Written by PETA
Rick Dutrow and Big Brown, one of Rick's many horses who suffered becausehe was forced to race
Great news—notorious thoroughbred trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. won't be drugging, overworking, or breaking more horses anytime soon—at least not in the great state of New York. The New York State Racing & Wagering Board has kicked Dutrow to the curb: He's banned from racing in the state for the next 10 years—an unprecedented punishment.
Dutrow, the trainer of the 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, has received nearly 70 citations over the course of his career for a variety of violations, including for illegally drugging his horses.
PETA has sent the board a bouquet of flowers as a token of our appreciation for sparing countless horses from the reckless and dangerous actions of this trainer.
Please help other horses who are suffering in the cruel horseracing industry by speaking out against deadly speed tests in which many young horses are injured or killed after being forced to run at breakneck speeds and urging The Jockey Club to implement the Thoroughbred 360 Lifecycle Fund to ensure that racehorses are retired, not slaughtered, after they cross the finish line for the last time.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor, image by banamine | cc by 2.0
In a landmark move for thoroughbreds' safety, the American Graded Stakes Committee announced that it is banning performance-enhancing drugs for 2-year-olds on race days.
Graded stakes races are significant for two reasons: They offer large purses, and their results are used in determining which horses will qualify to run in the Kentucky Derby. Since most owners and trainers want to improve a horse's speed in these top tier races more than any others, banning drugs in the graded stakes is a huge step toward getting drugs out of racing altogether.
The committee's decision comes on the heels of a similar ban by the Breeders' Cup World Championship, which announced three weeks ago that drugs would be prohibited during the multiple-race event in 2013 and for 2-year-olds beginning next year at the 2012 Breeders' Cup.
The drug bans focus on Lasix, a diuretic that is already banned in most countries. Lasix enables trainers and jockeys to force horses to run harder and more often than they should by reducing bleeding in the horses' lungs and nose, and it can also mask the use of painkillers, which can lead to catastrophic breakdowns when horses run while injured.
A bill has been introduced in Congress that would ban race-day performance-enhancing drugs from all thoroughbred races. You can help by urging your congressional representatives to support H.R. 1733, introduced by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and S. 886, introduced by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.).
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Horse races aren't just dangerous for horses—they can hurt people too. Seven people, including a 2-year-old girl, were taken to the hospital after a terrified horse leaped over an 8-foot fence and into a crowd of spectators at the Grand Annual Steeple race in Warrnambool, Australia. Banna Strand's rider fell off in a dangerous pile-up during the first lap of the race, and the horse jumped over the wrong fence, landing in a crowd of about 50 people. Witnesses said the panicked horse continued to run, making almost a complete lap around the course before being caught.
Steeplechase racing was suspended in Victoria (one of only two Australian states where it is still legal) in 2009 after three horses died in two days at Warrnambool. Animal protectionists had asked Warrnambool to call off this year's series of races after a horse died two days prior to the Banna Strand incident, "but they let it continue and the public paid the price," said Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses spokesman Ward Young.
Horses routinely suffer serious and even lethal injuries in U.S. races too. During Saturday's Kentucky Derby, Archarcharch was pulled up after incurring a career-ending leg fracture, Comma to the Top chipped a bone in his left front ankle, and Pants on Fire suffered internal bleeding.
You can help prevent these and other racehorses from ending up in the hands of slaughterhouse buyers at the end of their short careers by supporting PETA's Thoroughbred 360 Lifecycle Retirement Fund.
On the eve of the Kentucky Derby, Secretariat star James Cromwell has written to The Jockey Club urging it to adopt PETA's proposed Thoroughbred 360 Lifecycle Retirement Fund. The plan would require owners and breeders to pay a $360 retirement fee for each new foal they register. The money generated from the fees would be put into a fund to provide care for the 10,000 former racehorses currently sent to slaughter each year.
"These magnificent animals should not end up on a meat hook after a terrifying journey to a terrifying death," writes Cromwell in his letter. "I urge the Jockey Club, as the only official body that deals with every thoroughbred owner in every racing state, to implement PETA's Thoroughbred 360 Lifecycle Retirement Fund without delay."
