NYRA repays Genting Loan, Horse Deaths, Breakdowns, Injuries SUCK!

For the year 2013, there are 419 Reports listed on NYRA Equine Breakdown, Death, Injury and Incident Database

04/04/2014 1:50PM

NYRA to make final loan payment to Genting

By DRF Staff

 

 

The New York Racing Association was scheduled on Saturday to make its final payment of a $25 million loan to Genting, the company that operates Resorts World Casino, adjacent to Aqueduct.

 

The $25 million loan was made on Oct. 22, 2010 by Genting to NYRA as part of an agreement between those parties and the state of New York. The loan was made to help NYRA continue operations until it began to receive statutory payments from the casino. Resorts World opened on Oct. 28, 2011.

 

“This payment of the only loan on our books is another example of our commitment to run the New York Racing Association in a fiscally responsible manner,” Chris Kay, NYRA CEO and president, said in a press release.

 

In addition to paying off the loan, NYRA will have made total statutory payments to New York State during 2012-2014 of approximately $62 million, including $28 million in pari-mutuel taxes.

 

In its release trumpeting the payment of the loan, NYRA also said that monies it has dedicated to equine safety have resulted in significant positive results this year. From Jan. 1 through March 24, Aqueduct experienced a racing fatality rate of 1.2 per thousand starters. This compares to a rate of 2.0 per thousand starters during the 2013 Aqueduct winter meet and 4.2 per thousand during the 2012 winter meet.

 

There were four racing fatalities over the inner track in the calendar year 2014, but there were three additional fatalities over the inner track in December, bringing the total to seven, two less than the 2012-2013 inner track meet.

 

“We take safety very seriously,” said Kay. “These results are a reflection of a resolute commitment made by a great many men and women here at The New York Racing Association. We will continue to do everything in our power on behalf of our equine athletes and their riders.”

 

 

http://www.drf.com/news/nyra-make-final-loan-payment-genting

 

 

Horse Racing Exposed: Drugs and Death

The failure of racing commissions to protect horses from this level of abuse has been noted elsewhere.

Attendance at Horse Races is declining and this explains part of the reason. Who wants to witness cruelty?





Published on Mar 19, 2014

A PETA undercover investigation of leading thoroughbred trainer Steve Asmussen reveals chronic misuse of drugs, reportedly to enhance horses' performance and mask their injuries.

PETA Accuses Top Horse Trainer Of Animal Cruelty Following Undercover Investigation

Posted: 03/21/2014

After a four-month undercover investigation, an animal rights group has accused a prominent horse trainer of giving his horses unnecessary amounts of performance-enhancing drugs and using illegal electric shock devices to make them run faster.

The investigation, conducted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), used hidden cameras and microphones to document the staff of Steve Asmussen, a top thoroughbred racehorse trainer who holds multiple horse racing records and has won millions of dollars in horse race purses.

The probe took place at both Churchill Downs in Kentucky and Saratoga Race Track in New York from April through August of last year.

Released on Thursday, the video appears to show Asmussen's workers discussing a top-performing horse's feet being worn down to "nubs." One says they had to use superglue to keep its hooves together.

That horse, who was named Nehro, died of colic -- "a term used to describe a symptom of abdominal (belly) pain" -- in the back of a van on the day of the 2013 Kentucky Derby.

The man can also be heard discussing how he had a jockey use an illegal shocking tool on a horse. ("I'd tell [jockey Ricardo Santana Jr.], 'You got the máquina?'" he says.) He's also heard talking about employing undocumented workers and having them lie to the IRS.

PETA's video also purports to show prominent veterinarian Dr. James Hunt Jr. saying all of Asmussen's horses are given Lasix, or furosemide, a controversial drug that's banned in many countries but legal in the United States.

"They basically all run on it. It makes them lighter," the man PETA identifies as Hunt says in the clip.

Hunt did not immediately respond to request for comment from The Huffington Post.
Asmussen's lawyer, Clark Brewster, told HuffPost that electric shock devices were

After a four-month undercover investigation, an animal rights group has accused a prominent horse trainer of giving his horses unnecessary amounts of performance-enhancing drugs and using illegal electric shock devices to make them run faster.

The investigation, conducted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), used hidden cameras and microphones to document the staff of Steve Asmussen, a top thoroughbred racehorse trainer who holds multiple horse racing records and has won millions of dollars in horse race purses.

The probe took place at both Churchill Downs in Kentucky and Saratoga Race Track in New York from April through August of last year.

Released on Thursday, the video appears to show Asmussen's workers discussing a top-performing horse's feet being worn down to "nubs." One says they had to use superglue to keep its hooves together.

That horse, who was named Nehro, died of colic -- "a term used to describe a symptom of abdominal (belly) pain" -- in the back of a van on the day of the 2013 Kentucky Derby.

The man can also be heard discussing how he had a jockey use an illegal shocking tool on a horse. ("I'd tell [jockey Ricardo Santana Jr.], 'You got the máquina?'" he says.) He's also heard talking about employing undocumented workers and having them lie to the IRS.

PETA's video also purports to show prominent veterinarian Dr. James Hunt Jr. saying all of Asmussen's horses are given Lasix, or furosemide, a controversial drug that's banned in many countries but legal in the United States.

"They basically all run on it. It makes them lighter," the man PETA identifies as Hunt says in the clip.

Hunt did not immediately respond to request for comment from The Huffington Post.
Asmussen's lawyer, Clark Brewster, told HuffPost that electric shock devices were never used. He said the recorded dialogue in the video was just table talk about the use of buzzers "historically" and not specifically on his client's horses.

"We are reserving comment until we get specific allegations from PETA," Brewster said. "At this point it's just been a media blitz by PETA rather than any substance or information for us to respond to. I think ultimately people will see what this is, an effort by this organization to grandstand because they disapprove of horse racing."

Brewster said he's spent the past two days trying to get PETA to send him complaints but that PETA has declined to do so. PETA, however, says it had offered to provide Brewster with the complaints.

The animal rights group filed complaints with federal and state officials in Kentucky and New York after completing its investigation. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, a state agency that regulates horse racing in Kentucky, confirmed to HuffPost that it had received documents from PETA alleging animal cruelty "by two trainers working at Churchill Downs."

