Four-Year-Old Horse Helwan Dies While Racing at Belmont
Even on one of the most elite days of racing, the horses aren’t safe.
Four-year-old Helwan, a French horse, was racing on Lasix for the first time—something that is not allowed in Europe—and like more than 1,000 horses a year in the U.S., he died on the track. U.S. racing is about drugs, breakdowns, and death, and until the constant medicating of these animals stops, that will never change.
RIP Helwan. #BelmontStakes Here’s why so many horses suffer & DIE on race tracks http://t.co/PsuazjWCu4 PLEASE RT! pic.twitter.com/tIgJeSVYJq — PETA (@peta) June 6, 2015
While track officials could raise a screen on the track to protect attendees from witnessing Helwan’s agonizing final moments, the veil has been lifted on this greedy industry’s track record—and it’s littered with broken young horses like Helwan.
#HorseRacing: the only sport where winners can become dinners. #BelmontStakes pic.twitter.com/U7QXx2w5mi — PETA (@peta) June 6, 2015
More than 1,000 horses DIED ON U.S. RACETRACKS in 2014. Your BET is not worth their LIFE. #BelmontStakes pic.twitter.com/vkH2KgYogB — PETA (@peta) June 6, 2015
