It was yet another afternoon of good, clean family entertainment at Parx yesterday (from the Equibase charts): In the 6th, Magic Soul “…weakened…returned bleeding…” In the 8th, San Gregoria “was pulled up in apparent distress just before the wire.” In…
There is plenty wrong with this video: First, the abject suffering of the horse, 7-year-old Itzhoweeroll: lame, almost all the way around; malnourished, in part due to his teeth being “a mess”; beaten up – cuts, scrapes, ulcers; and criminally…
The following article comes from Joy Aten, prominent equine advocate and regular contributor to our “Shedrow Secrets” section: Like others who acknowledge the exploitation and abuse of horses in the racing industry, I tire of hearing about all of the…
I’ve come to believe that horse-racers fall into one of three categories. In the first, surely the majority, are the grinders – those who race as career, for paycheck. Whether they were raised in the industry or came to it…
From Blood-Horse: “The KHRC License Review Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved [Scott] Blasi’s request to be licensed as an assistant trainer in Kentucky. The license approval came less than two weeks after a KHRC investigation found no wrongdoing in the…
5-year-old Ludo Bagman is dead after breaking down (sesamoids) in the 1st yesterday at Aqueduct. In three years covering 24 races, the gelding endured five different trainers: Richard Dutrow, Rudy Rodriguez, Jeremiah Englehart, Naipaul Chatterpaul, and finally, David Jacobson. For…
Originally reported as a mere “van-off” Friday at Aqueduct, 9-year-old Cherokee Artist is in fact dead from a broken leg. For trainer/owner David Jacobson, this makes six dead horses in NY since August of last year. For NY 2014, 113…
Rulings from the Indiana Horse Racing Commission: For abuses committed against QuarterHorses: 5/31/14, Aron Hunt, “Whip-excessive” – $200 fine, no suspension 6/13/14, Christian Esqueda, “Whip-indiscriminate” – $250 fine, no suspension 7/11/14, Julian Serrano, “Whip-excessive” – $200 fine, no suspension For…
In its most recently released rulings, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has cited the following harness drivers: Norman Robbins, “Indiscriminate Use of Whip” – $50 fine, 5-day suspension Chris Page, “Indiscriminate Use of Whip” – $500 fine, no suspension Daniel…
Conditioned early on to view the track as playing field and the horses jocks, those in and around horseracing have long since abandoned any objectivity on their precious game. Thus they fail to see or choose to ignore the incongruity…
Trainer Eric Guillot’s reaction to his fortunes at Saratoga Saturday serves as the perfect microcosm for horseracing. That day, Mr. Guillot had two horses running: One, Moreno, won the Grade 1 Whitney, taking home $800,000 for his connections, probably 10%…
Now that the heat has dissipated, Steve Asmussen has re-hired Scott Blasi. His first day back was yesterday at Saratoga. For those unfamiliar (or those with short memories), this is Scott Blasi (and Asmussen’s operation): Direct quotes from Blasi: “Fuck…