The Commission said it has not reviewed the information yet but that it plans to conduct a thorough investigation.

Churchill Downs could not be reached for comment. The Saratoga Race Track did not immediately respond to a request for comment from HuffPost.





http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/21/peta-steve-asmussen-animal-cruelty-investigation_n_5001756.html



 

Federal agency cites two Harrah's casinos for mistreating big cats

Through Golden Eyes: Federal agency cites two Harrah's casinos for mistreating big cats

Through Golden Eyes ⋅ Lin Kerns

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Arthur's Wild Magic show, which plays at Harrah's casinos in Reno and Laughlin, has not been treating its big ...

Penn National Race Track horse trainers, employee charged with fraud

Bribery, doping, fabricating times alleged at Penn National Race Track

UPDATED 6:55 PM EST Nov 22, 2013

GRANTVILLE, Pa. —Four people associated with the Penn National Race Track in Grantville are being charged with fraud, according to the U.S Department of Justice.

• Danny Robertson indictment

• Patricia Rogers indictment

• Samuel Webb indictment

• David Wells indictment

The accusations range from doping horses and faking times, to bribery -- all to fix races at the Penn National track. The indictments against the four were unsealed Friday. You can read them each here:
Danny Robertson | Patricia Rogers | Samuel Webb | David Wells
"The indictments were returned by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg on Wednesday and were unsealed following arrests of four individuals earlier today," a USDOJ news release states.

"According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, David Wells, 39, of Grantville, Sam Webb, 63, of Jonestown, Patricia Anne Rogers, 43, of Hummelstown, and Danny Robertson, 63, of Hershey, were charged individually in four separate indictments."

Wells, Webb and Rogers are all horse trainers. According to the DOJ release, they are accused of "devising a scheme to defraud those betting on thoroughbred races at Penn National Racetrack by attempting to administer, and administering in violation of state racing rules and regulations, substances prohibited from being introduced into a horse within 24 hours of when the horse is scheduled to race."

DOJ: Trainers caught with syringes
Webb: On May 2, 2013, the indictment states that Webb was detected by track security personnel in a stall at the racetrack in possession of hypodermic syringes, needles and bottles of medications preparing to inject the horse “Papaleo” that Webb trained and which was scheduled to run in the sixth race that day. The horse was scratched from the race by racing officials.

Rogers: On August, 21, 2013, the indictment states that track security caught Rogers with hypodermic syringes and needles and bottles of medications and was observed injecting or attempting to inject a substance into a horse named “Strong Resolve” that she trained, and that was scheduled to run in the second race that day. The horse was scratched from the race by racing officials.

Wells: The indictment charging Wells alleges that Wells, both a trainer and horse owner, for several years up to and including February 2012, would routinely inject prohibited substances into horses he trained and other horses he both trained and owned, by use of hypodermic syringes and needles and otherwise. It is also alleged that Wells was routinely in possession of those prohibited items at the racetrack in violation of state rules, regulations and laws.

Indictment - Track employee was bribed

 

Danny Robertson, who was a clocker at the track, provided racing officials and others with official workout times for horses. Betters would rely on these times to place bets. Robertson is accused of providing false times in exchange for cash paid by trainers, who stood to make more money if their horses were long-shots that won or placed.

 

The Department of Justice says the accused face up to up to 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine if convicted of wire fraud or attempted wire fraud. They also face an additional 5 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine if convicted of using and attempting to use the intestate wire mechanism provided by the simulcasting of races to defraud or for attempting to defraud the public through the rigging of a publicly exhibited contest in violation of state law. Rogers faces an additional potential 20-year term of imprisonment and a $250,000.00 fine if convicted of the charge of conspiring to commit wire fraud.

Bets are placed on Penn National races at 116 places across the country and world because they are simulcast by wire and television.

The investigation is not over. The FBI, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Horse Racing Commission, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are still looking into what happened.

Penn National released the following statement Friday afternoon:

"Management at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course has confirmed that four individuals were arrested on track property Friday morning.

Three of the individuals were licensed trainers that run horses at the racetrack and the fourth was an employee of the track. The employee has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

The trainers in question are not employees of Penn National. Management is waiting taking any possible action pending determination by the PA State Horse Racing Commission on the status of the trainers’ licenses.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course takes this matter very seriously and will cooperate fully with law enforcement for the swift settlement of these issues."
VIDEO: Click here to see reaction from the racing community.


Read more: http://www.wgal.com/news/susquehanna-valley/dauphin/breaking-penn-national-race-track-horse-trainers-employee-charged-with-fraud/-/9704162/23106654/-/6rw27j/-/index.html#ixzz2lQfFLNhK

Is Doping Hurting Horseracing in the U.S.?

Nothing therapeutic...injury masking drugs...




Published on Nov 21, 2013

Rep. Pitts asks witnesses question at the subcommittee hearing looking at his legislation to prevent doping in horseracing.


 

Trainer Accused of Doping in 675 Harness Races

By WALT BOGDANICH

Lisa Photo

The trainer Luis Pena with one of his horses.

In what officials called one of the most sweeping and unusual enforcement actions in the history of horse racing, New York State accused a prominent horse trainer on Thursday of illegally drugging horses in 675 harness races over a 28-month period in the state.

The trainer, Luis Pena, was suspended pending a hearing later this month and faces fines of up to $25,000 per violation for administering 14 different drugs, including pain medicine and anti-inflammatory drugs, in the hours before races when those drugs cannot be used.

 

The investigation, which is continuing, could lead to the recovery of $2.5 million in prize money won with horses that regulators say were illegally drugged.

 

“This is one of, if not the most, unique and significant cases undertaken by a racing regulator, simply by the sheer number of violations uncovered,” said Ron Ochyrm, executive director of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.

 

Beyond its scope, the enforcement action is noteworthy because the drug violations were not uncovered in postrace laboratory tests — as is customary — but rather through veterinary records. In fact, none of the cases resulted in a positive postrace test because the drug levels were not high enough.

 

“We’ve been looking at ways to ratchet up fines and deal with habitual offenders, and New York may have just given us the answer we have been looking for,” said Edward J. Martin, president of Racing Commissioners International, a trade association for racing regulators.

 

Even though the allegations involve harness racing, not its higher-profile cousin, thoroughbred racing, they come as the entire horse racing industry is in turmoil over rising calls for tougher regulation of drugs and other safety issues.

