Statements from Kitty Block, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the self-styled “nation’s most effective animal protection organization”: “[T]he racing industry [is] now enjoying the increased enthusiasm a new superstar [Justify] brings to the…
Follows is my state-by-state recap for 2019. Arkansas: request filled – but without stall deaths Iowa: request filled – but without stall deaths Colorado: request filled New York: information direct from Commission database Minnesota: request filled – but with names…
Go for Wand broke down in the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Belmont Park; she was euthanized where she lay. Sports Illustrated’s William Nack penned a now-famous article entitled “Requiem at Belmont,” with the lede “ON A CALAMITOUS BREEDERS’ CUP…
Today, I offer a new Shedrow Secrets contribution from a former racehorse trainer, Susan Bump. Susan, originally from upstate New York, has always had a passion for horses. At 22, she says, she “stumbled into the racing industry” in California.…
As many of you I’m sure know, with the (finally) permanent closing of Suffolk Downs at the end of June, the Suffolk people are trying mightily to pick up at the currently-dormant Great Barrington Fairgrounds next year. And the fight…
The following essay was submitted by a longtime industry exercise-rider. For various reasons, this person has asked to remain anonymous. Please allow me to start off by saying that I am not any level of bleeding heart activist. I enjoy…
(The following is one of my early posts.) 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 to breed and maintain…
In a Los Angeles Times article from April 4, David Wharton writes: “[The Jockey Club’s] statistics equate to 6,134 deaths in the last 10 years.” While Wharton does note that that figure is only for “participating” tracks (not all submit…
Follows is my state-by-state FOIA recap for 2018. Arizona: request filled Colorado: request partially filled – training deaths not included Delaware: request filled Florida: request filled (part 1, part 2) Idaho: request filled Illinois: request filled Indiana: request filled –…
“Death is delivered pink.” And so begins an ESPN The Magazine article (5/4/09) on the track veterinarian’s unenviable role as killer of the broken. Racing calls it euthanasia, of course, but that’s simply self-absolution. In any event, this is no…
Follows is my state-by-state FOIA recap for 2017. Nevada: request filled Colorado: request filled Montana: request filled Wyoming: request filled Iowa: request partially filled – training deaths not included Minnesota: request filled – but with names redacted Michigan: request partially…
Horseracing-as-sport is an obscenity of the highest order. There are, of course, many reasons why, but perhaps the three most obvious are these: First, the athletes in question are utterly unaware of their status as such – worse, they are…
