced by the Racing Commission from two years to two months (she still has to complete “anger management” though). While I do not know the specific abuse(s) – the…
The following picture was posted by “Eddie C,” horseracing guy: Two days after this picture was snapped, Pleasure Luck was mortally injured in a race at Saratoga; she was euthanized a day later. So I wonder, Eddie, did you arrange…
John Cherwa’s “Racing!” newsletter in the LA Times has come to an end (“business decision,” he’s calling it). In the penultimate edition, he offered his opinion on what needs fixing in racing. Included among things like “get rid of the Rainbow Six,”…
Horseracing, if not with its back against the wall, is certainly in retreat, and has been for some time now. (The reason for this is twofold: exposure and public engagement, both of which, I write proudly, HW has been a…
“Reckless practices…that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable and as a company we must take measures to demonstrate that they will not be tolerated. Mr. Baffert’s record…
In the 8th race at Thistledown yesterday, Equibase reports that 4-year-old Coosa River “pulled up bleeding from the nostrils and was vanned off.” Enough said. Noteworthy too, though, is Coosa’s human in charge: owner/trainer Burton Sipp. Mr. Sipp is about…
From the New York Racing Association website today: The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the temporary suspension of Bob Baffert from entering horses in races and occupying stall space at Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course and Aqueduct…
And so, Preakness Day arrives. Surely, the focus, for the media and masses alike, will be almost entirely on Bob Baffert and a relatively inconsequential drug positive in the Derby two weeks ago. As advocates, it falls to us to…
I have long maintained that drugs in racing is given far too much attention. Yes, the (obviously) nonconsensual drugging and doping of racehorses is a wrong, but it’s only one of many – and not even close to being the…
The “Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act” is a 2019 federal bill that would ban both the slaughtering of horses on U.S. soil (currently there are no active slaughterhouses, but that’s only because USDA inspections of those facilities has been…