 

Pena, who was second in earnings among trainers nationally in 2011, said in an interview that he was singled out for two reasons, his success and his ethnicity. “I’ve never had a positive test ever,” said Pena, who is of Mexican heritage. “I’m the token brown boy who everyone and their mother wants to talk about.”

 

This is not the first time Pena has attracted controversy. Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway once barred him, then readmitted him. “He came in with his lawyer and really assured us that he was clean and was willing to do whatever he had to do to prove that,” said Tim Rooney Jr., the track’s general counsel.

      

Even before Thursday’s action, Pena could not race at three tracks: the Meadowlands in New Jersey and Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs in upstate New York. He was the Meadowlands’ leading trainer in 2010 and 2011, but was barred this year.

 

“I have zero tolerance,” said the tracks’ operator, Jeffrey Gural. “It’s private property. I’m running a business.”

 

Gural said he considered Pena “the Rick Dutrow of harness racing.” Dutrow, who trained the 2008 Kentucky Derby winner, Big Brown, has been cited for nearly 70 violations at 15 tracks in nine states, including for using powerful painkillers on horses he raced. He is contesting New York’s decision to revoke his racing license.

      

Pena kept his horses in New Jersey and also raced in New York. The states jointly reviewed the veterinary records. The investigation determined that Pena amassed 1,719 drug violations in connection with 675 races.

 

Pena’s veterinarian, Eric Kates, did not return a phone message seeking his comment.

      

Pena said his monthly veterinary bill was about $25,000 for 60 to 100 horses. Because Kates treated Pena’s horses on private property, regulators said, they did not have authority over him.

Using veterinary records alone to discipline a trainer is unusual.

 

“It’s been something that hasn’t been common practice,” said Paul Estok, executive vice president for Harness Tracks of America, a trade association. “I’ve talked to a couple of people I’ve known in racing for 50 years, and nobody can remember anything that involved this many violations at one time.”

      

Pena said the charges were partly a result of jealousy. “I’m the No. 1 trainer in the United States,” he said. “It’s racism, dude.”

Joe Drape contributed reporting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/sports/trainer-luis-pena-accused-of-doping-in-675-harness-races.html?_r=0

The Death of Horse Racing

Twilight at the Track

By David Von Drehle Monday, May 13, 2013

Jehad Nga for TIME

At Keeneland, a premier track in Lexington, Ky., the stakes can run to $750,000

Correction Appended: May 6, 2013 and May 30, 2013

In the center Island of a sleepy cul-de-sac in my suburban Kansas City, Mo., neighborhood, a pair of huge stone markers stand in memory of two horses buried beneath the stones. lawrin, one stone announces solemnly. A darkly handsome Thoroughbred with matching white socks on his forelegs, Lawrin charged from the pack at Churchill Downs to win the 1938 Kentucky Derby by a length with a 22-year-old Eddie Arcaro on his back. Though Arcaro went on to become an international celebrity, the only jockey to win two Triple Crowns, he would go to his own grave saying Lawrin's run for the roses was the most thrilling ride of his career. Next to Lawrin lies his father Insco, who passed down the genes of his own pop, the great Sir Gallahad, one of four horses to sire three Derby winners.

Quite a lot of racing history to find planted so far from the shrines of Louisville, Santa Anita or Saratoga. This surviving remnant of the local Woolford Farm stables, where brilliant trainer Ben Jones served a stint on his way to the record books, recalls a time when America was still largely rural, most Americans knew something about horses, and racing was a truly national passion.

But the graveyard on Le Mans Court now says something about the endangered future of Thoroughbred racing. On May 4, the nation's fastest 3-year-olds will enter the starting gate for the 139th running of the spectacle at Churchill Downs. But while a huge crowd in Louisville and a vast TV audience marvel at two minutes of thundering excitement, elsewhere the sport of kings is struggling to avoid being buried--as Lawrin is buried under the march of suburbia--beneath inexorable forces of change.

Tracks are closing. Purses are dwindling. Fewer foals are being bred. Veteran breeders and trainers are hanging up their boots. Once privileged as the primary form of legal gambling in the U.S., horse racing now fights to be noticed in a gaudy arcade where strategy-minded punters choose among games from blackjack to Powerball to fantasy football. The arcane art of handicapping a pari-mutuel wager is downright tedious in an age of slot-feeding, card-scratching instant gratification. Very few Americans are raised on farms anymore; even fewer feel confident in their understanding of horses. And those who do know and love the animals are finding themselves turned off by the culture of doping in horse racing and the frequent breakdowns that go with it. Add a massive recession and the near paralysis of racing's many-headed management structure, and a once robust pastime is now scrabbling for a future.

As Dan Singer of McKinsey & Co. reported to the Jockey Club--the venerable protectors of the Thoroughbred breed--after completing a head-to-hoof examination of the industry in 2011: "Handle is down 37% ... attendance is down 30%, starts per horse and race days are both down 14%." "By any measure," Singer noted, "Thoroughbred racing has declined over the last decade," primarily because of "a failure to innovate fast enough and well enough to compete for new fans." Unless things change significantly, the situation will get much worse over the next decade, McKinsey projects, as horse owners see an already expensive sport submerged in a sea of red ink, while 1 in 4 tracks will be forced to close.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2142495,00.html#ixzz2d6tzwUmZ

Photo Essay

Thursday, May 2, 2013 | By David Von Drehle

The End of Horse Racing: Photographs by Jehad Nga

In its heyday, horse racing had it all. It was the speed and danger sport before NASCAR came along; movie stars and gangsters rubbed glamorous elbows; and a couple sawbucks on a winning long-shot could put you on Easy Street.

As with all nostalgia, the reality could never match the legend. But there was a current of excitement and passion around horse racing back in the days of fedoras and two-toned shoes. Perhaps the popularity of racing was as simple as the fact that Americans used to grow up around horses and knew them as personalities.

(MORE: Twilight at the Track)

And they are personalities. Some are born with loads of talent, but won’t do the hard work to become a champion. Some love a challenge, and won’t stop working until they win. Some are playful; some are mean. Some are smart; some aren’t. Such traits seared the names of great racers into the public consciousness as deeply as the names of some presidents and some billionaires: Gallant Fox, War Admiral, Citation, Seabiscuit.

