PETA Calls For Nationwide Racing Halt As Horses Continue to Drop Dead
The 33rd horse in under a year has died at the Santa Anita racetrack in Southern California, but this is just one of numerous recent deaths.
Ky. Colonel, a 5-year-old gelding, apparently died of a heart attack after trotting on the training track at Santa Anita. His death comes seven months after the Los Angeles district attorney’s (D.A.) office acted on PETA’s request and launched an investigation into horse deaths at that facility.
Ky. Colonel’s body should be taken directly to the Los Angeles D.A.’s office and laid on her doorstep.
We still have no answers about the condition of the horses, the medications they were on, or the possible complicity of trainers and veterinarians in their deaths—and bodies continue to pile up. There is plenty that’s rotten with these deaths, and the longer it takes the D.A. to release her findings, the more horses will perish.
Horses Continue to Drop Dead in Other Racing States
In New York alone, at least 25 horses have died at the Belmont track this year. And two days before Ky. Colonel died in California, a horse named Stella d’Oro was euthanized at the Keeneland Fall Meet in Lexington, Kentucky, following what reporters called a “catastrophic injury.”
Horses don’t simply sustain broken bones for no reason, and young horses shouldn’t be dying of heart attacks. These animals may have had undisclosed injuries or other health conditions that were masked by medications commonly administered to keep lame and unfit horses training and competing.
All racing states should suspend racing until real answers are supplied about these deaths and the carnage is ended. But even as authorities and the racing world drag their feet, PETA will continue pushing forward to help save exploited horses’ lives.
Horses Need Your Help
On average, more than three horses die every day on racetracks in the U.S. Using PETA’s action form, please urge your congressional representative to support the Horseracing Integrity Act, which would impose stricter regulations on drug use in racing and help protect animals from abuse.
