horsetalk.co.nz / CC

At that time, we called for the racing industry to eliminate, at a minimum, some of its most abusive practices, including permanently banning the use of whips.

In an encouraging sign, California's Del Mar Racetrack has just announced that it has officially banned the use of hard leather whips and will only allow softer riding crops on the track. These softer crops will not sting or leave welts on horses like traditional hard leather whips do.

All whips should be banned outright, but considering that this reform comes on the heels (hooves?) of similar improvements by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, it seems that the industry is getting the message that "business as usual" won't fly anymore.

Of course, while these are steps in the right direction, the racing industry is still far from humane. Young horses are still forced to race before their bones are fully mature, horses are pumped with drugs so that they can run while injured, and "retired" racehorses are still sent to slaughter—and these are just some of the many abuses that horses endure in the racing industry. The only way to stop the cruelty altogether is to end horse racing once and for all.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

In 2002, the 1986 Kentucky Derby champ, Ferdinand, was slaughtered after his breeding days in Japan were done.

Fast-forward to 2009: Two more horses, Charismatic and War Emblem—Kentucky Derby champs from 1999 and 2002 respectively—may also face slaughter as their usefulness to breeders comes to an end.

This upcoming Belmont Stakes marks the 10th anniversary of Charismatic's tragic breakdown.

After breaking his leg in the 1999 Belmont, Charismatic was sold to breeders in Japan. His value as a breeding stallion has dropped dramatically (to approximately US$5,000), and he has been moved to the lowest-ranking of breeding farms.

War Emblem was sold for $17 million and hauled off to Japan to become one of 33 stallions used for breeding at the Shadai Stallion Station. Despite the use of steroids, hormones and psychological measures, he has refused to breed with most mares.

Just a few years ago, horse-racing fans cheered as Charismatic and War Emblem ran away with top prizes at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Now, PETA's most recent undercover investigation shows what could be in store for these once-celebrated stallions and thousands of other horses sold into the Japanese thoroughbred industry.

Each year in Japan, more than 20,000 horses, including many horses once used for racing, are slaughtered for dog and human food. This video shows the slaughter of a young thoroughbred. As stated in the New York Times, "The video is disturbing. It shows in graphic terms what happens to the unfortunate thoroughbreds who become spare parts in a contracting industry."

You can blame the U.S. horse-racing industry for the carnage. It routinely breeds tens of thousands of "surplus" thoroughbreds every year, then sells thousands of them to breeding facilities in Japan. More than 2,000 U.S. thoroughbred horses and breeding mares have been shipped to Japan since Ferdinand was slaughtered in 2002.

Just last year, Americans watched in horror as racing filly Eight Belles suffered fractures to both her front ankles and was euthanized just moments after running the Kentucky Derby. How can anyone not be disgusted by the shuffling of thousands of horses off to Japan and into slaughterhouses?

Join us in defending former Derby and Preakness champs Charismatic and War Emblem—and thousands of other thoroughbreds. Demand limits on breeding and a ban on the export of horses to Japan.

Posted by Karin Bennett

How anyone can still tune in to watch horse racing, especially after Eight Belles broke both her ankles and was euthanized at last year's Kentucky Derby? Well, some mint julep–sipping, tacky hat–wearing folks still do—and for them, this past week was another showcase of horse horrors.

1. Monday: Raspberry Kiss and Dr. Rap, two young Derby horses, were involved in a collision that resulted in a broken hip, and eventual euthanasia, for Raspberry Kiss.
2. Friday: Stormalory, who was projected to win the American Turf, suffered fractures and was euthanized.
3. Saturday morning: I Want Revenge, the Kentucky Derby fave, was scratched early in the day because of an ankle injury and is expected to be off the racetrack until at least summer.
4. Saturday afternoon: The Derby's projected winner, Friesan Fire, had part of his hoof ripped off right after the start but managed to finish the race, bleeding the whole way, 18th of 19 horses. (Somehow, I'm not surprised that Friesan Fire is trained by Larry Jones with Gabriel Saez as the jockey, the same duo who sent Eight Belles to her early grave last year.)

thedowneyprofile / CC
"He got hit real bad leaving the gate," Larry Jones said. "He's bleeding. If you see blood on the track, it's his."

All of the above occurred at just one track during just one weekend, but injuries and death are routine at racetracks.

