Tag: Horse racing

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VANCOUVER, April 17, 2025 – The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) is reiterating concerns after learning that a 3-year-old horse was injured and euthanized during a recent timed workout at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse. 

On April 13, 2025, a horse named Wynn Magic suffered a compound fracture to the left front leg and was euthanized, B.C.’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB), which oversees horse racing in the province, confirmed to the VHS in an email.  

This death comes just weeks before the scheduled start of the 2025 horse racing season at Hastings and follows a controversial 2024 racing season, which resulted in four horse fatalities. In 2023, there were eight horse fatalities at Hastings. The VHS is concerned that the 2025 season will see more tragic and avoidable horse injuries and fatalities.  

“It’s not a matter of if, but when, the next horse will lose their life entertaining a crowd,” said VHS Executive Director, Amy Morris. “That’s why we’re urging the public to rethink attending horse races and calling on decision-makers to invest in alternative community events – ones that bring people together without putting animals at risk.” 

The organization has also raised concerns regarding welfare issues around horse racing, including stressful, aversive training methods, the use of painful tools like whips and bits, the breeding of thoroughbred horses for speed rather than skeletal strength, and the risk of being auctioned off for slaughter for horses who are no longer profitable at the end of their short careers. 

The VHS is encouraging the public to take the organization’s pledge not to attend horse races and instead choose entertainment events free of animal suffering.  

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SOURCE Vancouver Humane Society      

For more information, contact Amy Morris: (604) 993-0167, amy@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca  

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VANCOUVER, October 22, 2024 – The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) is calling on Vancouverites to choose animal-free entertainment after another horse died at Hastings Racecourse.  

During a race on October 12^th, a 2-year-old horse named Anstruther suffered a compound fracture to her right hind leg and was euthanized, B.C.’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) confirmed to the VHS in an email. 

“It’s hard to imagine the fear and suffering horses endure when their fragile leg bones break at such high speeds,” said VHS Communication Director Chantelle Archambault. 

This death occurred in the last weekend of the racing season, marking the fourth fatality at the racecourse this year. The first fatal incident occurred less than one month after the racing season began, meaning this year’s racing season at Hastings was bookended by horse deaths. Eight horses also died in each of the last two years at Hastings. 

“We are a city of animal lovers. To host an event where animals are regularly dying does not reflect our values as a community,” Archambault continued. She implored people to think twice before attending a race. “If you’re attending these events, there is always a chance that you could witness some of a horse’s final moments alive.” 

More than 3,600 people have taken the VHS’s pledge not to attend horse races. The organization is encouraging people to take the pledge and choose entertainment events free of animal suffering. 

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SOURCE Vancouver Humane Society     

For more information, contact Chantelle Archambault: 604-416-2903, chantelle@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca 

Or contact Emily Pickett: 604-416-2903, emily@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VANCOUVER, September 11, 2024 – The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) is once again speaking out after two incidents within a single day at Hastings Racecourse left one horse dead and another injured.

The incidents come less than one month after another horse death at Hastings. 

During the sixth race on September 6^th, a 4-year-old horse named Lucky Cowboy suffered a compound fracture in his left front leg and was euthanized. The video replay has since been removed from the venue’s website, a measure that has never been taken before, according to the VHS’s anonymous source. 

Earlier that night, after the end of the fifth race, another 4-year-old horse named Be Sparky was pulled up lame by the jockey. He was removed from the racetrack by trailer and transported to the trainer’s barn for further evaluation of the injury, where he remains.

B.C.’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB), which oversees horse racing in the province, has confirmed that this marks the third death of the racing season at Hastings. Previous incidents at Hastings Racecourse resulted in the deaths of Lizzie’s Rayne in May and Kiki’s Song of Life in August. Last year, eleven horses died at B.C.’s two racecourses – eight at Hastings and three at Fraser Downs.    

“This is not an isolated incident; it’s a pattern of suffering. Horses like Lucky Cowboy and Be Sparky are paying the ultimate price for human entertainment, and we cannot stand by while horses continue to die,” said VHS’s Campaign Director, Emily Pickett. 

This is the second year in a row that a cluster of horse deaths has occurred. Last year, four horses died in the span of three weeks between July 16 and August 7 at Hastings Racecourse. 

The VHS asks those concerned about horses’ well-being to join more than 2,000 people who have taken the pledge not to attend horse races. 

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SOURCE Vancouver Humane Society     

For more information, contact Emily Pickett: 604-416-2903, emily@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca 

Related links:  

Another horse fatality at Hastings Racecourse