Join James Cromwell in asking The Jockey Club to give racehorses the dignified retirement that they deserve.
While billboard companies in Louisville may want to keep Kentucky Derby fans in the dark about the racing industry's appalling abuses, which lead to breakdown and death, The Onion makes them front-page news.
In making their predictions for the upcoming Kentucky Derby, The Onion's "Steam Room" commentators reveal just how shockingly* far "horse beaters" (their words) will go in forcing their beleaguered, drugged thoroughbreds to race (or hobble) toward the finish line, including whippings and more. As one of the sportscasters notes, "As far as I know, there are no rules in horse racing. You just procure a horse and get [him or her] across the finish line by any means necessary." Folks, you won't want to miss this video:
The last time "America's Finest News Source" shed light on "expendable athletes," some readers didn't make the connection to the horse-racing industry—but this time, there can be no denying it. Thanks, Onion!
Written by Karin Bennett
*and satirically
Can Kentucky Derby fans handle the truth? Outdoor advertisers in Louisville don't seem to think so. We sent the ad below to every billboard and bus ad company in town with the intention of running it during next week's Derby, but they all turned us down flat.
We wanted racegoers—and everyone—to know that the horrific on-track breakdown of Eight Belles at the end of the 2008 Kentucky Derby was no fluke. On average, three horses break down on racetracks in America every single day. That adds up to at least 2,000 racehorses dead on tracks since Eight Belles collapsed two years ago after both her front ankles snapped.
After being prodded by PETA, the racing industry has made some improvements, including banning steroids from the states where Triple Crown races are run, but the misuse of legal drugs is still the biggest cause of breakdowns and deaths, and the industry has yet to address that issue in any meaningful way.
Many trainers use injections of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs to mask fatigue and injury and make horses feel well enough to run when they should be resting and recovering. Racing subjects horses' bodies to punishing stresses that can lead to breakdowns. Racing insiders tell us that some horses are injected with various drugs 25 to 30 times in the week before a race, and it's all legal.
PETA advocates a ban on all drugs during the week leading up to a race, among other reforms. Please take a moment to send an e-mail to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority to let its officials know that Eight Belles has not been forgotten and to demand that the authority take steps to ensure that no more horses die in pursuit of the roses. As for the Derby: Don't go, don't watch, and don't bet.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Sure, some men joke about how to score with women, but the horse-racing industry's use of stallions to impregnate tens of thousands of mares—in the quest for one big winner—is no laughing matter.
The good news is that thoroughbred breeding stats for 2009 show a decline in the number of horses who were bred. The number of stallions bred dropped almost 9 percent, and the number of mares bred fell 13.5 percent, according to The Jockey Club. Don't misunderstand—there's still a whole lotta suffering in the making. This year alone, more than 45,000 mares were "covered" (bred), which means that tens of thousands of foals will be born into the racing industry and face the risk of suffering broken bones, being drugged, and being abandoned, neglected, or shipped overseas for slaughter when they are no longer considered "useful." Most of the slaughtering of U.S. horses takes place in Mexico and Canada: More than 100,000 U.S. horses per year are trucked to Mexico and Canada to be slaughtered (and more than 10,000 of those horses are thoroughbreds formerly used for racing).
The Kentucky Derby and other high-stakes races represent the suffering of thousands of horses—day in and day out, year in and year out. While the drop in breeding means that fewer horses will be born to suffer a lifetime of abuse, there's still much more work to be done. Take a minute to check out our investigation into a Japanese horse slaughterhouse and write to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and demand breeding limits.
What's more important to the racing industry: horses or money?
If you thought horses, we've found two recent news stories that will change your mind.
Consider this: Thanks to a lawsuit involving the co-owners of former Kentucky Derby favorite I Want Revenge, it's become even clearer how often horses used in the racing industry are dangerously overmedicated. Horses are given anti-inflammatory steroids and painkillers to keep them running even after they've been injured—and of 20 trainers interviewed by The New York Times, only three were willing to turn over their veterinary records.
