Last week, I posted a video of 13-year-old Hes too Icy for Me taking a bad fall at Turf. Apparently, he’s alive, but amid public outrage Arizona may soon consider lowering the maximum age at which a horse can be…
The “Essex Handicap” at Oaklawn yesterday was worth a cool $500,000, with the difference between 1st and 2nd $200,000. With that in mind, take a look at the beating jockey Ramon Vazquez administered to his mount, Rated R Superstar, down…
Just a couple days after this picture made the rounds, another example of industry callousness surfaces. The following video is of Irish jockey Rob James mounting a 5-year-old mare who had just collapsed and died while training in 2016: For…
After a day of uncertainty, the following photo showing the hugely successful (multiple Grand National wins) Irish trainer Gordon Elliott nonchalantly sitting astride one of his dead horses has been confirmed – by the trainer himself – genuine. In a…
In the grand scheme of things, it is a minor deception. I mean compared to “The Big Lie” – horseracing as sport – this hardly registers. But it merits mention nonetheless. Sealy Hill was a hugely successful racehorse – over…
I have in the past been critical of the Los Angeles Times for its coverage (or lack thereof) of some of the more sordid aspects of horseracing. Lately, though, things have improved, as evidenced by a board editorial two days…
As with real sports, the racing people are fond of year-end reviews, including notable figures lost. In Horse Racing Nation’s version (“In Memoriam”), among the 18 “equine stars” remembered exactly two were active at the time of their deaths (Taraz,…
The reporting (if one can call it that) of the Daily Racing Form’s David Grening on the death of Sander’s Empire yesterday at Aqueduct betrays (yet again) the racing people’s true priorities. Here is Grening’s full tweet: David Grening @DRFGrening…
New Mexico is a racino state, meaning its five racetracks are utterly dependent on the subsidies flowing in from slot machines. Because of this, covid casino-closures take on added importance. While racing has continued in New Mexico during the pandemic,…
The following was tweeted by a Peter Berry Wednesday: “I know what we are taught but I refuse to believe animals have no soul.” Of course, this message, this sentiment, is one I wholeheartedly appreciate. Having had animals in my…
“Then it happened suddenly. Cabezudo heard an explosive crack, he would later testify, like that of a tree branch snapping, then Rivera scream. He continued looking straight ahead, but the sound was gut-wrenching. He knew what it meant. “White arrived…
“Top Hat Thoroughbreds” is an ownership/investment group that promises “Thoroughbred Ownership at a Fraction of the Cost.” In other words, a chance to buy in, on the cheap. On its available page, Kaliche Gold is proudly offered, complete with a…