Anybody want to guess what the upcoming Preakness and Belmont Stakes have in store for horses?

Posted by Karin Bennett

tottman / CC

Why 265, you ask? We included 263 headstones to represent the horses who have died on the track since last year's Kentucky Derby and whose names we know, one headstone for the approximately 832 other horses who have died but whose names are not known—because racetracks are so bad at reporting breakdowns and deaths—and one headstone for the approximately 12,000 thoroughbreds who are sent off to slaughter each year.

Churchill Downs is, of course, home to the Kentucky Derby and is where Eight Belles lost her life one year ago. Since the Eight Belles tragedy, Churchill Downs has made some reforms in the ways that horses are treated on its track, but banning the use of legal drugs to mask injuries hasn't been one of them. PETA is calling on the people who run the track to ban the use of all drugs in the week before a race. By bringing attention to the thousands of lost lives that don't make headline news, our display will hopefully inspire horse-racing officials to take action.

After all, by my calculations, the horse-racing industry has caused 13,095 horses to die this past year. That's enough to fill a cemetery plus some.

Update: Check out these pictures from the unveiling, then go browse more art by Dan Lacey, who painted the gorgeous picture of Eight Belles.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Curious about the names of the horses who have died on racetracks during the past year? Click here.

We were pretty disappointed when we heard that Mattel was planning to release a "Kentucky Derby Barbie." Barbie has a long history as an animal defender (she's been fur-free for years)—why would she get all, ahem, "dolled" up for an event that centers around animal abuse?

Then it occurred to us that Barbie could very well go to the Kentucky Derby (or, as we say in Louisville, "the Derby") and still maintain her animal-friendly image. How, you ask? By protesting the Derby, of course!

That's why PETA sent a letter to the CEO of Mattel asking him to provide Kentucky Derby Barbie with two special items to take with her to Churchill Downs. She should have her very own to-scale protest sign—reading "Horse Racing is Horse Abuse"—as well as a memorial wreath commemorating Eight Belles and all the other horses who die every day on race tracks. In addition, Kentucky Derby Barbie's box should come with a sticker that explains why Barbie is on her high horse about the dangerous practices that are rampant in the horse-racing industry, such as pumping horses with steroids and other drugs to enable them to run with injuries, breeding horses to have fragile legs, running horses too young (before their bones have fully formed), and racing them on hard dirt tracks.

Barbie's a smart girl. After all, she has been a surgeon, an astronaut, and President of the United States. Surely she knows that there are better ways to spend a Saturday in May than at a "sporting event" that is all too likely to end in tragedy.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

If you aim a wind-up toy at a brick wall, logic would tell you that the toy is going to continue slamming into the wall unless the wall is removed, right?

Well, as long as the horse-racing industry exists, tragedy is going to follow. Case in point: Two more horses at the Aqueduct Race Track had to be euthanized last week after suffering broken legs on the track. One of the breakdowns was so catastrophic that five horses slammed to the ground. You can watch footage of the race below.

One would think that the horse-racing industry would at least make some changes to protect these horses better, such as mandating turf track, which is softer than either dirt or synthetic tracks. Instead, as The New York Daily News reports, the industry simply tries to cover up fatal falls. When questioned about its decision not to show footage of the fall that brought down five horses, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) claimed that it didn't want the footage to get into the wrong hands, meaning animal rights groups. Oops! Looks like that didn't work out so well, did it?

My favorite quote about the decision not to air the footage comes from a NYRA spokesperson, who said: "It was a judgment call on a particularly scary-looking spill."

Exactly. Don't want to scare off those railbirds and their lucrative bets, do we? As if the tragic deaths of Eight Belles last year and Barbaro in 2006 haven't already given race fans enough to think about.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

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Unfortunately, retirement from racing for a horse who has developed injuries or is no longer fast enough to complete usually means a lifetime of breeding or a one-way trip to the slaughterhouse.

PETA immediately sent a letter to officials to ask that Big Brown be gelded and fully retired, not held at stud to breed and pass along the traits of a horse who has sustained several injuries throughout his racing career. You can view our full letter here.

