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 […]
What does the Omak Suicide Race owe to a horse massacre & the KKK?
Uncovering the nasty origins of an ugly event OMAK, Washington––Perhaps the most bizarre aspect of the “World Famous Suicide Race” held annually in Omak, Washington, is that the 12 Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation embrace as their own an event which appears to have originated with white men celebrating what they saw as […]
Beavers gnaw way toward wolf, grizzly & economic recovery in the Cascades
Future of logging, hunting, fishing & ranching region lies with nonlethal wildlife tourism TWISP, Washington––Vanishing salmon, Washington’s worst wildfire roaring through the Methow River Valley in July 2014, and flash floods that turned roads into rivers even before Finley Canyon stopped reeking of smoke and ash have brought beaver back to the Upper and […]
These “Blazing Saddles” episodes were no comedy
Padilla Ranch and San Luis Rey Downs disasters may have been only part of the Southern California fire toll on horses LOS ANGELES––Of the estimated 700,000 horses living in California, nearly 60% live in the four-county Southern California region hit by early December wildfires, the largest of which, the Thomas fire raging in the wooded […]
Hurricane Maria: monkeys hold on, horses endure
“Oh my goodness, how could anything have survived this?” CAYO SANTIAGO, Puerto Rico––Hurricane Irma mostly missed the renowned Cayo Santiago rhesus macaque colony, on an island just east of the Puerto Rican mainland, but Hurricane Maria hit it head-on, at full Category 5 strength. The thousand-odd macaques on Cayo Santiago are ninth generation descendants from […]
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 […]
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 […]
Pimlico death again raises question: why do bettors favor beaten horses?
Did “a right-handed rousing” contribute to winning horse’s apparent cardiovascular collapse? BALTIMORE, Maryland––“Rallied under a right-handed rousing” by jockey Horacio Karamanos, according to the Pimlico Race Course chart-writer, the official record-keeper for the race, Homeboykris charged from behind to win the first race of the May 21, 2016 card culminating in the Preakness Stakes, the second […]
Robert “Bob” King Hillman, 71
Cowboy turned humane investigator had a long, wild ride Robert “Bob” King Hillman, 71, an often controversial humane professional for more than 39 years, died on January 30, 2016 at his home in Henderson, Nevada, six weeks before what would have been the 46th anniversary of his marriage to Peggy Casper Hillman. “My dad […]
NFL warns players–22 years after Humane Farming Association
Eating Mexican or Chinese meat said to bring risk of ingesting banned drug NEW YORK CITY––A National Football League warning to players against eating meat from Mexico and China that may contain the synthetic steroid clenbuterol in early May 2016 at last caught up to Humane Farming Association warnings to the American public––22 years […]