Thoroughbred Trainers, Fans Respond To Anti-Horseracing Activists’ Claims Of Cruelty

PLEASANTON (KPIX) –

An organization of animal rights activists protested outdoor the Alameda County Fair for most of the day, calling for a ban on horse racing on Saturday. Inside, racing fans, running shoes, and experts had a unique view of the industry.

Kristina Verdile is undoubtedly one of them. The anti-horseracing organization ‘Horseracing Wrongs’ became spurred into the movement after the loss of life of 30 horses at the Santa Anita Racetrack in Southern California over the last six months. “Thank you for not betting nowadays on horses. Horses die on this racetrack due to our bets,” Verdile advised fairgoers as they walked in. “Horse racing kills horses,” she stated as she and other volunteers held signs and passed out fliers.

“These people are creating wealth off the suffering and cruelty and demise of horses,” says Verdile. Professionals concerned within the horse racing enterprise say that isn’t authentic. “These horses are cared for so properly. We don’t do that to make cash. Anybody in the enterprise will inform you that. You do it because you adore it, and it’s your passion,” says Quinn Howey, who has been training horses for about 15 years. Since the deaths at Santa Anita, horse racing in California is dealing with new scrutiny. On Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 469, an original bill that gives the state’s racing board more enforcement power regarding safety issues.

“There’s finger-pointing, and this enterprise wishes to take the duty. Medication, whips, and taking care of those horses — and ensuring that the racing floor is awesome,” says Larry Swartzlander, Executive Director of racing on the county galas in California. He says the talk has helped bring about the desired reforms of allowable medicinal drugs and how jockeys can use whips throughout races. Swartzlander also says the unexpected spike in the number of fatalities seems constrained to Santa Anita, which could signal trouble with the track itself because of the record quantity of rain this winter. “The water gets down in there, and also you start to get breaks in that base, and once you try this, it’s similar to you’re running down the street with potholes. If you hit a pothole, guess what? You’re going to break your ankle,” says Swartzlander.

Racing enthusiasts say the health of the horses has to come first, continually. “Trainers are jogging the horses once they’re not one hundred percent sound, and that’s not right for the races, no longer the animals, or the fanatics,” says Herbert Robinson, who has into attending the races on the Alameda County Fair. “I don’t recognize what the answer is, but I don’t suppose wiping out horse racing is the answer,” stated long-time racing fan Richard Stecz. Swartzlander says the tracks at the county fairs have several first-class protection facts within the state. There had been no registered racing horse fatalities in the beyond two years.