Horse racing has always been a greedy, money-hungry industry with little regard for the animals it puts in harms way, so long as the horses continue to bring in the big bucks. Fortunately though, laws are changing to help protect these horses. Side whipping as well as "Snapper" whips, which are used in harness racing, have both been banned. Anabolic steroids have been banned from racing, and Maryland recently banned the use of all steroids. But we still have a long way to go to shut down all horse-racing venues and to remove these animals from lives plagued by injury.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

It's a start!

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has recently enacted two new regulations to lessen the suffering of racehorses. This comes after months of pressure from PETA and its supporters following the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby. This is a groundbreaking development—it shows that the horseracing industry is beginning to recognize that change is necessary.

© Jason Allen Photography
A big hearty "neiighhh" (that's horse for "thank you!") to the supporters and demonstrators who worked so tirelessly in behalf of racehorses everywhere.

The commission voted to ban "snapper" whips for harness racing—whips with flails on the end, which cause welts—as well as a technique called side whipping, in which the driver holds the reins in one hand, leans to the side, and whips the horse with the other hand.

Two weeks ago, the KHRC also banned the use of anabolic steroids—the drugs given to Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown—for all racehorses. The use of steroids was banned in Maryland just a few days ago, and now steroids are banned in two of the three states where Triple Crown races are held.

Although these changes are better than no changes at all, horseracing is still a cruel industry, and it should be completely obliterated. But until it is, there should still be a prohibition on competitive racing for horses younger than 3 years old and a ban on dirt tracks in favor of turf tracks (which would greatly decrease the chances of catastrophic injury). But most important of all, a zero-tolerance drug policy—a ban on all drugs, not just steroids—needs to be enacted.

So, thanks for the new regulations, KHRC. But you still have a lot of work to do!

Posted by Carrie Ann Harris

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After the tragic death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby this past May, we at PETA were hopeful that all the shock and emotion involved would result in some real horseracing industry reforms. Unfortunately, change hasn't come fast enough. In fact, in the four months since Eight Belles crashed to the ground at the Kentucky Derby, at least 100 other racehorses have died.

Yeah, you read that right. At least 100 racehorses and counting! How this industry hasn't already been seriously reformed—or gone out of business entirely—is totally beyond me. In light of these shocking numbers, PETA has fired off a letter to National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) president Alex Waldrop calling on the NTRA to take immediate action and lead the racing industry by implementing reforms that will help prevent more deaths.

PETA is urging the industry to make several changes, including enacting a zero-tolerance drug policy, a ban on whipping, a prohibition on competitive racing for horses younger than 3 years old, and a ban on dirt tracks in favor of turf (grass) tracks—which would greatly decrease the chances of catastrophic injury. I know it's not the perfect solution—the perfect solution would be the end of horseracing altogether. But what's important right now is healthier and happier lives for these horses—so it's crucial that the industry make these changes immediately.

We've known for a long time of the horseracing industry's cruelty. Our letter to the NTRA is not the first time PETA has campaigned for change in the industry. And I assure you, it will not be the last.

Posted by Carrie Ann Harris

It takes a lot to shock the public these days, but the fact that cruel incidents in the horseracing world are finally being taken seriously is just about doing the trick. Before Eight Belles' tragic death made the public realize that horseracing isn't all fun and games, drugging and heavy whipping just made up another day in the industry. But now, people are on red alert, and we're doing our best to continue exposing the horseracing industry for what it really is. Because of all this new attention, the industry is getting a good once-over from the public, Congress, and horseracing authorities, and skeletons just keep falling out of the closet.

On that note, let's talk about whipping, shall we? Now, don't get excited ... this isn't the fun kind. Whipping racehorses was banned in 1982 in Norway under the Cruelty to Animals Act. It's severely restricted in the U.K., and many jockeys there are asking for it to be completely banned. If you ever had any doubt that it should be banned in the U.S., check out this video:

The good news is that Jeremy Rose, the jockey in the above video, was recently suspended in Delaware for six months for "extreme misuse of the whip." You can read all about that here.

It's about damn time that these serious problems are being taken seriously! Here's to hoping that there's no future need for hideous videos and cruelty charges in "sports." Thanks for ruining my Friday, Jeremy! I hope you spend your six months in some serious deep thought.

Posted by Christine Dore

smh / CC

Rick Dutrow is Big Brown's trainer, who was M.I.A. during the congressional hearings. It seems the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority found one of his horses, Salute the Count, with the highest level of clenbuterol (a bronchial dialator that also functions as a steroid) that the chief steward had seen in four years—more than twice the allowable level.