The glory days endured through a golden age of racing in the 1970s, when Affirmed battled Alydar to join Seattle Slew and the incomparable Secretariat as winners of the Triple Crown. Since then, a long twilight has settled over the Sport of Kings. Attendance, wagers, purses, and new foals all are in decline. Such storied tracks as Hialeah in Florida, Bay Meadows in California, and Garden State in New Jersey have padlocked their stables and turned out the lights for good.

The causes are many. Competition for the gambling and entertainment dollar is more intense than ever. But even more damaging is the widespread culture of doping in the racing business, and the high rate of fatal breakdowns that goes with it. As these photographs make clear, amid the fading memories of glamor and excitement, the beating heart of the sport is, and always will be, the horse. Whoever wants to save racing must first care about that.

---

Jehad Nga is a photographer who lives in New York. LightBox previously featured Nga’s Memories of Libya and his Green Book project.

David Von Drehle is an editor-at-large for TIME, where he has covered politics, breaking news and the Supreme Court since 2007. He is the author of four books, including Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year, published in 2012, and Triangle: The Fire That Changed America.

Read more: http://lightbox.time.com/2013/05/02/the-end-of-horse-racing-photographs-by-jehad-nga/#ixzz2d6uQX1iG

Horse deaths, injuries, druggings: No One Cares

And no one cares!

Massachusetts has NOT adopted regulations to prevent the injuries, drugging and deaths of horses.

Aqueduct Breakdowns Lead to Order for Necropsies

By JOE DRAPE

Published: January 12, 2013

 

The New York State Racing and Wagering Board announced Friday that it would order necropsies for all horses that sustain deadly racing injuries at Aqueduct after four fatalities at the track's meet, which opened Dec. 12.

 

On Thursday, Pleasantfriday broke her right front leg while turning for home, sending jockey Cornelio Velasquez to the ground. Pleasantfriday, a 5-year-old mare, was taken away in a van and later euthanized.

 

Necropsies of horses that are fatally injured were among the recommendations of a task force requested by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to investigate the increase of fatal breakdowns at Aqueduct Racetrack last year.

 

The four-member panel concluded that more than half of the 21 racehorses that died might have been saved had racing authorities more closely monitored their health and the liberal use of prescription drugs used to keep them racing for purses inflated with money from the track's adjacent casino.

 

"Necropsies for two horses that have died at Aqueduct - Pleasantfriday and Gulltopper - were ordered by the board because circumstances of those incidents raised red flags with investigators and required more information," Lee Park, a spokesman for the board, wrote in an e-mail. "Going forward, the board is ordering necropsies for all horses that are fatally injured while racing on the inner track at Aqueduct."

 

New York racing authorities have also enacted a series of rules - among the most aggressive in the nation - to restrict the use of legal drugs on horses and require trainers to disclose what treatments their horses have received.

 

"The Racing and Wagering Board continues to closely monitor and investigate the circumstances of every breakdown at Aqueduct," Park said. "Comprehensive investigative reports for the four equine fatalities from the inner track meet are being completed by board staff."

 

The rules come as racing wrestles with a drug culture that many of its most experienced officials contend is diminishing the sport. There have been Congressional hearings, stricter drug rules in several states and calls for an outright ban of drugs.

 

The breakdowns also offer the first test of a new New York Racing Association board that was handpicked by Cuomo. He appointed David Skorton, president of Cornell, as chairman, completing his takeover of racing in the hope of ending decades of scandal and mismanagement in an industry important to the state.

 

"NYRA is very concerned with any equine breakdown during a race or training, and we are constantly examining our procedures," the association said in a statement. "We have been aided in this by the recent New York Task Force Report on Racehorse Health and Safety, which was very clear on the safety of NYRA's inner track racing surface."

 

It says it is continuing to put into effect new safety policies recommended by the task force.

"NYRA is working to enhance preventative measures, monitoring and reporting with respect to breakdowns; and we are working with Chairman Skorton and our regulators to prevent future fatalities as much as we possibly can," it said.

 

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/sports/aqueduct-breakdowns-lead-to-order-for-necropsies.xml

Oct 14, 2012

Exotic Bird Decapitated at Las Vegas Casino; Law Students Charged

By Alyssa Newcomb

                                                          (Image Credit: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept.)

Two University of California-Berkeley students are accused of decapitating an exotic 14-year-old bird at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino’s wildlife habitat in Las Vegas.

Eric Cuellar and Justin Teixeira, both 24, were captured on surveillance video Friday morning chasing the helmeted guinea fowl into some trees and then emerging carrying its severed body, according to a statement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

The two men, who said they are law students at the school, then laughed about the killing and threw the body of the bird, witnesses told police.

They were booked into the Clark County Detention Center and face felony charges of conspiracy and the willful and malicious torture or killing of wildlife.

The Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat is home to hundreds of animals, including swans, ducks, turtles and of course, flamingos.

It was not clear whether Cuellar and Teixeira had hired an attorney.


http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/10/exotic-bird-decapitated-at-las-vegas-casino-law-students-charged/

Insolvent Mohegan in Atlantic City

Seminole Indians in Atlantic City: one tribe exits as another arrives to run casino

Published September 17, 2012

Associated Press

 

 

Pedestrians walk in front of Resorts Casino Hotel on Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, in Atlantic City, N.J. New Jersey casino regulators announced Friday they would allow the Mohegan Indian tribe of Connecticut to run the day-to-day affairs of Resorts. The Mohegan Indian tribe plans to oversee a $35 million expansion of Resorts that will include a Jimmy Buffett-themed Margaritaville complex. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Absent from the Atlantic City casino market for more than 30 years, Native American tribes have recently turned a close eye on the seaside gambling resort, with two tribes taking very different paths.

On Friday, New Jersey regulators gave approval to the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority to run the day-to-day affairs of Resorts Casino Hotel and to buy 10 percent of the company. The decision came just two days after the Seminole Indians scrapped a plan to build a new "boutique" casino, citing the poor economy and cutthroat competition from gambling halls in neighboring states.

So which one is taking the right approach? They may both be.

The management deal for the Mohegans at Resorts gives the Connecticut-based tribe a cheap foothold in the nation's third-largest gambling market — not to mention a fantastic opportunity to cross-market their existing casinos in Connecticut and Pennsylvania — without having to spend the $1 billion to $2 billion a new casino would cost.

