Humane Society of the U.S. president Kitty Block slammed & damned Baffert in 2018 for allegedly drugging Triple Crown winner Justify, praised him in 2020 for support of the Horseracing Integrity Act, & has slammed & damned him again since then. BALTIMORE, Maryland––Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s horse National Treasure won the Preakness Stakes […]
Necropsies dominate the 2023 Kentucky Derby post-mortems
15-to-1 longshot winner Mage is barely noticed amid seven horse deaths LOUISVILLE, Kentucky––Kentucky Derby post-mortems began in 2023 ten days before the 20-horse field walked to the starting gate, but they were called “necropsies.” The more familiar term “autopsy” is used only when the deceased is human. The upset victory by Mage, a horse with […]
All the money in either racing or breeding horses is gambling money
Shocked! Shocked! by gambling that sparks electroshocking horses Cheating methods, regulations, & some statistics have changed since this article was first posted in June 1999, but the monetary motivations & horse industry attitudes have not. HOUSTON, LITTLE ROCK ––All the money in breeding race or show horses is gambling money. Figure that out, and it […]
Can the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Act save horse racing from itself?
Marty Irby leaves Animal Wellness Action on a high note, but horses are not drugged just to get them high WASHINGTON D.C.––Former Animal Wellness Action executive director Marty Irby on March 23, 2023 spoke in Oxford, Mississippi at the “Celebration of Life” for his friend and ally Clant Seay, founder of the Citizens Committee Against […]
Court returns Horseracing Integrity & Safety Act to the starting gate
Newly formed Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority loses turf battle to state & industry agencies NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana––Horse advocates and the horse racing industry across the U.S. are somewhat belatedly beginning to realize that a November 18, 2022 unanimous decision by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has returned the Horseracing Integrity & […]
Anti-“Big Lick” soring PAST Act passes U.S. House; goes to Senate
And California voters dump horse racing bail-out measure WASHINGTON D.C.––The U.S. House of Representatives on November 14, 2022 for the second time passed the PAST Act, short for Prevent All Soring Tactics, and sent it to the U.S. Senate, where for the second time it is likely to pull up lame. But maybe not. Before […]
“Fear thy Neighbor”––with our help––explores murders of Hansman family
ANIMALS 24-7 details our investigation of dog attack, possible horse racing grudge, & the killings of Harper & Guy Hansman by dog owner Ronald DelSerro PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida; TORONTO, Ontario––The July 2020 ANIMALS 24-7 investigation of the murders of 11-year-old Harper Hansman and her father Guy Alexander Hansman, 55, helps to frame the narrative […]
Did the Omak Suicide Race start with a horse massacre & the KKK?
Uncovering the nasty origins of an ugly event OMAK, Washington––The 88th edition of the bizarre and often deadly “World Famous Suicide Race” held annually in Omak, Washington, is to conclude on August 14, 2022, as the final event of the annual Omak Stampede Rodeo. Bizarre as is the race itself, down an extremely steep […]
Trump signs anti-race horse doping bill & $60 million gift to horse industry
Tax break for Paycheck Protection Program loan/grant recipients appears to have been the dangling carrot that brought horse racing industry support for omnibus funding bill WASHINGTON D.C.––U.S. President Donald Trump on December 27, 2020 “signed H.R. 133, an Act making consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, providing coronavirus emergency response […]
Pit bulls, wolves win in Colorado; horse racing wins in Nebraska; Hsiung loses
Colorado goes to the dogs DENVER, Colorado; LINCOLN, Nebraska; BERKELEY, California––Democratic challenger Joe Biden narrowly led Republican incumbent Donald Trump at 1:45, Pacific time, on November 4, 2020. The three major ballot issues and one mayoral race directly involving animals appeared to have ended, however, with a win for pit bulls in Denver, a […]