Dutrow is being suspended for a mere 15 days and will have to return the $20,000 that he made off drugging and racing Salute the Count at the race where he was tested. In his defense, he was quoted as saying that he uses this on many of his horses and has only once had a problem with it.

If that wasn't enough, jockey Jeremy Rose was recently suspended for "engag[ing] in extreme misuse of the whip" on his horse, Appeal to the City, according to this Blood-Horse article. I was not aware that there were proper and acceptable uses for whips on animals—only on humans.

Rose has been suspended (in Delaware only) for six months and will have to pay veterinary bills for the animal, which include treatment for hemorrhaging around his eye from being whipped in the face. Even though it's not as good as being permanently banned from contact with horses, Rose's relatively stiff sentence—virtually unheard of in the history of horseracing—shows that outside pressure is seriously having an effect on state regulatory bodies.

However, in the absence of an overarching federal body to oversee horseracing, the suspensions of Rose and Dutrow will only be effective in Delaware and Kentucky, respectively. They can still train, mount, drug, or whip horses elsewhere.

Posted by Sean Conner

As arguably tasteless as he may be, Triumph the Insult Dog from the Late Night With Conan O'Brien show made some excellent points in his coverage of the recent Belmont Stakes. As I've pointed out before with humor articles and videos, they often sneak in a few insightful points about whatever act or industry they've set in their crosshairs. In the few moments when he's not busy insulting virtually every attendee of the Belmont Stakes, Triumph does just that.

The horseracing industry is just another instance of the same mentality behind dogfighting (although Triumph may have said so less eloquently). The difference is that horses are raced and killed out in the open.

Besides a chuckle, what I took away from this video was a sense of how unimportant horseracing itself is to the Belmont Stakes. Most of what I saw was just noticeably intoxicated people standing in the hot sun, cracking wise and goofing off. I've enjoyed (and been) this very spectacle at every low-cost local beer garden or outdoor concert I've ever stumbled home from. I don't recall once stopping to think how desperately the event needed horses running in a giant loop to complete the experience.

To see Triumph in all his potty-mouthed glory, check out the video here:

Posted by Sean Conner

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As if we didn't already have enough reasons to protest the horseracing industry, the Associated Press reports that nearly 20 racehorses crammed inside a double-decker trailer meant for moving cattle sustained numerous injuries following the four-day transport from the U.S. to Puerto Rico. Apparently, it didn't occur to the people handling these animals that horses are taller than cows. The horses' bodies were forced into unnatural and painful crouched positions—even causing one horse to remain crouched over for five days following arrival.

The injuries sustained en route have prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to launch a federal investigation.

I guess the handlers missed the memo sent out by the legion of misguided race fanatics that racehorses are better cared for than any other animal used for "entertainment." Sarcasm aside, the aforementioned statement is the number one excuse we keep hearing from race fans who continue to support a dying industry.

This wasn't one case of poorly arranged transport, folks—it's an ever-growing trend in the racing industry to cut costs and increase earnings. Thoroughbreds are transported to Puerto Rico by the hundreds each year, and racehorses on all tracks are made to suffer by this money-hungry industry. Steroids, painkillers, and injuries because of underdeveloped bones—if this is the good life, then I really don't want to see the bad. Take action to help horses here.

*The other reasons are the more than 5,000 horses that have died on racetracks since 2003.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

On behalf of thoroughbreds everywhere, a congressional hearing was held today to discuss horseracing—just weeks after PETA and tens of thousands of our members and supporters called for it. You can get a pretty cool play-by-play of the meeting here, but basically, the primary message was that the drugs are the problem—not just steroids but all drugs. Person after person said in testimony that if you get rid of the drugs, you get rid of a lot of problems in racing because horses who don't have the strength to run won't run and then won't be bred. What we need is a zero-tolerance policy!

The hearing was full of moving testimony, including comments from a woman who runs CANTER, a thoroughbred rescue. She gets the horses who have been on all kinds of drugs their whole lives and said that when they go off drugs, they go through withdrawal periods that include hair loss, weight loss, and depression. One of my favorite quotes from the afternoon came from Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who said, "Greed has trumped the health of horses." One person who was not so surprisingly absent was Big Brown's trainer, Richard Dutrow. Given his rap sheet of drug infractions, I can't say I was terribly surprised.