The New York Times also reports, "[T]here is a consensus among equine researchers and surgeons that legal medications and cortisone shots, over time, leave a horse vulnerable to a catastrophic breakdown."
In other words, even the legal drugs that the racing industry pumps into horses make horrific incidents like the one at last year's Kentucky Derby more likely. This is what PETA has been saying since Eight Belles crashed to the track with two broken ankles in the 2008 Kentucky Derby.
Meanwhile, ESPN reports that the owners of Lava Man—a famous horse forced to "retire" early because of injuries—are trying to squeeze a few more bucks out of the old fella by bringing him back onto the track. According to ESPN, because of his previous injuries, Lava Man is at great risk of suffering a catastrophic breakdown on the track and says that while "[n]ot a single national media outlet will cover Lava Man's comeback race," "every single one would cover a disastrous outcome. … Pick your letters: ESPN, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, or, worse yet, PETA."
Darn skippy.
Time after time, the racing industry risks animals' lives for an extra dollar. Forget the finish line—it's all about the bottom line.
Written by Amanda Schinke
Most of you probably remember the tragedy at the 2008 Kentucky Derby, in which a young filly, Eight Belles, was whipped mercilessly in the final stretch, only to break both her front ankles after she crossed the finish line.
At that time, we called for the racing industry to eliminate, at a minimum, some of its most abusive practices, including permanently banning the use of whips.
In an encouraging sign, California's Del Mar Racetrack has just announced that it has officially banned the use of hard leather whips and will only allow softer riding crops on the track. These softer crops will not sting or leave welts on horses like traditional hard leather whips do.
All whips should be banned outright, but considering that this reform comes on the heels (hooves?) of similar improvements by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, it seems that the industry is getting the message that "business as usual" won't fly anymore.
Of course, while these are steps in the right direction, the racing industry is still far from humane. Young horses are still forced to race before their bones are fully mature, horses are pumped with drugs so that they can run while injured, and "retired" racehorses are still sent to slaughter—and these are just some of the many abuses that horses endure in the racing industry. The only way to stop the cruelty altogether is to end horse racing once and for all.
Written by Jeff Mackey
In 2002, the 1986 Kentucky Derby champ, Ferdinand, was slaughtered after his breeding days in Japan were done.
Fast-forward to 2009: Two more horses, Charismatic and War Emblem—Kentucky Derby champs from 1999 and 2002 respectively—may also face slaughter as their usefulness to breeders comes to an end.
After breaking his leg in the 1999 Belmont, Charismatic was sold to breeders in Japan. His value as a breeding stallion has dropped dramatically (to approximately US$5,000), and he has been moved to the lowest-ranking of breeding farms.
Just a few years ago, horse-racing fans cheered as Charismatic and War Emblem ran away with top prizes at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Now, PETA's most recent undercover investigation shows what could be in store for these once-celebrated stallions and thousands of other horses sold into the Japanese thoroughbred industry.
Each year in Japan, more than 20,000 horses, including many horses once used for racing, are slaughtered for dog and human food. This video shows the slaughter of a young thoroughbred. As stated in the New York Times, "The video is disturbing. It shows in graphic terms what happens to the unfortunate thoroughbreds who become spare parts in a contracting industry."
You can blame the U.S. horse-racing industry for the carnage. It routinely breeds tens of thousands of "surplus" thoroughbreds every year, then sells thousands of them to breeding facilities in Japan. More than 2,000 U.S. thoroughbred horses and breeding mares have been shipped to Japan since Ferdinand was slaughtered in 2002.
Just last year, Americans watched in horror as racing filly Eight Belles suffered fractures to both her front ankles and was euthanized just moments after running the Kentucky Derby. How can anyone not be disgusted by the shuffling of thousands of horses off to Japan and into slaughterhouses?
Join us in defending former Derby and Preakness champs Charismatic and War Emblem—and thousands of other thoroughbreds. Demand limits on breeding and a ban on the export of horses to Japan.
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If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.