Extreme Heat Should Compel Saratoga to Cancel Races Tomorrow, PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
July 2, 2026

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Saratoga, N.Y. –

Please see the following statement from PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo regarding the New York Racing Association’s indecision on cancelling races at Saratoga Race Course tomorrow, its opening day of the season, despite the predicted extreme temperature and soaring heat index:

NYRA will be guilty of negligence and disregard for horse welfare if it doesn’t cancel racing at Saratoga tomorrow—something it should have done the moment the National Weather Service issued its extreme heat warning for the area. Many tracks across the eastern U.S. have already done so. PETA was at Saratoga recently during the Belmont Stakes week when Corruption collapsed on the track from heat exhaustion in temperatures significantly lower than what’s forecast for tomorrow. If a horse could go down in those conditions, why is NYRA willing to gamble with even greater danger now? It may be opening day at Saratoga, but for the horses it’s a matter of life and death. NYRA needs to decide what’s more important: protecting animals or protecting the betting schedule.

*Thoroughbred Corruption, who collapsed from heat exhaustion during this year’s Belmont Stakes week at Saratoga Race Course, with ice surrounding him. Credit: PETA*

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.