37 ‘Horses’ to Hold ‘Die-In’ at D.A.’s Office

PETA Will Demand Results of Investigation Into Dozens of Deaths at Santa Anita Park

For Immediate Release:
November 12, 2019

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Wearing horse masks, 37 PETA supporters—each one holding a sign with the name of a horse who has died at Santa Anita Park—will gather in front of Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s office on Wednesday and, simultaneously, fall down “dead.” PETA is demanding that the D.A.’s office release the findings of its investigation into the deaths, which have continued to mount—most recently, with the death of Mongolian Groom at the Breeders’ Cup.

When:    Wednesday, November 13, 12 noon

Where:    N. Spring Street between W. Temple and Aliso streets, Los Angeles

“Seven months after PETA requested that the D.A.’s office investigate trainers and veterinarians, we still don’t know why these horses died—all we know is that horses are still dying,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “Future deaths can’t be prevented—and those responsible can’t be held accountable—until the D.A.’s office releases the results of its investigation.”

PETA is also urging the California Horse Racing Board to suspend the licenses of trainers whose horses have died, pending the outcome of the investigation. Thousands of necropsies of horses who’d sustained broken bones while racing or training show that in 85% to 90% of cases, a preexisting injury was present at the site of the break.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.