Another Horse Suffers a Fatal Injury at New Belmont Park
UPDATE (September 29, 2026): The new Belmont Park has hosted just nine races on its inner turf track, and two young horses have already been killed.
On Friday, September 25, 3-year-old Main Thing suffered a catastrophic injury to his right hind leg and was euthanized on the track. The death of this young horse—who had just finished his third race—comes a mere six days after the fatal breakdown of Heat Missile, who was killed on that same track.
PETA is calling on the New York State Gaming Commission to suspend racing on Belmont’s inner turf track and investigate how the new Belmont Park became a death trap. This lavish facility was backed by a $455 million taxpayer-funded loan from New York State, and it’s already failing horses.
It’s too late for Main Thing and Heat Missile, and the Commission must act now—before another horse is killed.
Originally posted on September 22, 2026:
During a sprint race on the opening weekend of the new, $550-million-dollar Belmont Park, a horse named Heat Missile suffered catastrophic injuries to her left front leg: Both sesamoid bones were fractured, and her fetlock joint dislocated. Workers cradled her mangled leg while a veterinarian filled a syringe with pink euthanasia drug.
Heat Missile turned, her eyes wide, before workers erected a screen to keep spectators in the grandstand from seeing what happened next. The workers covered her eyes. Moments later, the mare—who had been the betting favorite—was dead.
It was Saturday, September 19—the second day at the newly renovated Belmont Park. Backed by a $455 million, taxpayer-funded loan from New York State, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) sunk $550 million into the lavish new facility—but it couldn’t even keep all the horses alive through opening weekend. PETA was there to film her final moments. After her body was removed from the track, racing, betting, and opening weekend festivities continued.
Hundreds of miles away at Churchill Downs in Kentucky, another horse, two-year-old Lutkenhaus, also suffered a catastrophic fatal injury to his left front leg. He fell on the track, and five other two-year-old horses— Ritornello, Midnight Rumble, Shacklebolt, Steve Wood, and Industrious—fell over one another in a massive, multi-horse crash that left the track looking like a war zone.
Lutkenhaus was euthanized, and Industrious and Shacklebolt were loaded onto the equine ambulance. Three jockeys ended up in the hospital. Footage posted on X shows the aftermath of the disaster.
That’s at least two deaths at Triple Crown tracks in one day. Belmont Park and Churchill Downs failed Heat Missile and Lutkenhaus, and PETA is pushing the industry hard to adopt meaningful safety reforms that will spare horses like them. We’re also demanding to know the terms of the repayment plan between NYRA and the state of New York because taxpayers shouldn’t be funding this carnage.
Horses have their own intellectual capabilities and experience a complex range of emotions, just as humans do. But in the racing industry, these social herd animals are routinely kept confined and isolated. Horses love to run, but do not “love to race” while being whipped and forced to run at speeds and distances that result in bleeding lungs and injuries. And they cannot consent to risking their lives on the racetrack.
The screens exist so that the public can’t see horses killed on the track, but by sharing our exclusive footage of Heat Missile’s fatal breakdown, you can ensure that people know what happened to her at Belmont Park. Please, remember her: Never bet, attend, or watch the races while horses are being killed.
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