CAN HORSE RACING SURVIVE?
In a time of changing sensitivities,
an ancient sport struggles to justify itself.
In 2019, dozens of thoroughbreds died at California’s Santa Anita Park.
As outrage built, the industry was forced to contend with an existential question:
Is racing inseparable from cruelty to animals?
MAY 15, 2021 – By William Finnegan
The linked article is long but a very worthwhile read or listen.
Yes, I said read or listen. There’s an audio file linked near the top of the article, a podcast – so you may choose to listen instead of reading.
Published in the print edition of The New Yorker on May 24, 2021, with the headline “Blood on the Tracks.”…
This article is a wealth of information about horse racing, in the United States and the information – and the industry – includes strong ties to Canada as well.
For that reason we’ve chosen to feature this article for a second time.
P.S. Our followers from Australia and New Zealand will find it interesting too.
What happened at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in late 2019 looked like the end of horse racing in California, maybe in America.
It was the twelfth and final race of a two-day series, at Santa Anita Park, the storied track near Los Angeles. Sixty-eight thousand people packed the Art Deco grandstand, the apron, the infield, the high-priced suites.
The “handle”—the total betting for the day—was a healthy hundred and seventeen million dollars, but thoroughbred racingitself was on life support.
Since the beginning of the year, thirty-five horses had died at Santa Anita.
Public dismay had risen to the point that Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, had told the Times that racing’s “time is up” if it did not reform.
Dianne Feinstein, the state’s senior senator, had released a letter calling the Breeders’ Cup races a “critical test for the future of horseracing.”
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CANADA SLAUGHTERS HORSES FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION
It may be hard for some to believe that tens of thousands of horses, including pets, are routinely slaughtered in Canada, for human consumption.
Some of the meat is consumed in Canada and much of it is shipped to the European Union and other markets, including Japan.
The barbaric slaughter of horses is currently not legal in the United States, BUT horses, including pets and ex-racehorses, from the United States are shipped to Canada and to Mexico to be slaughtered.
In addition Canada allows for the transportation of live horses to Japan, to be slaughtered for human consumption, and unfortunately the transportation of horses destined for slaughter within Canada, and by air, is far from humane.
ITALY OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZES HORSES AS ATHLETES
ITALIAN EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION (FISE)FROM HORSE & HOUND: The Italian government has become the first to officially recognise the horse as an athlete by law, in a move welcomed as an “interesting development”. The decision was made at the end of January by the...
VIDEO: MP BEN CARR BILL C-355
STANDING COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOODOne of the "good guys". We loved all that MP Ben Carr had to say during the first session of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food meeting on Bill C-355.BACKGROUND...You may not be aware but in addition to...
HUMANE CANADA SUPPORTS BILL C-355
HUMANE CANADA SPEAKS OUT AGAINST LIVE EXPORTThank you Humane Canada for submitting a brief on Bill C-355 for the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.BRIEF TO THEHOUSE OF COMMONS STANDING COMMITTEE...
