For anyone who lives near Saratoga or any other region encompassing a major horse racing track has heard all about the rising death toll of horses. The problem is, these horse don’t just die from the longevity of their running career as if their death is anticipated. These are young, juvenile horses who are unconsensually pumped with drugs for peak performance. The horses then push the limits of their athletic ability and suffer an injury and are subsequently often shot dead on the track in the limelight of 30,000 spectators because it’s not worth the $$$ to deal with an injured horse who will most likely not win again…It ain’t pretty.
Now let me be clear. Two Buttons Deep is not an animal rights group, we are not saying the horse track should be banned. We’ve spent our fair share of dollars on (losing) bets and I’ve even hit a few squirrels with my car and didn’t go back for a funeral. However, maybe these people have a point.
We talked with horse rights activist Patrick Battuello, co-founder of HorseRacing Wrongs. The group holds regular peaceful protests outside of the Saratoga Race Track, and we went two buttons deep with Patrick about why he believes the horse racing industry exploits animals and should “absolutely be shut down.”
We talked with Patrick for about 10 minutes but cut down the video to about 3. Here are some key points he made against the horse racing industry:
- A country-wide average of 2,000 deaths annually
- Horses are sold and transferred on a regular basis
- Saratoga alone averages 15 deaths per year
- In 2016, Saratoga has reached nine deaths by the beginning of the third week
- Old horses are often sold to kill buyers where they are slaughtered in Canada or Mexico due to the lack of homes available for elder horses
- There are full service casinos available for your gambling fix, no need to bet on animals
What this keep your from betting on the ponies?