That reality was not lost on the Florida-based Seminoles, who had planned through their Hard Rock International business arm to build a new casino-hotel on the south end of the Boardwalk under a 2011 law allowing for construction of casinos with as few as 200 rooms. That's much fewer than the 500-room minimum in existing law and one-tenth of the 2,000 or so rooms that the newest and most successful casinos in Atlantic City offer.

The Seminoles, who would have partnered with New York-based Och-Ziff Real Estate to build the casino, would have started at 208 rooms and eventually expanded to 850. The first phase of the project alone would have cost nearly a half-billion dollars. Although Hard Rock doesn't rule out doing something in Atlantic City in the future, that price proved too steep.

The Mohegans, on the other hand, stand to profit not only from their small ownership stake in Resorts and the ability to drive new business to their other casinos, but also to showcase their management ability to other casino companies that may want a helping hand.

Mitchell Etess, CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Authority, said last month that the Mohegans have wanted to enter the Atlantic City market for years but did not want to spend $1 billion or more to build a casino from scratch. This deal provides an affordable entry to the market, currently ranked third in the U.S. after Nevada and Pennsylvania.

He also said the tribe has no plans to eventually buy Resorts outright. But if it does a good job running it and restoring it to profitability, that could open the doors to other management jobs at non-Indian casinos.

"We're extremely happy to be involved in Atlantic City," said Gary Van Hettinga, president of Mohegan Gaming Advisors, who will oversee Resorts for the tribe. "We believe this city has a great future. We're looking forward to getting started and finishing what my good friend and mentor Dennis Gomes started — making Resorts a profitable business again."

The Mohegans' involvement intensified after the sudden death in February of Gomes, a co-owner of the casino and a legendary figure in the industry. He was known for outlandish promotions including pitting a live chicken against customers in games of tic-tac-toe and his efforts as a mob-busting casino regulator in Nevada were chronicled in the film "Casino." [animal abuse]

Without Gomes and his decades of experience in the picture, Resorts' majority owner, New York real estate investor Morris Bailey, began looking for help in running Resorts. A deal with the Mohegans soon followed. Bailey will continue to own 90 percent of the business, although the Mohegans have the option to buy an additional 15 percent after two years.

The Mohegans will oversee a $35 million renovation and expansion of Resorts headed by the addition of a Jimmy Buffett-themed Margaritaville restaurant, bar and entertainment complex on the beach, which is expected to open Memorial Day weekend.

"This is a critical time in Atlantic City," said Matthew Levinson, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which approved the management agreement on Friday. "The state and the industry are focusing their efforts to transform the city into a well-rounded destination resort. With our approval of this agreement, Mohegan will be able to implement policies and practices that have helped to make its Connecticut casino one of the most successful ever. I want to see Mohegan bring that kind of success to Resorts."

The commission also determined that Mohegan Gaming Advisors will only need to obtain a casino service industry enterprise license, rather than a full-blown casino license. The service industry license is less expensive and is commonly held by vendors and manufacturers of slot machines, cards, dice and other similar equipment, Levinson said. But the background checks and investigations are virtually the same as those involved for a regular casino license, he added.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/09/17/indians-in-atlantic-city-one-tribe-exits-as-another-arrives-to-run-casino/#ixzz279GJzKPk

Bloomberg promoting MGM's animal cruelty

In a rather bizarre photo Bloomberg added to MGM's Massachusetts' Folly, they chose to add a photo of the lion display that has since been closed.

MGM places sensible animal care at the bottom of its list. See articles below.

MGM Resorts Proposes $800 Million Massachusetts Casino-Hotel

By Rob Golum and Christopher Palmeri
Aug 22, 2012

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Tourists view a lion on top of a glass roof inside the MGM Resorts International casino in Las Vegas.

MGM Resorts International(MGM), the largest casino operator on the Las Vegas Strip, announced plans to develop an $800 million gambling, hotel and entertainment project in Springfield, Massachusetts.


The MGM Springfield project, if approved, would be located on about 10 acres of land that were heavily damaged by a June 2011 tornado, the Las Vegas-based company said today in a statement. The plans include restaurants, movie theaters and shopping.

MGM Resorts said it submitted a $400,000 fee that will fund the official vetting and negotiating process. The project would be located on three city blocks close to Interstate 91. The company said it controls several parcels in the area and has others under contract.

Massachusetts legislators legalized gambling last year, authorizing a maximum of three casinos in three regions. MGM will be competing for a license in the western part of the state. At least five other operators are eyeing locations there, including Ameristar Casinos Inc. (ASCA, Penn National Gaming Inc. (PENN), Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment Inc., according to an Aug. 20 analysis by the law firm Goodwin Procter LLP.

In March, MGM Resorts dropped out of a casino project in Brimfield, Massachusetts, citing the scope of infrastructure work needed in the area, and said it would seek an alternative location.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-22/mgm-resorts-proposes-800-million-massachusetts-casino-hotel-2-.html

Activists praise closure of MGM Grand's lion habitat

CORRECTION -- 12/31/11 -- A story and caption Friday’s Review-Journal about the lion habitat at the MGM Grand contained an error. Officials announced this week that they will be closing the free attraction Jan. 31. By Keith Rogers

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Posted: Dec. 29, 2011

Plans by MGM Grand to close its lion habitat at the Strip hotel received praise Thursday by a high-profile animal rights group that also criticized the lions' owner for wanting to put them on exhibit at his 7.5-acre ranch in the south Las Vegas Valley.

A letter from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International, thanks Murren and Chief Operating Officer Corey Sanders "for your decisions to close the lion exhibit ... and to offer our assistance in helping to relocate the lions to a reputable sanctuary."

Citing news reports, the letter said the lions' owner, Keith Evans, plans to put them on exhibit in Clark County.

"This plan is clearly not in the best interests of the animals. In their natural habitats, lions roam many miles of territory to hunt, raise their young, and avoid contact with people," according to the letter Thursday from Delcianna Winders, PETA's director of captive animal law enforcement.

The letter criticizes Evans for declawing lion cubs and for allowing trainers and handlers to have direct contact with the animals that led to two lion attacks at the MGM Grand.