There will be at least one more hearing, possibly looking to consider legislation to appoint a federal racing commissioner so that all laws pertaining to racing will be uniform. The congressional committee also voted to admit PETA's written testimony—which you can read here—into record.

You can respond to our latest horseracing action alert to let Congress know that you care about Eight Belles and all the less famous horses who face death on the track and get your voice heard! These hearings are a wonderful step in the right direction, and we need to continue pushing for progress.

Posted by Christine Dore

Shortly after Eight Belles’ death, I wrote something of a dissertation in response to some folks who had taken the opportunity to claim that horses love racing because they’re, like, “born to run” or whatever. But here’s a little visual aid for anyone who remains unconvinced. This clip is from the Brooklyn Handicap stakes race that took place on June 6 at Belmont. The jockey is John Velazquez, and the horse is Nite Light—who, as far as I can tell, likes horse racing about as much as I do.

After much hype around Big Brown's quarter hoof split, with the spotlight on the trainer and the owner and everyone else surrounding this “pushed” horse, it seems that he was finally allowed to run what may well have been the first natural race of his life. And the result is he showed how he really feels: tired and lame. Big Brown’s jockey did the right thing and pulled him up, sensing that the horse just didn’t have it in him. History has been made.

Ten states already ban steroids, and the rest need to follow suit. PETA will be pushing for illegal and legal drug use to end and for horses to be allowed to be themselves. If money can’t be made honestly and comes at the expense of breaking animals' bodies and souls, then it shouldn’t be made at all. Please join us in urging Congress to properly investigate horse-racing cruelty by using this web form.

PETA demonstrators flooded the Belmont yesterday in huge numbers. Here are some pictures:

Sounds like some sketchy-ass cult from a second-rate slasher flick, and, honestly, this recent segment on HBO about these shadowy figures in the horse racing industry kinda reinforces that impression. My favorite part in the video is the dude at the beginning of the second segment who’s all, “Yeah, I sold my horse to The Meat Men, but I didn’t ask where the horse was going, ‘cuz I didn’t want to know.” I imagine he’s the sort of guy who would hand his kids over to a babysitting service called The Black Market Organ Dealers, and then be all surprised when they came back without any kidneys.

Check the two parts of the segment out here and here, then let me know what you think—it’s pretty well-known that the horse racing industry and the horse slaughter industry are more or less BFFs, but this footage really drives the point home in a powerful and (fair warning) pretty disturbing way.

While we’re on the topic of horse racing, a bit of house cleaning: First, and most importantly, my colleague Jeff Kerr is giving a press conference in Louisville this morning to renew PETA’s call for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Eight Belles’ death, following the admission by Eight Belles' trainer that the filly was given a powerful anti-inflammatory drug just hours before her catastrophic breakdown. More on that as it develops. Secondly, since we’re talking about breakdowns, here’s a list of all the thoroughbred deaths that have taken place since the Eight Belles incident on May 3. More than a dozen so far, and counting. And finally, here’s The New York Times on the widespread use of steroids in the horse racing business.

So there you have it, Meat Men, high on-track death rates, and widespread steroid abuse. Classy stuff, horse racing industry. You guys are real winners.

--Jack

Posted by Jack Shepherd, Marketing Coordinator

Following Eight Belles’ breakdown and euthanasia at the Kentucky Derby on May 3, PETA called for congressional hearings into the abuses of the horse racing industry and we urged immediate improvements. Visitors to peta.org sent thousands of emails to congress backing our call for hearings. I'm thrilled to say that after only 3 weeks of action on our part and your part as activists, it’s been announced that hearings will, in fact, be held.

To everyone who took action: THANK YOU! Because of strong activists like you we are able to make strides in important campaigns such as this one. You can read more about this here.

We will now be focusing our energy on the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection by asking them to focus on the cruelest practices of racing: legal and illegal drug use, track surfaces, whipping, racing horses too young and too often, and discarding “used up” thoroughbreds to slaughter. You can take action by sending an e-mail to subcommittee chair Bobby Rush by using this contact form.

Thanks again for speaking up and I hope these congressional hearings really shine some much needed light on the horse racing industry. These improvements are a matter of life and death for horses.

