Uncovering the nasty origins of an ugly event OMAK, Washington––The 86th annual edition of the bizarre and often deadly “World Famous Suicide Race” held annually in Omak, Washington, is to be held nightly, August 8-11, 2019. Bizarre as the race itself is, even more bizarre––and perplexing––is that the 12 Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation […]
Three more chuckwagon horses killed as Calgary Stampede 2019 ends
Six horses killed in 10 days; most since 1986 CALGARY, Alberta––The 2019 Calgary Stampede ended on the night of July 14, 2019 with reportedly the second-highest attendance in the history of the event, and three more horses killed in the climactic last heat of the Rangeland Derby, the chuckwagon races that for almost a […]
Alleged “horses for ransom” brokers busted in Louisiana
“Killer buyers,” associates of killer-buyers, & partners in questionable rescues FORT POLK, Louisiana––Thompson Horse Lot owner Gary Thompson, 64, of Pitkin, Louisiana, who held a controversial contract to remove an estimated 700 to 750 wild horses from the 198,000-acre Fort Polk military installation, is facing 18 counts of cruelty to animals for alleged severe […]
Will Santa Anita figure out what’s killing race horses? Don’t bet on it!
Investigators are only 3,500 years behind Chinese potters in figuring out that wood ash hardens clay ARCADIA, California––Cro-Magnon troglodytes apparently never figured out that wood ash hardens clay, despite having many millennia of opportunity to do so. Thus the failure of the Santa Anita Park management to investigate the effects of soot and ash fallout […]
Fire, horses, & Santa Anita: ashes, ashes, they all fall down?
A global warming connection to record racehorse deaths? ARCADIA, California––All eyes concerned about horses and horse racing have had the Santa Anita Park turf and track surfaces under microscopic examination since Ash Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Yet hardly anyone so far seems to be looking at the possible track-hardening effects of soot and ash deposition […]
20 racehorses die in 10 weeks at Santa Anita Park––why?
Santa Anita deaths revive debate over track surface safety ARCADIA, California––Famed as the oldest horse racing venue in California, hosting races 1904-1909, 1934-1941, and 1945-present, and as the scene of some of the most memorable wins by Seabiscuit and come-from-behind specialist Silky Sullivan, Santa Anita Park is suddenly notorious for 20 horse deaths in […]
Omak “Suicide Race” 2018: more dead horses & “kill the messenger”
Tribal baseball tradition much better documented than “suicide racing” OMAK, Washington––Add at least two more dead horses to the mounting toll from the annual Omak Stampede Rodeo “Suicide Race,” bringing the known toll since 1983 to 25, with many more suspected but undocumented, and no record existing of injuries and deaths from the first […]
Hurricane Harvey: how horses, cattle, lab & zoo animals fared
Many still need help HOUSTON, Texas––How have horses, cattle, and animals kept in laboratories and zoos fared through Hurricane Harvey and aftermath? Soggy doggies and cats took the media spotlight during the first week of the Harvey crisis, but animals of every species shared the impact of the record deluge. (See also Hurricane Harvey: who is […]
Greyhound racing goes to the dogs in Miami, Macau, & Australia
Magic City is allowed to replace greyhound racing with jai alai––a precedent for “decoupling” animal racing from gambling permits MIAMI, Florida––The Magic City casino in West Flagler, Florida, after more than 13 years of legal struggle, is soon to become the first Florida betting venue to be allowed to abandon animal racing while continuing […]
2016 Del Mar thoroughbred deaths may set new track record
Second year back on dirt, after eight years on synthetic surface cut deaths in half DEL MAR, California––Sixteen horses dead in the first five weeks of racing this year at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club near San Diego has just about everyone associated with horse racing wondering why and what’s next. One more death […]