Reached at his ranch southeast of the M Resort, Evans called PETA's letter "baloney" and wished PETA "good luck" in their efforts to put his 40 lions in a sanctuary.

Evans said that he has held his U.S. Department of Agriculture license for keeping lions for 40 years and that PETA has a "bad track record" in its endeavors to keep lions in sanctuaries.

Yvette Monet, corporate spokeswoman for MGM Resorts International, said the lions that Evans transports for display at the MGM Grand are owned by Evans, "and he is entirely responsible to their care."

Monet said the lions have always lived at Evans' ranch, and many of them were born there.
On Wednesday, MGM Grand announced that its lion habitat and retail shop will close Saturday . The habitat, a free attraction, opened in 1999 for $9 million.

In her letter, Winders said that MGM has maintained a $1 million fund for the care of lions at the habitat, "and we encourage you to use these funds to relocate the animals to a reputable sanctuary.

We stand ready to help coordinate such a transfer."

Reached by phone late Thursday in California, Winder said an ideal sanctuary for the lions would be one operated by the Performing Animal Welfare Society, an organization, based in Galt, Calif., for abused and abandoned wildlife.

Winder said she has never visited Evans' ranch but said the ranch doesn't have enough space to provide for lions in a natural habitat.

Evans has said he intends to make his ranch a public attraction called The Cat House. He said he has completed the zoning and permitting requirements that will allow him to host private parties and tour groups.

The exhibit also might be open to the walk-in public, but he is trying to work out logistics such as staffing.

  http://www.lvrj.com/news/animal-rights-group-praises-closure-of-mgm-s-lion-habitat-136407153.html

MGM Mirage in Vegas probing death of dolphin

July 7, 2008

MGM Mirage officials are investigating the death of a dolphin at an aquatic habitat at The Mirage (pictured above) on the Las Vegas Strip. The Associated Press reports:

Company spokesman Gordon Absher said Monday that animal care officials were still trying to determine why the dolphin, named Sage, died Saturday morning. 

The dolphin was born at the habitat in May 1997.

Correcting earlier reports, Absher says 13 dolphins have died at Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat since the attraction opened with five dolphins in 1990. He says that number included five that were stillborn or died shortly after birth.

The dolphin habitat offers tours to the paying public, birthday parties, “trainer for a day” and group tours in addition to being rented as a setting for private events.

--Francisco Vara-Orta
Photo: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2008/07/mgm-mirage-in-v.html

By Dana Gentry

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

14 dolphins have died in the 19 years since Steve Wynn opened the Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage. Now, an animal rights group wants to stop the casino from bringing more dolphins to the desert.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/videos/2009/jun/17/2281/

Petitioned The Governor of NV

This petition was delivered to:

The Governor of NV	Mr. James MurrenChairman of the Board, Pres., CEO	Dave BlaskoDirector of Dolphin Habitat
Corey Ian SandersChief Operations Officer	Dave BlaskoDirector of Dolphin Habitat/Mirage	Daniel D'ArrigoChief Finanacial Officer

No More Dolphins Swimming in Las Vegas

byBarbara Napoles

This petition was started in response to an article I recently became aware of regarding the exhibit “Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat” located at the Mirage hotel and owned by MGM Grand International.

Born Free USA and the WSPA have condemned this place for its claims of being a research and educational facility, while in reality it is motivated by profits. They have nicknamed it the “Dolphin Death Pool” and below you will find some information pertaining to this name.

A recent visitor of the exhibit stated that upon entering the facility, with admission price of $15, you are given a brochure which talks about conservation and gives you wild dolphin facts. However, advertisements on TV and magazines push their “be trainer for a day” programs to attract visitors.

Upon looking at the website we found that the trainer for a day program cost are as follows: Trainer for a day $495. Trainer with one observer $645 and Trainer with 2 observers is $795.00

Although this exhibit says it’s a research and educational facility and has “no scheduled shows”. The dolphins perform tricks (flips, jumps, tailwalking, beaching themselves on the platform) for the paying customers and are given fish to feed as reward. We’d like to point out that these are not natural behaviors for dolphins; it is a trained and taught behavior so that the dolphins could entertain.

This exhibit has been the death sentence for many wild and captive-born dolphins. The Review-Journal obtained records from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration that includes an inventory of the dolphins at The Mirage and cause of death for those that died.

Here is a list of the dolphins that have died there since its opening in 1990:

* Rascal – age 4 – Death unknown
 * Pablo – age 10 – Died from rare fungus in its lungs
 * Darla – age 18 – Died from chronic pancreatitis
 * Squirt – age 15 – Died from respiratory ailment
 * Picabo – age 18 – Died suddenly from internal tear in its stomach
 * Bugsy – age 3 – Died from pulmonary abscess
 * No name – Stillborn
 * No name – 2 week old calf – died from pulmonary edema
 * Sigma – age 32 – Died from heart failure
 * Banjo – age 32 – Died from heart failure
 * Merlin – age 40 (estimate) – died from pneumonia
 * Sage – age 11 – death unknown
 * St. Pepper – age 2 – lung infection
 http://www.facebook.com/l/46befe8wGBe8qnQg310CxoHbDLA;www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Feb-18-Sun-2007/news/12653710.html

The attraction states that they take excellent care of their dolphins, however it seems to us that the mortality rate of these animals is very high. We believe that these bottlenose dolphins are subject to extreme temperature changes, from extreme cold (snow flurries) to extreme arid, dry conditions and pollution from a nearby highway. The pool is located in the heart of Las Vegas and specifically next to a busy highway. If you lived next to constant gas fumes from thousands of automobiles, you’d develop respiratory problems too!

Also, we have found that in 2009 the Mirage had asked the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) to import two dolphins from Bermudas for breeding. It seems logical to think that those dolphins would have been bred to keep the tank stocked with dolphins.

This petition proposes its readers to urge the Mirage to prepare a plan to relocate the dolphins to a facility that mimics the dolphins natural environment. These creatures belong in the ocean, not in middle of the desert. If they are truly a research and educational facility they would not need to be located in the Las Vegas strip.

We understand that dolphins who are born in captivity will not be able to be released in the ocean. However, we believe that the era of marine mammal captivity for human entertainment is over. We are no longer amused with dolphins performing unnatural behaviors.

