Racing through the slaughter pipeline — Remember Ferdinand and Exceller

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — U.S. horse racing has an increasingly worsening reputation regarding the treatment of its racehorses chiefly because of the egregious use of illicit drugs and the tragic stream of breakdowns and deaths of racehorses. A recent trend is the alarming number of breakdown and deaths of racehorses as young as two and three during training…

State politicians propose anti-horse slaughter bill in Albany

Cross-posted from The Saratogian by ANDREW CHAMPAGNE ALBANY — Fewer stories in horse racing have had higher highs and lower lows than that of Ferdinand. The 1986 Kentucky Derby winner banked more than $3.7 million in a stellar career and went to the breeding shed in 1988. However, the champion thoroughbred was slaughtered in Japan…

The handicapping champion with a million dollar heart

by BILL FINLEY Cross-posted from ESPN Commentary When Michael Beychok won the $1 million first prize in the National Handicapping Championship he never forgot about the filly who made it all possible. The horse that put him over the top is named Glorious Dancer, who came through for Beychok in an $8,000 maiden claimer at…

The waxy monkey tree frog and drugging of racehorses

Just when you think you have heard every conceivable way someone can drug racehorses, this one takes the frog -- the waxy monkey tree frog, for instance. I mean, really, come on folks. The Blood-Horse reports (which I got via TheHorse.com): Dermorphin, a fluid obtained from certain South American frogs, is a hepta-peptide that is…

The great Alysheba returns home (US)

Alysheba could have slipped through the cracks after being exported to Saudi Arabia in 2000. But Saudi King Abdullah returned the 24-year-old horse to Kentucky last week as a gift, stipulating only that he be well cared for and that fans have ready access to him. Alysheba's recent arrival at the Kentucky Horse Park, where…

Remember Ferdinand: Tragic death of a Derby winner

From the Fund for Horses Archives By RAY PAULICKUpdated: Friday, July 25, 2003 8:19 AMPosted: Friday, July 25, 2003 8:19 AM Ferdinand (March 12, 1983 – 2002) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1986 Kentucky Derby and 1987 Breeders' Cup Classic. He was voted the 1987 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. Ferdinand won his connections $3,777,978 in prize money. Ferdinand,…