--Christine

Posted by Christine Dore, Marketing Special Projects Coordinator

Glorious.

Click for a larger version

To check out the archives of past strips, click here.

Following the public outrage about the shady practices of the horseracing industry that was triggered by the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby, many PETA members and concerned citizens showed up at the Preakness in Baltimore to remind the industry that they can’t just sweep their problems under the rug (or send them off to the glue factory). Here are some photos from this amazing demonstration:

Following the dust stirred up by PETA and the national outrage about the very public death of Eight Belles from two snapped ankle bones, our appeals to the horseracing industry to make far-reaching changes in its practices have begun to have a noticeable effect. An article in The Wall Street Journal today quoted Alex Waldrop, the president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) as saying, "It is clear that the status quo is not an option. We have to stop identifying problems and start implementing solutions."

Which, well, Amen to that. Some changes have already begun to be implemented, including a prominent horse auction company which has “instructed agents and breeders to discourage jockeys from whipping horses during a coming sales show,” citing the negative press generated by animal rights organizations as its reason for implementing the policy. What goes on behind the scenes, from whipping to doping, is another matter. Time will tell if major changes are adopted by the NTRA, and how effective and far-reaching they are, but the grave concerns about the long list of cruel and shady practices of this dirty industry—which PETA has been raising for decades—are finally beginning to be addressed.

It’s certainly too bad that it took another death of a popular horse during a televised racing event to scare the industry into recognizing that people are leaving the track in droves, but we’ll call this “better late than never” and keep our eyes firmly on the industry to ensure that these promises are more than just talk.

Well, about 500 or so comments later, the thread on this post about the recent Kentucky Derby horror is still going strong. It’s clear that this issue has deeply affected a lot of people—and hopefully, all this emotion about Eight Belles’ tragedy will result in some actual reforms that will give at least some degree of protection to the horses who are abused by this industry.

I don’t usually make a point of singling out certain comments on this blog, but there were enough people who made statements along the lines of “But horses are born to race. That’s what they love,” or, like, “They’re treated better than most humans,” that I figured it was worth pointing out a few more things about the horseracing industry, which, like any industry which depends on animal domination and exploitation, will try to get away with any abusive or neglectful practice that might make them an extra dime. And the real victims—Eight Belles and the thousands of less famous horses who died under similar circumstances or else were shipped off to Europe for human consumption—live miserable lives and die painful deaths.

Here are a few key points about how this works, and there’s lots more info on this horseracing factsheet:

1. Nobody “loves to run” when they’re suffering from bleeding lungs or painful leg injuries, but that doesn’t stop trainers from pumping these animals full of drugs to mask the pain, enhance their performance and just plain keep them going. We are getting calls and faxes about all kinds of cocktail mixes that "are common knowledge in the back stretch." Sometimes people are caught and suspended when they’re careless—as was the case with this veterinarian who got busted for injecting cobra venom into a horse as a nerve blocking agent. For real.
2. Why was Eight Belles so fragile? Well, horses begin training when their skeletal systems are still growing, and they’re completely unable to deal with pounding their limbs into jelly on a hard track at high speeds. Don't tell me that all those people who "really know about horses" didn't have an inkling that this filly - a filly, no less - was a high risk for serious injuries like the ones she sustained. But she was raced anyway. Any gue$$es as to why?
3. As I mentioned before, horses that don’t make the cut get shipped off to slaughterhouses. The fact that anybody who knows this would still have the gall to comment on this blog saying that these animals are “treated better than most humans” is just too depressing to even think about.

For better or for worse, Eight Belles is now a very public representative of an industry that’s rotten to its rotten core. My only hope is that people will keep looking deeper into the way these horses are treated. And don’t dare try and tell me that they like it.

In a somewhat unorthodox move, Eight Belles' owners evidently had her cremated almost immediately after her necropsy on Saturday. With this news coming right on top of a report in Sports Illustrated that the jockey riding Colonel John heard Eight Belles whinnying as they passed during the race, we want to ensure that there’s some real transparency about the investigation into this incident. Today, PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk sent a second appeal to Commonwealth's Attorney R. David Stengel in Louisville calling for the results of her necropsy and any other tests to be made public. You can read that letter here.

Following the shocking death of the horse that Senator Hillary Clinton publicly bet on in the Kentucky Derby, PETA has asked her to denounce this dirty “sport.”