Please consider relocating the dolphins to a facility closer to the their natural environment.

For the Dolphins, For the Whales, For the World!

If you have a problem signing the Petition email directly to: secretgarden@mirage.com
 Thank you all for your support!

http://www.lasvegassun.com/videos/2009/jun/17/2281/

http://www.change.org/petitions/no-more-dolphins-swimming-in-las-vegas

 

 

Cruelty to Horse

We've mostly ignored our care and treatment of horses. We've ignored the drugging, injuries and deaths of horses.

We pretend that taxpayer subsidies of horse racing makes sense, with no debate.

We pretend that preservation of the Dead Horse Racing Industry is justified, no questions asked.


Maybe it's time for dialog.




From face book -

Here's what some Dressage horses are put through....I don't know if Mrs. Romney's trainers ever did this, so I am not accusing her with this, what I know -and learned- it is a common practice in Dressage training...Damn you! Damn you people who abuse animals! ~Emine

 LOOK AT THIS VIDEO FOR EXPLAINED ROLLKUR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypAeLCKkgGM&feature=plcp

 

 

 

Racinos Don’t Save Racing

These are the empty stands at Suffolk Downs --

Horse racing is DEAD!


From our friends at Stop Predatory Gambling --

Racinos Don’t Save Racing

http://stoppredatorygambling.org/category/research-center/racinos-fail-to-save-live-racing/

You can find more information about how slot machines have not revived public interest in racing by also visiting “Save the Racetracks” in our Blog section.
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Slot Machines Largely Responsible for Racing’s Continuing Decline

The long-term trends show the ontrack handle at racino racetracks has declined, a direct result of putting slot machines and table games in the building. Says one racing official quoted in the article below: “The racing industry has far more competition now, and a lot of it is right at the racetrack’s doorstep.”
Is Racing a Sport on the Ropes
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Money From Slots Has Done Nothing to Improve Horse Racing

This Washington Post story spotlights how slot money has been used to simply prop up tracks that have virtually no fan base and couldn’t exist on their on merits. When slots were legalized, the machines proved to be so lucrative many track owners lost interest in the sport and viewed it as a nuisance. They made no effort to improve the game or attract new fans; slot players are more profitable customers.

While the money has benefited owners, trainers and breeders, it has done nothing to popularize or improve horse racing. On the contrary, it has hurt the sport in some ways. At a time when almost every track is suffering from a shortage of thoroughbreds, the horses who go to slot-subsidized tracks could be running at viable tracks, helping them to offer a better product, instead of racing in a place where almost nobody watches them.
2012 Money from slots has done nothing to improve horse racing
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Predatory Gambling Trade Preys on Horse Racing Industry

In this May 2011 story from NPR, a spokesman from Penn National Gaming suggests that for the horse racing industry to flourish, slot machines must be involved. He states: “The long term viability of racing – not just in Maryland, but everywhere across the country – is largely dependent on the eventual introduction of slot machines.”
Horse Racing Gets Squeezed By Gambling’s Spread
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West Virginia Legislature Votes to Fund State’s Racinos

In March 2011, West Virginia’s State Legislature voted on a bill that will use $10 million dollars from an existing lottery to fund the state’s racinos for 10 years. Del. Mitch Carmichael, of Jackson, called the bill “the most ‘ridiculous’ he’s seen in several years.”
“Why should we single out a particular industry, the gaming industry and the Greenbrier Hotel, to give them special $10 million giveaways from the people of West Virginia,” Carmichael asked. “I just think it sets the wrong priorities.”
West Virginia Legislature Votes to Fund Racinos with Public Money
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Why Far Fewer Bettors Pony Up on the Horses

This Las Vegas Sun article offers some insights as to why horse racing events are “going the way of Latin.” It describes how horse racing revenue has declined 30 percent at Nevada casinos in the past decade even as other forms of gambling, after taking a hit in the recession, have increased over that period.
2011 Why Far Fewer Bettors Pony Up on the Horses
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Horse Racing Remains a Dying Pastime

There has been many reports in recent years regarding the decline in the horse racing industry. In August 2011, the Associated Press released another story stating that there was “a generally unfavorable public view of racing, a long and frustrating learning curve for new bettors and increased competition from casinos and other forms of gambling as central to the sport’s decline.”
Report Finds Horse Racing Is On a Slippery Track
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Slots and Safety at New Mexico Tracks

One of the first states to approve slot machine gambling at horse tracks, New Mexico now has been tagged with the worst safety record in racing. Nationwide, the newspaper found the industry “still mired in a culture of drugs and lax regulation and a fatal breakdown rate that remains far worse than in most of the world.” In addition, slots are now the tail that wag the horse, accounting for most of the revenue at tracks and turning racing into a side business, and perhaps the biggest reason for safety plummeting.
Slots and Safety at New Mexico Tracks

The game: What’s ‘gambling,’ what isn’t?

Horse racing is DEAD! The patrons are dying off.  Few attend. There are no crowds.


The reputation generated by the horse racing industry of drugging to mask pain, horse injuries and deaths on the tracks does nothing to enhance its reputation.

Folk: It's not coming back! Not without taxpayer subsidies. Why are we subsidizing it when 70% of the horses are Canadian slaughterhouses come from the US?

The game: What’s ‘gambling,’ what isn’t?

Published: Sat, July 21, 2012

COLUMBUS

There was a telling moment at the racing commission this month on the state of legalized gambling in Ohio.

The commission chairman and representatives from Scioto Downs were talking about the new video lottery terminals at the Columbus horse track.

The long-discussed video slots, offered as part of the state lottery, began operating in June. Since then, there’s been an 18 to 20 percent increase in attendance during live racing days, the track’s rep told the racing commission.

“It appears that the operation on the VLT side of the racetrack is being well received and there’s been an overflow,” said commission Chairman Robert Schmitz. “I’ve noticed more people on the racing side than I’ve seen in quite a few years.”

Schmitz asked about actual numbers, to which the track rep began explaining about counting people as they were coming into ... “the casino.”




In other words, this is ANECDOTAL! There are NO NUMBERS! This is sales pitch and scam.
“It is not a casino,” the chairman corrected, prompting laughter and a few knowing looks from others.
Sure it’s not. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink.

