Weber Co. Okays Unregulated Horse Races Where Gambling, Drugs, and Animal Abuse Run Rampant

For Immediate Release:
April 8, 2026

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Ogden, Utah –

PETA has just learned that Weber County Commissioners have approved unregulated or “bush track” horse races—which are known hubs of illegal activity—to take place at the county-owned Golden Spike Event Center this weekend through August. In response, PETA this morning sent an urgent letter to the Commissioners, pointing out that if they allow the races to go forward, they could be charged with aiding and abetting criminal activity, and urging them to immediately read up on the issue and cancel the events.

In the letter, PETA offers evidence of illegal acts—such as horse doping, animal abuse, and gambling—that have already taken place at previous bush track races at Golden Spike Event Center. The evidence includes video of a trainer carrying a syringe into the stall of a horse named El Dorian immediately before the race in which El Dorian suffered a fatal breakdown—making it a near certainty that the horse was injected with a substance that contributed to the breakdown—as well as video of a child carrying a syringe. Jockeys have also been caught on video excessively whipping and using electric shock devices on horses—a violation of Utah’s cruelty to animals laws—and attendees have been recorded engaging in what appears to be illegal gambling.

*A man uses an electric prod on a horse’s rear at a race at Golden Spike Event Center on July 14, 2024.*

“If Weber County Commissioners allow these cruel and deadly bush track races to go forward, they’ll be complicit in every act of animal abuse, illegal gambling, and drug use that happens there,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA urges the county to cancel these races and keep their sleazy participants out of Utah.”

PETA investigations into unregulated racing around the country have found rampant illegal gambling; doping horses with methamphetamine, cocaine, and other illegal drugs; cruelty to animals; and money laundering. Government raids of these tracks following PETA complaints have resulted in numerous arrests and seizures of drugs and gambling devices, including in Texas and Idaho.

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.