A horse died at Santa Anita on the same day another died at Pimlico

[demmiblue]

As horse racing reels from the shocking death of a horse on Friday at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course that marred the weekend of the Preakness Stakes, another horse was killed training across the country at historic Santa Anita Park, thrusting the sport further into controversy during its most important period of the season.

Commander Coil, an unraced 3-year-old gelding, broke down of a shoulder injury during a routine gallop in training hours at the California racetrack. He is the 24th horse to die there since Dec. 26, and track executives still have yet to identify the underlying cause of the fatalities. One executive called the issues “multi-factorial,” but soil experts have not discovered anything unusual at the 84 year-old facility.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) has called for the state’s horse racing commission to halt racing until four full-time investigators conclude their work studying the horses’ deaths, and state legislators have pledged to hold hearings on the state of the track.

Officials halted racing there in March after 21 equine deaths in a three-month span, but another horse, 3-year-old filly Princess Lili B, was killed after breaking both legs at the conclusion of a timed workout the day after the track reopened. Two weeks later, 5-year-old gelding Arms Runner, broke down during a fall on the turf course.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/05/18/horse-died-santa-anita-same-day-another-died-pimlico/?utm_term=.68abd9ab1fea&tid=sm_tw

My god.

[Brother Buzz]

1. Congrats Gal's death overshadowed Covfefe's record Miss Preakness run

Congrats Gal's death was an unfortunate one, but everything happening at Santa Anita is up in the conspiracy clouds in my mind.

[Codeine]

2. Risking animal lives for pleasure

and entertainment is profoundly fucking sick. Nobody would defend matadors killing bulls, dogfighting pits, or strapping razors to roosters but somehow running horses until they shatter is the Sport of Kings.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. "Commander Coil, an unraced 3-year-old gelding,...."

Something else is going on. Many of the deaths occurred during workouts, not the races.And these are young horses.

OTOH, Britain reports fewer deaths (7) last year but Australia's were higher ....137 horses in 2017.

[yewberry]

15. Something else is going on?

Codeine isn't suggesting that we understand why this is happening. But the underlying correlation (and causation) is that these are all animal lives being commodified and used for entertainment for people-- and it's killing them.

The questions isn't "why did these animals die in these specific cases" but instead, "why should these animals die for nothing beyond our amusement?"

[csziggy]

19. US race horses are started under saddle at about 18 months old

That means their bones are not finished developing and an immature horse is being stressed severely. Many of the race horses get no exercise except running down a track - no turn out once they are under training, just standing in stalls aside from a limited amount of time running, then a cool down period before being put back into the stalls.

Eighteen months is equivalent to a twelve year old child - not physically mature enough to withstand the stress put on the bones that have not finished growing. Horses' bone ends do not close until they are four or five. Their tendons, ligaments, and muscles are still developing their mature strength.

When I was boarding horses some of my clients bought off track Thoroughbreds to use as show hunters or three day event horses. Generally the horses that did best, mentally and physically, had a turn out period of six months or more, just hanging out in a pasture , playing, and learning how to socialize with other horses. Physically this allowed their bones to remodel for a general stress. Mentally they re-learned how to be horse for the first time since they were youngsters.

The horses whose re-training for a new purpose was rushed tended to develop lameness, cracked bones, torn ligaments, or mental resistance. I know of one that never came sound - the owner loved him and kept him all his life, but the horse was an expensive lesson in how not to convert a race horse to a show jumper.

I've talked to European horse breeders - many of their horses are not even started under saddle until they are four years old. Then they are just taught the basics and not expected to be put under a lot of stress for two or more years. But those horses are not racing for a few short years - these are the true athletes of the horse world, the dressage and eventing horses that demonstrate the peak of training.

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. Thank you for that background.

I am looking at this in a new light.

[demmiblue]

5. +1

[blugbox]

3. Animal abuse

Yep. I've always thought that things like rodeos and horse racing are animal abuse. That many deaths in that time period is disgusting.

Let's take a majestic animal with ONE inherent weakness: legs that can shatter and render the animal mortally wounded... And force it to do an activity which puts that weakness at greatest risk...

GREAT IDEA. Humans are cruel

[demmiblue]

6. +1

[Raine]

21. EXACTLY! nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. Hmmm...same owner of both tracks.

Stronach Group...which owns many racetracks, as it turns out.

[Coventina]

8. Horse racing is cruel and barbaric.

And only getting worse and worse, it seems.

Time to end this fake sport once and for all.

[demmiblue]

10. +1

[frogmarch]

11. +1

[albacore]

9. I've read that they are overbreeding horses for speed. Not enough bone...

...in relation to muscle size.
Sorry... I just don't get it. Football players destroying their brains. Horses destroying their bodies. For entertainment.

[demmiblue]

12. Humans destroying horses' bodies, but point certainly taken.

[albacore]

14. Horses wouldn't run that hard for that distance by themselves.

And they can be legally doped, too.

https://horsefund.org/the-chemical-horse-part-7.php

[Iggo]

18. It's all about the money.

Now you get it.

[maveric]

13. When they "euthanize" they collect big insurance $$$.

Often more than they paid for the horse.
Dirty sport.

[madinmaryland]

16. The horse named Kovfefe won last week at Pimlico.

Seriously. Check out the post in the Sports Group on DU!

[Iggo]

17. "...track executives still have yet to identify the underlying cause of the fatalities..."

My money's on lethal injection.

(They don't shoot 'em anymore, do they?)