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7 Horses Died Under Unusual Circumstances Leading Up to the Kentucky Derby

Yet another horse died at Churchill Downs ahead of the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville. Freezing Point was the seventh horse to die and the second on Saturday.

Source: FOX 26 Houston/Youtube

Although the Kentucky Derby is now over, questions about the string of heartbreaking horse deaths at the tracks have been circulating. Seven horses died before the final race on Saturday, which fueled an investigation into the deaths and sparked outrage amongst Animal rights activists.

Despite so-called efforts from the industry to make the sport safer for the animals, once again, animals have lost their lives for entertainment. In a statement, Joseph Grove of the group Animal Wellness Action said that the death toll was alarming.

“As a native Louisvillian, I get the passion people here and across the country feel about this iconic race,” Grove said in a statement. “But the care of the horses must be our first priority, and this cluster of horse deaths is startling. Lamentations are not enough.”

The first horse death happened on April 29th when a 3 year old horse was repeatedly flipping and broke his neck before the race. Then, on the 2nd, a horse was euthanized after getting hurt during a race. Just two days later another horse was euthanized following an injury during training, and another two horses died under “mysterious circumstances,” Churchill Downs said. On the day of the final race, two more horses were euthanized after sustaining racing injuries.

Churchill Downs said that each horse death was ‘unique’ and said that there was no pattern between the injuries. The group will now partner with Kentucky Horseracing Commission and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to investigate the incidents.

Like other animals that are exploited in the name of entertainment, horses are subjected to the same abuse and mistreatment felt by other animals we hold captive and “train” to perform. The horse racing industry is no exception in the long list of industries that profit from the misery of the animals they call their own.

And yet, despite the evidence of the cruelty horses endure in the horse racing industry, many “horse lovers” claim that horses are happy and even thrive in the industry. So, what is it like to have a conversation with “a real horse lover” who supports the horse racing industry? That’s what we kept in mind as we examined 5 Myths the Horse Racing Industry Spreads.

Horses do not exist for our sake, they exist for their own. No living being needs to be given the purpose of an exploited object. In the same way that you and I might justify our existence without being exploited by another, so too can horses live happy and comfortable lives without being raced or ridden. Check out (and consider donating or volunteering with) Redwings Horse Sanctuary to see how easy it is for horses to exist without having one of us so-called “evolved” apes strapped to its back.