The racing industry will often claim to be “open and transparent” but our experience of well over a decade demonstrates the very opposite. The industry will go out of its way to keep the truth from the public, as what really goes on behind the scenes is so shocking it threatens the very existence of horse racing.

We, the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses, represent a large sector of the general public who have very legitimate concerns regarding the wellbeing of racehorses, yet, our emails to industry authorities requesting an open dialogue or specific information regarding individual horses wellbeing are repeatedly ignored – Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys has even blocked all email and phone communication from us.

But, of course, it is much worse than that. Editing race replay footage when a horse is seriously injured or killed (or failing to upload the footage at all), intentionally omitting information from stewards reports, and blatantly lying to the public in media statements and in official industry reports, are all common practice in this industry that thrives on secrecy.

Below is a letter that has been sent to the Racing Victoria Equine Welfare Department four times since January this year. Not one reply has been received, not even an acknowledgement of the email, even though correspondence on other matters has occurred from the same department contact.

Due to lack of response, we have also sent this letter to the Racing Victoria and Racing Australia CEO’s who, to date, have also failed to respond.

So, we ask, for an industry who repeatedly claims to be “open and transparent,” why is our request so difficult to respond to?

***********************
Dear Racing Victoria Equine Welfare Department,

In our 2020 Deathwatch Report, we highlighted not only were the causes of horse deaths on track again often not disclosed, but also that Racing Victoria was the worst culprit of this. Our report stated:
Of the 24 horses whose cause of death is not clarified, 22 were from Victorian racetracks. Victoria reported a total of 31 deaths, meaning Victorian stewards only disclosed the cause of death in their reporting 9 times. More on this can be found from page 4 in our report here.

We believe it is in the public interest to know and understand not only how many horses are being killed on the racetrack, but also what is causing their deaths. We understand the cause of death can not always be determined on the day and therefore can not always be told in the stewards report of that particular day, however, when this is the case, subsequent reports and even necropsy reports could and should be made publicly available.

Evie Girl is one example of many which we would like more information on.

Stewards stated:
Evie Girl (NZ) Began to weaken passing the 700m and near the 500m was eased out of the race. After being pulled up, the mare collapsed and was subsequently found on arrival by the official racing veterinarian to be deceased. This incident will be referred to the Equine and Welfare Department.

Another major area of concern where transparency is entirely lacking is deaths in trackwork and training. We would very much like to see this also addressed, with all of these deaths and the causes reported on and made publicly available.

We look forward to Racing Victoria and indeed the industry across Australia being more transparent and providing the public with the information they have a right to, shall they be interested.

Regards,
Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses
**********************************

The above is a very reasonable and straight forward request, especially for an industry that is supported not only by gambling profits but also tax payer dollars and has a dedicated representative in our parliament.

Pictured: Evie Girl – killed at Caulfield on January 13 2021. She was 4 years old.

Over the course of a two year investigation at the Meramist slaughterhouse in Caboolture, QLD, it was, on several occasions, possible for investigators to scan the microchips of horses in the killpens awaiting slaughter.It was not possible to scan all horses in the pens, however, of the horses that were able to be scanned, six were later identified to be of New Zealand origin.

Babinda (bred by D & I H Mackay)
sent to Australia as a 3 year old
raced 9 times
prizemoney $6,020
used to breed 4 foals for Reibycroft Stud, NSW
killed age 11

Lady Fleur (bred by W R Roper)
sent to Australia as a 1 year old
raced 4 times
prizemoney $550
killed age 5

Honeymoon Harmony (bred by Mrs D E & T V Pearce)
sent to Australia as a 1 year old
raced 0 times
killed age 3

Habitual Offender (bred by Bloodstock Resources Ltd & Rich Hill Thoroughbreds Ltd)
sent to Australia as a 3 year old
raced 28 times
prizemoney $80,019
killed age 7

Huss On Fire (bred by D G & R B McLaren Ltd)
sent to Australia as a 1 year old
raced 0 times
used to breed 6 foals (one of whom went on to win over $1 million for his owners)
killed age 11

Innovate (bred by Mrs J M Wanless)
sent to Australia as a 2 year old
raced 56 times
prizemoney $79,082
killed age 9

Due to the racing industry not tracking horses effectively during and after racing, it is not possible to know just how many New Zealand born horses sent to Australia end up being brutally killed at knackeries for pet food and slaughterhouses for human consumption, however, considering:

1. this is the fate for the majority of Australian born racehorses
2. six NZ born racehorses were identified among the limited number of evenings where scanning took place
and
3. there is also one additional slaughterhouse and approximately 30 other knackeries that kill horses operating across the country,
we have no doubt that this is the fate suffered by the majority of racehorses sent to Australia from New Zealand for breeding and racing purposes – a figure which currently sits anywhere from approximately 1,000 to 1,700, per year depending on which of the two countries fact books you are checking.

To watch the groundbreaking investigation ‘The Final Race’ to see what NZ bred horses endure in Australia click here.

To read CPR’s report on Meramist slaughterhouse click here and here.

For more information on the number of horses that vanish from New Zealand thoroughbred racing each year click here.

Trevor Sutherland’s 3-year disqualification has been overturned on appeal.

The NSW trainer pleaded guilty last year to sending two of his horses, 6-year-old Redfu and 4-year-old Rozzi to Irish huntsman Donnchadh Brown where they were killed and fed to his hounds.

At the time, this was found to be in breach of Racing NSW LR114(5)(e) which states a horse “is not to be, directly or indirectly, sent to an abattoir, knackery or similarly disposed of”.

Mr Brown is the manager of the Sydney Fox Hunting Club, known to Sutherland (according to Brown) for feeding horses to the hounds he so cruelly uses in barbaric fox hunts.

Evidence provided by a Racing NSW Welfare Officer, after speaking with Brown, claimed that Sutherland “rehomes the majority of his horses, however the ones he couldn’t find a home for, he gave to Mr Brown for pet food.”

When Sutherland was questioned as to whether he knew the horses would be fed to Brown’s dogs he said:

“I thought he was taking them to jump. He’s always said, “if you’ve got anything that can jump, I’ll take it and try it for jumping and, as I said, both of them were big, tall, rangy horses and he could jump with them.”

During the course of his interview, however, Sutherland was confronted with a text that he had sent to Mr Brown
TS: “If you need some hound food probly got 2 maybe 3 down the back paddock.”
DB: “Super, when do you want them gone?”
TS: “When ever suits talk to a bloke Tommo about I’ve got running with them probley get him as well.”

According to a stable foreman, when Sutherland gave two further horses to Brown, Hangin’ With Willy and Witchblade, Brown stated those horses would be given “every opportunity” in his “business”. They were also killed. It is important to note, these horses were given to Brown several months after Rozzi and Redfu had already been killed. Did Sutherland not think to ask how they were going? If he was aware they had been killed why did he give Brown two further horses? According to the appeal transcripts, this line of questioning never occurred and the fact that Hangin’ With Willy and Witchblade were also killed does not appear to have been considered by the panel at all, for reasons we are unaware.

In addition to all of the above, Sutherland was also found guilty last year for lodging a false stable return which claimed that another horse, Bless You Toby was spelling, when he was actually aware the 3-year-old gelding was “found to be deceased” the week prior.

Even with all of this evidence, making it crystal clear to our mind that Sutherland was knowingly sending his horses to be shot and fed to Brown’s poor dogs, or at best, knowing this was their outcome if they didn’t work out as horses helping in Brown’s disgustingly cruel fox hunts, his suspension was overturned and he is now able to return as an official Racing NSW industry participant – the appeals panel finding even though the horses being killed was a risk that he knew could eventuate, this was not his “primary intent” for them.

Apparently Racing NSW’s local rule 114, which they claim is designed to prevent horses being killed when no longer wanted, does not capture circumstances of intent if it is decided it was not the “primary intent” of the person sending them to be killed.

Read the full appeal transcript here.

The 2021 jumps season trials commenced last week in Victoria, so what better time to highlight how the jumps fraternity is twisting research results to mislead both the media and the general public.

In a story which aired on ABC’s Landline in October last year, when speaking of horses used in jumps races, the host stated “A just released 2-year study shows that 95% are rehomed”.

We found this statement quite unbelievable so contacted Racing Victoria who confirmed:
1. that the media got it wrong and the report (available here) actually stated “95% of horses WHO ARE REHOMED out of jumps racing do not require a retraining period”

2. that they were aware of this inaccurate statement before the program aired.

We immediately asked Racing Victoria why the program was not corrected before going to air, to which we were told, they did not see it as necessary.
This is a pretty large mistake for the ABC program to make. So, we took a look at the industry’s own reporting of their findings, to realise the ABC could almost be forgiven for the inaccuracy, given this is exactly how the findings have been twisted in the Australian Jumps Racing Association (AJRA) media kit, and other reports and posts

Having said this, the ABC doing their own research rather than believing the very industry who has a vested interest in lying about these figures would be nice.

A quick read of what really is not a study, but a survey of the very people who profit from jumps racing, shows it does not cover how many horses were taken out of jumps racing over the two year period, how many were injured and subsequently killed both on and away from the racetrack, nor does it even give a figure of the number of horses who were successfully rehomed over the period and still survive today.

What is stated is that the AJRA will release an “even more demonstrative report at the end of 2021”. Well, that wouldn’t be hard. But will it actually include what people really want to know, or will it just be another promotional piece attempt to sell jumps racing back to a general public and even racing industry participants themselves who have long turned their backs on the barbaric business?

Regal Chamber was a mare born into the racing industry in 1994. According to the Australian Stud Book, she raced nine times, winning two of her races. The best result for her owners was a 3rd in the 1997 Golden Slipper.

She was raced only another three times before being used as a breeding mare at the age of four years old. She had not even reached maturity.

Regal Chamber produced 19 foals in 20 years, spending more than 90% of her life after racing pregnant. Every year she was forcibly mated with a stallion while at the same time having a foal at foot. Somewhere between 3-6 months of age, her foal would be taken away from her, just like she was taken away from her mother at the same age, to be trained and then raced, exploited and then discarded.

Regal Chamber is an example of what the racing industry values in a horse. She even got a considerable write up in the Winning Post. She was valued firstly for her ability on the racetrack, but more importantly, for her ability to produce progeny year after year, some of whom were very lucrative for the industry in racing and/or breeding, overall resulting in millions of dollars in prizemoney and horse sales.

She was a money making machine.

After her 19^th foal was born, and at 24 years of age, she was ‘retired’ from breeding, though a much more accurate description would be she was  ‘discarded’. The owners from the stud where Regal Chamber came from had four such mares needing to be re-homed. If it wasn’t for Dianna White from Lakeside Animal Sanctuary Inc. (LASI) who received these horses in poor condition, they would have been killed.

Regal Chamber lived to a considerable age for a horse but especially for a racehorse. The reason why is because she was of financial benefit to her owners.

In the 18 months that she spent at LASI, her new foster mother, Dianna White, loved and cared for her like a best friend. Regal Chamber came to her with all sorts of problems including a partial prolapsed uterus, blood infection, kidney and liver failure, chronic diarrhoea resulting in weight loss, fractured teeth with infected abysses and other health issues. In her time at LASI, her veterinary costs and health care totalled in excess of $40,000. Her previous owners paid her a surrender fee of just $1000. 

Diana contacted Racing Qld for assistance, however, they said because she was a NSW racehorse she was out of their jurisdiction and they couldn’t help.

Being a NSW breeding mare, Diana then contacted Racing NSW for assistance, however, at that time, said they couldn’t help because she was now in Qld. 

In the end, Regal Chamber was abandoned by everyone except Diana, who gave her the best 18 months of her life, even if she was struggling with her health. On January 12, 2021, Diana had to make the traumatising decision to relieve her. Regal Chamber was euthanised with her heartbroken carer by her side.

This is as much a tribute to all the animal rescue groups like LASI as it is to Regal Chamber, who, despite being exploited for the majority of her life, found the love and care she deserved through Diana White. Without these organisations, many thousands more horses and other animals would end up at the knackery or slaughterhouse.

CPR is now lobbying the industry to fund rescue organisations like Lakeside Animal Sanctuary Incorporated who desperately need support. Though it should never be their responsibility, so long as the racing industry breeds horses only to later discard of them, those cleaning up their mess at the very least deserve support. They are only there to serve the horse and try to give back to them what they always deserved- a decent life.

Learn more about LASI here

A racehorse gallops into a children’s playground. It sounds like the set-up of a joke right? But there was absolutely nothing humorous about what took place at the Taranaki Cup on February 6th.

Concert Hall, touted as one of New Zealand’s best racehorses, took fright while being loaded into the starting gates. After dislodging her rider the mare cantered away from the track, ultimately sliding into a perimeter fence, flipping over it and landing on her back. The distressed mare then galloped through a nearby playground, across a busy road and into a park.

Those unfamiliar with horseracing may be surprised to hear that a racehorse considered a ‘superstar’ and ‘hot favourite’ would take flight before the race even began. However, horses being unwilling to enter the starting gates is a surprisingly common occurrence. During the Taranaki Cup alone, there were two other documented instances of horses being ‘fractious in the barrier’, industry terminology for this issue. In fact, it is so common that New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing’s policy manual includes detailed guidelines around how many attempts may be made to load a distressed or unruly horse into the starting gate, and how long may be spent on such attempts.

While many supporters of horse racing claim that the horses involved actually enjoy racing, the prevalence of this issue clearly proves otherwise. Horses routinely resist being forced into the confined space of a starting gate, as this is something that goes against all their natural instincts. There are numerous documented instances of racehorses suffering injuries while attempting to escape this artificial restraint. So unwilling are many horses, that it is not uncommon for a ‘buggy whip’ to be used on them. For some horses, deeply traumatised by past experiences with such a whip, the mere sight of one being brandished near them will be enough for them to become more manageable. While those involved in the industry will call this ‘training’, what it really is, is the use of force to such an extent that an animal will go against its natural instincts out of fear of violence being used against them. Interestingly, within NZTR’s Starters and Barrier Management Manual there is a policy that explicitly states Trackside shall not show “close up shots of use of the Buggy Whip or of the loading area of the Starting Gates whilst the Buggy Whip is in use.”

Which leads to the obvious question, what is it they don’t want the general public to witness?

When talking to the media after the event, the trainers of Concert Hall emphasised how lucky they were. Concert Hall only sustained mild injuries, suffering bruising and grazed skin off her legs. One of the trainers, Roger James, remarked “It could have been so much worse. The road she crossed had she taken a different turn she would have ended up in the centre of the city and I hate to think what would have happened.”

What reporters neglected to mention in the article, was the fact that this elite racehorse was just as likely to have died on the track that day, participating in the race, as she was off-track in some freak accident. The slightest injury during racing can mean immediate euthanasia for a horse. Only 6 weeks into 2021 there have already been two on-track euthanasias at New Zealand races, last year 12 were recorded, while 2019 saw 19.

Given the incredible stress, both physical and mental, that racehorses are forced to endure, it’s perhaps little wonder that Concert Hall felt compelled to take the action she did. Unfortunately for her, Concert Hall is expected to be returned to racing in a few weeks.

Media coverage on the incident here.

On January 8, the racing industry could not resist gushing over the 100^th race of 10-year-old gelding Our Dexter. An industry article spoke of what a ‘tough’ horse he is and racing.com dedicated several tweets to talking up the big occasion at the Stawell track.

In an industry where the average number of times a horse is raced before being killed or retired for being too slow or injured (to most likely be killed) is just 10 times ⁽¹⁾, and where only 8% of horses have been found to survive its regime for more than four years, reaching 100 races is most certainly a rare achievement.  

Whilst the industry bragged about such a triumph, they failed to mention the many studies that have proven bone fatigue is the leading cause of fatal injury in thoroughbreds.

In a 2013 study ⁽²⁾ funded by RIRDC, the Australian Government and Racing Victoria themselves, it was stated “Up to 70% of Thoroughbred racehorses have bone bruising, or joint surface collapse of the cannon bone and condylar fractures which propagate from this joint surface are the most common cause of fatal breakdown injuries. These injuries are due to bone fatigue, damage that accumulates due to repeated high loading produced by high speed galloping.” The study examined “subchondral bone turnover in the fetlock joint of racehorses both when in full race training and when resting from training” with the aim of “providing information on how to better manage horses to prevent a common injury”. THE most common FATAL injury.

Among other things, the study found:
“prolonged training periods are undesirable for Thoroughbred racehorses as fatigue damage accumulates faster than it can be repaired increasing the risk of joint injury and fracture. Therefore, these horses should be regularly rested from training to allow bone repair.”

and recommended:
“Trainers should be educated to understand that bone within the lower limb joints has a limited fatigue life and that regular rest periods are required to allow repair.”

A later study in 2017 ⁽³⁾, funded by the same three bodies, backed up the findings. More here.

In the 12 months leading up to the Stawell event, Our Dexter had been forced to race a gruelling 19 times. He survived the race, running 10^th of 14.

5-year-old thoroughbred Opposite, was not quite so lucky. Raced 20 times over the 2020 period, he was killed on Boxing Day after suffering “an injury to its near-fore fetlock”

One might ask why the Australian Government, and more recently the Victorian Government, is using tax-payer dollars to fund studies only for the findings and recommendations to be ignored by an industry that seems hell-bent on not only racing horses to death, but also celebrating the process of their demise. If they are going to ignore their own studies, perhaps their funds would be better spent on a retirement program for the 10,000 plus horses vanishing from the industry each year.

1) Profiling the careers of thoroughbred horses in Australia between 2000 – 2010 – Velie, Wade & Hamilton, University of Sydney 2012

2) Bone repair in Thoroughbred racehorses. The effect of training and rest – Whitton, Holmes, Mirams & Mackie, University of Melbourne Equine Centre 2013

3) Prevalence of subchondral bone pathological changes in the distal metacarpi/metatarsi of racing Thoroughbred horses – Hassan, Mirams, Mackie & Whitton, University of Melbourne Equine Centre 2017 

On December 14 it was reported Racing Victoria would conduct a series of whip-free races over the summer period – article here. By December 15 they had pulled the pin after pressure from jockeys’, trainers’ and owners’ – article here.

Racing Victoria claims whip reform is essential to the long-term sustainability of racing, acknowledging the vision of beating horses with a whip is out of step with community expectations. However, they still refuse to admit the obvious, that whips cause the horse pain, even with studies to back this up.

Jockeys, on the other hand, are determined to be able to continue to beat up horses as hard as they can, using safety as an excuse, even though the whip-free races proposed allow them to hold and use the whip for reasons of safety only.

Though we are not opposed to horse racing slowly but surely causing its own demise, the continuation of beating horses with a whip means there will be many years to come where horses will be subjected to additional pain and fear and where injuries from being pushed well beyond their limits will continue to be prevalent and contribute to the high numbers of deaths on track.

Whilst it is unclear who is running the show at Racing Victoria and whether they will succeed in their mission to introduce whip-free races, one thing is certain – the younger generation are seeing horse racing for what it is, blatant animal abuse, and they simply won’t stand for it, as this comment in the racenet article from an old punter makes abundantly clear.

“Problem is rusted on punters like us who have been around and seen most things do not really think twice about it but the next generation, well that is another story. Took my niece to the races a few years ago when she was 13 as she is horse mad but she will not go again because the horses got whipped. Not only that I copped a lecture from he mum about cruelty to animals. That is what racing is looking at from the future generation….We have already seen jumps racing forced out of the Metro area and pretty much out of sight out of mind for a lot of people…….RV are under massive pressure to be seen to be doing something about deaths in the MC when in reality it is most likely plain back luck in the majority of cases. I doubt very much Admire Ratki broke his leg because of the hard track but that is not seen by those on the outside.
At the end of the day racing dies a slow death if the next generation can not warm to it. Harness racing have watered down their whip use to only a wrist flicking motion whilst still holding the reign. No use of the elbow or shoulder and their rules actually state no excessive force to be used.
This is something that will happen even if us old race fans do not seem to have an issue with reasonable whip use.”

You know things are bad on Australian racetracks when you can’t decide whether to highlight that:
1. THREE horses were killed on Queensland tracks in just THREE days
2. THREE horses were killed in just ONE day across Australia’s tracks
3. SIX horses were killed in just THREE days across the country.

Last week in just 3 days of horse racing:

Thurs 12 November: Gatton QLD
Darci’s Money suffered a shoulder injury whilst being raced and was killed. He was old for this industry – age 12 – and had been moved around much of the country to race 76 times since age 2. Three embargoes had been placed on him in recent months then lifted – no details available. His death was supported by race sponsor ‘Agricultural Requirements.’

Friday 13 November: Emerald QLD
5-year-old Tadween suffered a catastrophic injury to both fore legs and was killed. His death was sponsored by Woods Tyre Services – Emerald QLD

Friday 13 November: Canterbury NSW
4-year-old Alrillo was killed after suffering an injury to his near foreleg. An embargo had been lifted just two months prior for being lame in the same leg. His death was sponsored by Cyren Bar & Grill – Harbourside, Sydney

Friday 13 November: Moonee Valley VIC
At just 3-years-old, Fender Bender sustained a “serious racing injury” and was killed on the track. His death was sponsored by The Leighoak Club in Oakleigh, Vic

Saturday 14 November: Home Hill QLD
5-year-old Quezmar was killed as they tried to lead him to the track. He “became fractious prior to entering the parade yard and as result sustained a fracture to the near hind leg“. He had been galloped on during a race earlier this year.

Saturday 14 November: Bathurst NSW
7-year old Turcotte was killed after a leg injury during his barrier trial. Turcotte was previously retired and later an embargo was placed on him pending a vet certificate and successful trial. The vet certificate embargo was lifted the day before the trial which caused his death.

All of these horses valued their lives as much as Anthony Van Dyck but none of them were killed in the Melbourne Cup so their deaths were ignored.

Send a message to racing sponsors that you will no longer support their business so long as they support the abuse, exploitation and killing of these beautiful horses here.