In a letter to the Senator today, PETA’s president pointed out that Eight Belles was fiercely whipped in the final stretch just before the bone in her ankles broke through her skin and she crashed to the ground. Given that the joints of the young horses used in these races are not yet fully formed, this kind of accident is inevitable, and the expressions of surprise about this incident from within the horseracing industry are utterly fake. In her letter to the Senator—which points out that Eight Belles is just one out of a long list of horses who have broken their legs and had to be killed throughout the history of the Triple Crown and the hundreds more who die every year in the horseracing industry—PETA’s president writes:

“Attending the Derby is as despicable as attending a dogfight. For most—not a few—of the horses you see will not end up put out to pasture on a beautiful ranch but will be sent overseas to be slaughtered for someone's dinner plate. At some point, all horses stop winning.”

The letter asks Clinton to withdraw her public support of horseracing, and condemn the cruel “sport” instead.

I should point out here that PETA is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to stopping the exploitation and abuse of animals. PETA's condemnation of Hillary Clinton for betting on horses and its request that she denounce horseracing are in no way intended as intervention in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for political office.

Here’s the letter:

Dear Senator Clinton:

As a high profile political figure with the esteem of many women, I regret to say that your public support of horseracing—and specifically betting on Eight Belles—makes you culpable in her destruction. I ask you now to publicly condemn races like the Kentucky Derby. Eight Belles ran for her life and was fiercely whipped as she came down that final stretch when she was no doubt in a great deal of pain. We cannot call ourselves a civilized nation if we allow any living being to endure such abuse.

Races like this are the equivalent of child sweatshops. These are not even seasoned horses: They are young fillies and colts whose joints are not formed enough to endure such a grueling race. Despite this, they are pushed beyond their limits. The Triple Crown and other major horse races have become the graveyards of too many horses who were called champions. For example, Go For Wand, who went down in the 1990 Breeders' Cup Distaff and then stumbled up and tried to keep running with her broken leg dangling; Union City, who fractured a leg in the 1993 Preakness and was destroyed; Prairie Bayou, who that same year suffered a compound fracture in the Belmont Stakes and had to be destroyed; George Washington, who was euthanized after breaking his leg while running the Preakness last year; and of course Barbaro, the "poster horse" of the racing industry's failures and excesses, who despite efforts could not be saved from the injuries sustained during the 2006 Preakness. Barbaro's injuries were terrible—fractures of his canon bone, sesamoids, and long pastern as well as the dislocation of the fetlock joint. These are just a few of the horses we hear about—they are the winners, the horses who run the big races. Hundreds of horses meet the same painful, deadly fate every year in the horseracing industry. A race track is not a place for a fun day out, and we are writing to Chelsea on that score. Attending the Derby is as despicable as attending a dogfight. For most—not a few—of the horses you see will not end up put out to pasture on a beautiful ranch but will be sent overseas to be slaughtered for someone's dinner plate. At some point, all horses stop winning.

PETA takes no position on whether you win or lose the race you are in, but we call on you to publicly reject betting on such hideous spectacles of domination over wonderful animals who deserve more than pain and death for human profit and amusement.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

For years now, the horse racing industry has systematically ignored efforts by the animal protection community and its own disgusted insiders, including some veterinarians who aren’t afraid where their bread is “buttered,” to make life more tolerable for the horses it profits from. Given this weekend’s horror at the Kentucky Derby, we’re hoping that the members of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority and others within the industry will now be forced to take these issues seriously. If they don’t care about the suffering of these animals, perhaps their PR people will give them a reason to care.

This morning, PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk sent a letter to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority proposing changes in the rules that would result in a drastic reduction of the types of injuries that claimed the life of Eight Belles in the running of the Kentucky Derby. The maudlin expressions of regret and sadness over the Eight Belles incident that we’re hearing from people within the industry are ringing pretty hollow right now. If they genuinely want to do something to try and prevent incidents like this in the future, they can start with the following:

• Suspend the jockey and bar the trainer from racing other horses
• Thoroughbreds under the age of three should not be permitted to race
• Synthetic surfaces or grass turf—which result in dramatically fewer injuries—should be mandated at all racecourses
• The number of races that horses run in a season should be limited
• Whipping should be banned

You can read PETA’s letter here. I’ll keep you posted.