Horse Racing Breakdown
The racing industry presents itself as a fun, family-friendly event, but this is far from reality when you consider the animals involved. Every month, hundreds of horses sustain injuries or suffer from illnesses after being forced to race in the name of entertainment.
Animal Liberation monitors the NSW Horse Racing Steward’s Reports to record how many horses display signs of an unwillingness to race, suffer from injuries or death, collide while running, and are over-whipped.
The following is the breakdown for 2021.
Injuries, Illnesses, & Deaths
In 11 months of racing, 1,507 horses sustained one or more injuries while running on NSW tracks.
January Deaths
Melted Moments and Noble Belle are two individuals who lost their lives due to the severity of their injuries.
February Deaths
Good As Gold was euthanised after suffering from a ruptured suspensory ligament that resulted in luxation of the fetlock joint.
March Deaths
Three horses died on NSW tracks in March. Lalvani, Stonehenge, and Bella Cavalla.
April Deaths
The latest victim to NSW racing was Rothenburg, who was killed after sustaining a catastrophic injury to their leg.
May Deaths
Seven horses died while racing on NSW tracks. Rest in Peace Tocatchacod, Royal Monarch, Monterey Magic, Gattling Gun, Amy’s Shadow, Brother Fox, and Thousand Island
June Deaths
Thankfully, no horses died during the June races, however, 108 still sustained injuries.
July Deaths
In July, one horse, Unico, lost their life to racing, due to an injury to their off fore leg.
August Deaths
In August, three horses died because of track related injuries. Rest in Peace Erwin, Xtremetime, and Brandenburg.
September Deaths
Five horses, Tucaman, Itasca, Sahara Emaar, Coolotta, and More Power died while racing in September - three collapsed and died, and two were killed after sustaining an injury. Another horse, Without Equal, was found dead in their stable.
October Deaths
Triple Ace and Command Me Easy, died due to catastrophic injuries to their legs.
November Deaths
The Grinder was killed after sustaining a biaxial sesamoid fracture.
Gleneagles was also killed after sustaining a near fore suspensory and fracture to the sesamoid during trackwork. During a trial race, Faraway Jewel suffered from cardiorespiratory failure and died.
December Deaths
Two horses were killed in December. La Roca sustained a biaxial basal sesamoid fracture to off fore leg and Ba Ai Gei Ni injured their off hind leg
The Stewards also report the number of horses who “made contact”, “bumped”, or “struck” another horse, barrier, or running rail, during the event. On many occasions, it happens more than once. While not all of these collisions result in an injury, many horses are noted to become unbalanced after the contact, which increases their risk of injury.
Poor Behaviours & Unwillingness to Race
The Stewards take notes on the horse’s behaviour before and during the race. The behaviours, such as having poor performance, being fractious, uncompetitive, or refusing to be loaded into the barrier, are indicative of an unwillingness to participate.
Please note, some horses display more than one negative behaviour and are recorded multiple times.
Pre-Race Injuries & Illnesses
Before they even enter the race, horses can sustain one or more injuries or display signs of an illness. This can be due to training, transport, or pre-race stress.
Over-Whipping
The Stewards record the names of jockeys who have “exceeded the permitted strikes of the whip prior to the 100m under AR132(7)(a)(ii)”.
What you can do
Please take the pledge to never bet on an animals life or support the racing industry: