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An “In Memoriam” video put together by one of our great volunteers, Linda Rydant:

(Note: I like to re-post this every few years as a reminder.) Up until very recently, knowledge and appreciation of the equine mind has been noticeably lacking. Sure, we’ve learned rudimentary things about horses through the years, but only enough…

As Triple Crown Season rolls along with the Preakness Stakes tomorrow, I offer this as a reminder of the law of unintended consequences. As I wrote of the Derby, even if you only bet (or watch) once (or thrice) a…

A recap of our FOIA reports, with a sampling from each state. Because California, Kentucky, and Maryland give us the most detail, I encourage you to visit those reports independently: California, Kentucky, Maryland. Oklahoma Keen Intention, Mar 4 – “bone…

The Kentucky Derby, the world’s most famous horse race, is tomorrow. Tens of thousands will attend, millions will watch, and a boatload of cash will be wagered on the action. But here’s the thing, none of that happens in a…

Yesterday, The New York Times ran a guest essay by renowned journalist Noah Shachtman. The title: “Dead Athletes. Empty Stands. Why Are We Paying Billions to Keep This Sport Alive?” I couldn’t have come up with a better one myself.…

The betting numbers are in for 2024 and, progress. Total handle (wagering from all sources) for U.S. horse races was down 3.35% from 2023. What’s more, this is the third consecutive annual decline. What’s more, the last year-over-year increase came…

In advance of next Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, which this year is being held at Saratoga, we purchased a three-page ad for today’s edition of the Times Union, upstate NY’s largest newspaper. As you can see below, it lists the 1,097…

HW has now documented – with names, dates, locations, and details – 10,448 kills at U.S. tracks since Jan 1, 2014. Again, that’s 10,448 dead horses – for $2 bets. Recently, our team created this video listing, by state, all…

A reminder, on Preakness Day: Some of the horses killed on (racing or training) Maryland tracks last year. Goldbar“The horse collapsed but was able to stand again. The horse collapsed a second time [and had a] seizure. Membranes then turned…

Despite all the hype surrounding Churchill’s supposed success Saturday, Equibase reports that in the first four months of 2024, total wagering on U.S. races fell 6.1% compared to the same period last year. April alone was down over 11% from…

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…