In the truest sense, Schmitz is correct. Horse tracks offering video lottery terminals are not casinos.

There are only four voter-approved casinos in the state. Lawmakers have blocked other locations from using the word “casino” in their signage.

But make no mistake: Many gamblers who frequent these revamped horse racing tracks will find casino-like atmospheres and video slots ready to take their money.

What’s in a name?

Consider the name of the new Youngstown-area track that’s in the works: “Hollywood Slots at Mahoning Valley Race Course.” Notice the slots come first.

Look at Scioto Downs’ website, and you’ll find the title “Scioto Downs Casino and Racetrack.”

Whether they are casinos in name or not, they’re casinos in spirit. And they’re already reaping millions of d ollars in profit for the tracks.

During the first month of operation, gamblers wagered about $122 million on 1,787 VLT terminals at the Columbus-area track, according to lottery officials.

That resulted in about $7.4 million in “racino commissions” for the tracks and $3.7 million for the Ohio Lottery Commission, most of which goes to schools.

To recap: Ohio will have four casinos. Two already open, and a big chunk of the resulting gaming revenues is coming from slot machines.

Close to 700 storefront sweepstakes parlors are operating throughout the state, offering consumers the equivalent of slot machine gambling.

And the state’s seven horse tracks have been given the green light to offer lottery-controlled video slots on their premises.

For average citizens, they’re all casinos — just don’t use that word for racetracks. Because we don’t want to give the impression that Ohio is becoming a gambling-heavy state, with opportunities for residents to throw their money away around every corner.

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correpondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/jul/21/the-game-whats-gambling-what-isnt/?newswatch

More horses die

More Horses Die at Calgary Stampede

• by Alicia Graef
• July 13, 2012

The deaths of three horses at the Calgary Stampede, a 10-day event where people can go to pretend that we still live in the Wild West, has spurred outrage from animal advocates and calls to ban chuckwagon races for good.

The accident that lead to the deaths happened on Thursday during the GMC Rangeland Derby when the lead horse faltered on the backstretch of the race and collapsed, taking down the three other horses and the wagon with him and causing a collision with one of the outriders.

The lead horse died on the scene, two others had to be euthanized on the track due to their injuries and a fourth will need surgery. A necropsy on the lead horse revealed the cause of death was a ruptured aortic aneurysm near the kydney, according to a press release.

“This pre-existing condition is undetectable in animals and could have ruptured at any time of exercise,” explains  Dr. Evans. “The condition is a weakening in the wall of the aorta–the major vessel leading from the heart. This area of weakened wall can rupture and the horse then bleeds out internally. The rupture occurred in the abdomen, which explains the hind limb weakness noted in the horse prior to the collapse.”

The incident has animal advocates understandably calling for a ban on chuckwagon races.
“It always shocks and infuriates me … you’d think after 100 years they’d come to realize they cannot prevent deaths,” said Michael Alvarez-Toye of the Calgary Animal Rights Coalition.

He said the group is organizing a protest on Saturday “to mark the occasion of the Calgary Stampede’s 100th Anniversary of cruel and callous acts perpetrated upon animals.”

Sadly, this tragedy comes after weeks of announcements about improvements to safety that were made after six horses died in 2010. A total of 50 have died since 1986.

The Stampede began a Fitness to Compete program, which increased veterinary inspections before and after races, breaks between events and reduced the number of outriders for each wagon from four to two to make more room on the track, but it hasn’t helped protect horses.

“Clearly, the Stampede’s much publicized safety improvements have failed to make the race any safer,” said Peter Fricker, a spokesman for the Vancouver Humane Society, which supports a ban. “Horses continue to die needlessly. This has to stop.”

According to a statement, the Stampede will be using the results of the necropsy to make further improvements.

“Nowadays, in veterinary medicine there’s very much a push on for evidence-based decision making,” said

Calgary Stampede race mishap kills 3 horses

A Canadian chuck wagon race ended tragically Thursday after a horse with a breached blood vessel collapsed and died midcompetition.

By Brian Browdie / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Saturday, July 14, 2012

Sun Media / Splash News/Sun Media / Splash News

Three horses died and a fourth was injured seriously during a chuck wagon race in Calgary, Alberta on Thursday after the left lead horse suffered a ruptured aortic aneurysm. Officials euthanized the right lead horse and another that crashed into the rig.

A Canadian chuck wagon race ended tragically Thursday after a horse with a breached blood vessel collapsed and died midcompetition.
The mishap occurred at the annual Calgary Stampede during the Rangeland Derby, when the horse, the left-side leader of a team of four horses that was pulling a covered wagon, went down on the backstretch, dragging the rest of the team into the dirt. An horse being ridden behind the rig slammed into it.
Officials euthanized both the right lead horse and the outrider. A horse stationed at the right wheel required surgery for its injuries but is expected to survive.
“The left lead horse experienced a ruptured aortic aneurysm, leading to sudden internal bleeding and explains why the horse faltered, weakened and then collapsed,” Dr. Greg Evans, chief veterinarian for the Calgary Stampede, said in a statement. "The condition is a weakening in the wall of the aorta - the major vessel leading from the heart."
"This pre-existing condition is undetectable in animals and could have ruptured at any time of exercise," Evans added.

Sun Media / Splash News/Sun Media / Splash News

Chuck wagon driver Chad Harden, above, reacts to the collapse of his left lead horse during a chuck wagon race at the Calgary Stampede on Thursday. The horse went down after suffering a ruptured aortic aneurysm, pulling the rest of the team into the dirt on the racetrack’s backstretch.

Officials said toxicology and drug tests will be performed on the horse and that veterinarians screen all horses upon their arrival at the park and prior to competition.

“The outriding horse is an 18-year-old horse," a tearful Chad Harden, the team's driver and owner, told CBC News. "I’ve had him for 13 years. He’s part of our family, he’s supposed to be my kid’s horse."

Some animal activists called for the suspension of chuck wagon races, which have claimed the lives 50 horses since 1986, according to the Vancouver Human Society.

"Clearly, the Stampede’s much publicized safety improvements have failed to make the race any safer,” society spokesman Peter Fricker said in a statement. “Horses continue to die needlessly. This has to stop.”


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/calgary-stampede-race-mishap-leaves-3-horses-dead-article-1.1114536#ixzz20cKTMqYc