Two of three Florida horse tracks have anti-slaughter policies
May 4th, 2009 by admin
On Saturday, to coincide with the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs Inc. announced a number of horse-friendly initiatives that will be phased-in at all company racetracks, including Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens.
Included are measures limiting the use of riding whips, an improved testing program for performance-enhancing drugs, improved testing and monitoring of track surfaces, increased financial support for horse retirement programs, and a policy prohibiting the transport of horses from CDI facilities for slaughter (”Churchill Downs strictly forbids the practice of horse slaughter. Any trainer or owner found to have sold a horse for slaughter will have his or her stalls permanently revoked from all Churchill Downs Incorporated tracks.”).
The slaughter policy mirrors one adopted in October 2008 by Magna Entertainment Corp., the operator of Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. Of Florida’s three thoroughbred tracks, only Tampa Bay Downs does not have a written anti-slaughter policy.
Please contact Tampa Bay Downs and urge the company to adopt a policy banning trainers or owners who knowingly send horses to slaughter. Enacting an anti-slaughter policy would be an important statement that Tampa Bay Downs values the humane treatment of racing horses, even when their careers are over.
Contact:
Stella Thayer, President
Tampa Bay Downs
Online comment form.
Thankfully, Saturday’s Kentucky Derby occurred without incident, but we learned of a tragic accident earlier in the week at Churchill Downs that was barely mentioned in the media. During morning workouts on Monday, a young female horse named Raspberry Miss was standing near the finish line when another horse threw his rider and crashed into the horse. Raspberry Miss suffered a broken pelvis and died from the pain/shock before veterinarians could euthanize her.