Death and the Triple Crown
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - PETA
May 08, 2006
By Kathy Guillermo
As the horse-racing industry heads into the Triple Crown, the annual trio of races that forms the highlight of its year, television viewers will witness the usual parade of glossy, prancing horses who appear to lead lives of great luxury. But for every horse who sleeps in a secure stable, blanketed, fed and cared for, many more know only the cruel side of human nature. In 2005 alone, more than 90,000 horses were slaughtered in the U.S. for overseas consumption. An additional 35,000 horses were sent abroad for slaughter.
As famed horse trainer Nick Zito wrote, "Foreign-owned slaughterhouses cart them in, butcher them and ship the meat overseas to Asia and Europe. This is not done for famine relief or directed toward the poverty-stricken. Rather, horse meat is a delicacy in these destinations."
Many of these horses are rejects of the horse-racing industry. While some rescue groups work hard to save racing rejects, including the newly-formed Kentucky Equine Humane Center, there are far more horses than there are homes. According to journalist turned thoroughbred breeder Jim Squires, there are more than 35,000 thoroughbred foals born every year. Of these, says Squires, only 20 make it to the Kentucky Derby starting gate. The rest have varying degrees of success or failure, according to racing standards, but the truth is that from the moment of birth, thoroughbreds are in danger of being sold at auction and sent to slaughter. If they aren't fast enough to earn purses, if they are injured and can no longer compete, if they don't like racing and don't try hard to win--all these can be death sentences.
Even the top winners can meet terrible fates. Ferdinand, a Derby winner and Horse of the Year in 1987, was retired to Claiborne Farms, then changed hands at least twice before being "disposed of" in Japan. A reporter covering the story concluded, "No one can say for sure when and where Ferdinand met his end, but it would seem clear he met it in a slaughterhouse."
Exceller, a million-dollar racehorse who was inducted into the National Racing Museum?s Hall of Fame, was killed at a Swedish slaughterhouse.
An insurance scandal cost the life of Alydar, who came in second in all three races of the 1978 Triple Crown and fathered many fast horses. After being retired to stud at a Kentucky farm, he was originally believed to have shattered his leg by kicking a stall door and was euthanized when he wasn?t able to maintain a splint. Ten years later, an FBI investigation revealed that his leg was broken deliberately with a rope tied to a pickup truck.
It doesn?t help that racing in the U.S. seems to be designed to help horses break down. Many horses are raced by their second birthdays, before their bones and knees have fully matured. Most are run on dirt because Americans enjoy the speed that the surface adds. But the packed ground is hard on horses' young legs, adding to breakdown potential. A University of Minnesota study found that one horse in every 22 races examined was so severely injured he could not finish the race. Drugs are often used to mask symptoms so that horses can run even when they?re injured.
As racing fans gather at tracks and in front of their television sets during the next few weeks, cheering on their favorites, it would be fitting if they took a moment to remember that it's not a good time to be a horse in America. A Triple Crown winner is a dream. Death is the reality.
Kathy Guillermo is a senior writer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; PETA.org.
As the horse-racing industry heads into the Triple Crown, the annual trio of races that forms the highlight of its year, television viewers will witness the usual parade of glossy, prancing horses who appear to lead lives of great luxury. But for every horse who sleeps in a secure stable, blanketed, fed and cared for, many more know only the cruel side of human nature. In 2005 alone, more than 90,000 horses were slaughtered in the U.S. for overseas consumption. An additional 35,000 horses were sent abroad for slaughter.
As famed horse trainer Nick Zito wrote, "Foreign-owned slaughterhouses cart them in, butcher them and ship the meat overseas to Asia and Europe. This is not done for famine relief or directed toward the poverty-stricken. Rather, horse meat is a delicacy in these destinations."
Many of these horses are rejects of the horse-racing industry. While some rescue groups work hard to save racing rejects, including the newly-formed Kentucky Equine Humane Center, there are far more horses than there are homes. According to journalist turned thoroughbred breeder Jim Squires, there are more than 35,000 thoroughbred foals born every year. Of these, says Squires, only 20 make it to the Kentucky Derby starting gate. The rest have varying degrees of success or failure, according to racing standards, but the truth is that from the moment of birth, thoroughbreds are in danger of being sold at auction and sent to slaughter. If they aren't fast enough to earn purses, if they are injured and can no longer compete, if they don't like racing and don't try hard to win--all these can be death sentences.
Even the top winners can meet terrible fates. Ferdinand, a Derby winner and Horse of the Year in 1987, was retired to Claiborne Farms, then changed hands at least twice before being "disposed of" in Japan. A reporter covering the story concluded, "No one can say for sure when and where Ferdinand met his end, but it would seem clear he met it in a slaughterhouse."
Exceller, a million-dollar racehorse who was inducted into the National Racing Museum?s Hall of Fame, was killed at a Swedish slaughterhouse.
An insurance scandal cost the life of Alydar, who came in second in all three races of the 1978 Triple Crown and fathered many fast horses. After being retired to stud at a Kentucky farm, he was originally believed to have shattered his leg by kicking a stall door and was euthanized when he wasn?t able to maintain a splint. Ten years later, an FBI investigation revealed that his leg was broken deliberately with a rope tied to a pickup truck.
It doesn?t help that racing in the U.S. seems to be designed to help horses break down. Many horses are raced by their second birthdays, before their bones and knees have fully matured. Most are run on dirt because Americans enjoy the speed that the surface adds. But the packed ground is hard on horses' young legs, adding to breakdown potential. A University of Minnesota study found that one horse in every 22 races examined was so severely injured he could not finish the race. Drugs are often used to mask symptoms so that horses can run even when they?re injured.
As racing fans gather at tracks and in front of their television sets during the next few weeks, cheering on their favorites, it would be fitting if they took a moment to remember that it's not a good time to be a horse in America. A Triple Crown winner is a dream. Death is the reality.
Kathy Guillermo is a senior writer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; PETA.org.