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Let's take a look at the numbers reported regarding racehorse deaths. The following quote started us wondering. “Over the past decade, an average of more than 600 thoroughbreds a year have died because of racing,” according to research by the USA TODAY Network and published October 31, 2019. That number seems low to us. It is… Continue reading Racehorse death by numbers
MILAN SIMONICH, reporting for the Alamogordo Daily News, writes: SANTA FE -- Some of New Mexico's biggest drug dens are at its five horse tracks, the executive director of the state Racing Commission told legislators on Thursday. The commission is seeking a budget increase of almost $800,000, in part to test more racehorses for performance-enhancing… Continue reading New Mexico seeks more funding to crack down on horse race cheating
No doubt there are callous racehorse trainers everywhere, but the U.S. seems to be a hotbed for the most heartless and gutless of them all. Case in point is the Pap's Pal story that I happened across on Twitter. If all they say is true, Tito Rivera who trains the late Pap's Pal reportedly ran… Continue reading Pap’s Pal is run till his heart stops dead in the dirt at Suffolk Downs
Well, no surprise to us about Santa Anita and the rate at which they kill racehorses. And they do not have this grisly distinction just in California. A New York Times report released March 24, 2012, states: Even some of America’s most prestigious tracks, including Belmont Park, Santa Anita Park and Saratoga Race Course, had… Continue reading Santa Anita leads California in horse racing deaths
The new economics of horse racing are making an always-dangerous game even more so, as lax oversight puts animal and rider at risk. Well, here it is. The first installment in the New York Times series of reports on horse racing fatalities. The March 24, 2012 piece is the work of investigative reporters WALT BOGDANICH,… Continue reading Death and disarray at America’s racetracks: Mangled Horses and Maimed Jockeys
You can run, but you can't hide. That is the first thought that came to mind when I learned that the New York Times have formed an investigative team to probe horse racing fatalities. Perhaps the tragic deaths of the racehorses used in the filming of the HBO series "Luck" and the 20 who died… Continue reading New York Times investigative team probes horse racing fatalities and drug use
The New York Daily News reports that a Brooklyn-based animal rights advocate will launch a campaign demanding the shutdown of Aqueduct Racetrack until the New York Racing Association can guarantee there will be no more horse deaths at the track. NYRA reports 18 deaths since Nov. 30. “It is simply not acceptable to put profits… Continue reading Advocate pushes for shutdown of Aqueduct because of racehorse deaths
By JANE ALLIN In pursuit of reducing the number of catastrophic breakdowns that occur in Thoroughbred horse racing, the North American induction of synthetic track surfaces has spawned a malevolent discord amongst players in the game, rife with both heated dispute and caustic reproach between those at polar ends of the enduring debate. What spurred… Continue reading Ground matters: God’s Dirt versus Man-Made Synthetic
Cross-posted from North County Times Written by JEFF NAHILL DEL MAR -- When a 3-year-old gelding named Burns was injured in the clubhouse turn of the Del Mar Derby on Sept. 4, jockey Patrick Valenzuela jumped off as quickly as he could. But there was no saving the thoroughbred, which suffered broken sesamoids and had… Continue reading Del Mar: Increase in horse deaths attributed to ‘bad luck’
It is the first Saturday in May and all eyes will be on horse racing as people gather around the US and the world to watch the Kentucky Derby. It is beautiful, moving, stirring and exhilarating. The sport of horse racing is also deadly. This time of year not only sends racing journalists and enthusiasts… Continue reading Horse racing: The deadly side of beauty
Tuesday's Horse 