02/14/2024
This is an update on horses killed at Texas tracks in 2023 (Information provided by Horseracing Wrongs. A total of 25 deaths on track were reported last year. 12 of the 25 deaths occurred at Lone Star Park. Sam Houston Park had the second most deaths while Gillespie and Retama accounted for the rest. While all of these deaths are egregious, as these horses are used and abused just to make money, I did find the death of Fabulous Seis (d. Nov 3, 2023 at Lone Star Park) to be particularly disgusting. You can read more in the link below, but I will copy relevant details provided from Horseracing Wrongs:
One Fabulous Seis, Nov 3, Lone Star R
“Fought in gate. Head trauma with acute nasal hemorrhage. Died on track after removal from gates.” The report also noted that prior to dying, One Fabulous Seis had been on bleeder lists three times (in Louisiana and New Mexico). She was four years old.
This poor horse had been subject to bleeding issues three times, and the people still thought it fit to race him.
As humans, what we can do to eventually get the abuse to stop is to put a stranglehold on the business of horse racing by not attending parks, not betting on races, and not watching them on TV. Finally, we are ratcheting up the pressure on politicians to quit providing subsidies for this dying industry. The industry may be slowly dying, but as you can see it's still alive and horses continue to die and suffer from repeated abuse, even after they are proven unfit to ride.
Through a FOIA request to the Texas Racing Commission, I have confirmed the following kills at that state's tracks last year (this is part 2; part 1