HORSE RACING
SITUATION:
Industry leaders have heads buried, fingers crossed, & producing denial PR.
Horse deaths from track break downs continue as Industry hunkers down.
Young horses are still being put down at Santa Anita Race Course & CA tracks.
California Horse Racing Board & Legislators remain quiet, in denial, & hopeful.
New regs and state & national legislation does not go into effect til 2022.
Here is a listing of Deaths to Date at Santa Anita in 2021:
Date Horse Age
| June 18 | Pushing Sixty | 4 |
| June 16 | Meet at Dudleys | 3 |
| June 1 | Agamemnon, | 4 |
| Apr 18 | Multiplier | 4 |
| Apr 18 | My Child Sbud | 3 |
| Apr 3 | Call Sign Lucky | 5 |
| Mar 30 | Nomadess | 3 |
| Mar 21 | Mantra | 5 |
| Mar 3 | Squeeky Cheeky | 4 |
| Feb 6 | Natural History | 4 |
| Jan 23 | Scats Choice | 3 |
| Jan 9th | Cali Caliente | 4 |
| Jan 2nd | Ebeko | 2 |
SIGNIFICANCE:
It is worthy to note that every horse put down was 5 or younger.
The vet schools, track owners, & some track vets have not said age is a factor.
Contention is that horse bone structure is not mature til 6 years of age.
Racing young horses and exposing to strain & stress is exploitive.
Muscle and skeletal injuries account for 80% of deaths at California race tracks
Half of those deaths stem from injuries to bones in the horse’s ankle area,
SOLUTION:
Really change the industry, economic model, and culture to protect young horses.
Seek to not race these young horses till at least 6 year of age. Five, at least.
The Truth– This will never happen – Economically & culturally not possible.
STATS
The Killing Fields: Dead Racehorses at the Various Tracks (176 – and counting)
SOURCES:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-06-13/pushing-sixty-horse-dies-santa-anita-race
https://horseracingwrongs.org/killed-2021-2/
