Vegetarian Star

PETA has a new mobile billboard that will serve to remind visitors to the Kentucky Derby this weekend that horse racing is not always fun and games.

Up to and during the day of the race, this ad will be driven outside the racetrack to highlight the use and abuse of drugs used on race horses, which PETA says has contributed to the death of several horses on the race tracks.

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Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones is defending statistics found in a study on thoroughbred fatalities at North American tracks, stating the injuries are what is to be expected in athletic situations and will happen, regardless of the racing track surface.

A year long study released by the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit in Lexington, Kentucky shows there were 2.14 deaths on dirt tracks per 1,000 starts, while both synthetic and turf tracks each had 1.78 fatalities.

“What so many people don’t want to understand is that a lot of our injuries are from them being athletes in general,” Jones told Reuters.

“If we had swimming races for horses, somehow a certain number of them would be getting hurt. Look at how many humans get hurt at track and field and that’s a no-contact sport.”

(more…)

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Rain and muddy track conditions may have dampened the spirits of Kentucky Derby goers (which some activists are more than happy with), but the Ferdinand’s Ball, a charity event to raise money for retired horses wasn’t anything but sunny.

The event hosted by Maria Menounos featured vegetarian food with local ingredients–including a raw food bar with marinated mushrooms stuffed with cashew cheese–and local wine and biodegradable dishware.

According to Louisville.com, five months ago sisters Aimee Wulfeck and Kim Boyle were astonished to find out no Derby ball actually raised money for the horses.

Ferdinand’s Ball was conceived to help “Old Friends,” a group that rescues and retires Thoroughbreds that no longer race.

This year’s ball raised $30,000 dollars, which is enough to help 13 horses for one year.

Old Friends has 70 horses in Georgetown, Kentucky and has recently opened a new farm in Saratoga, New York.

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Jockey Liam Hollins The Favorite To Brutally Whip Horse To Kentucky Derby Win

The Kentucky Derby ends today, much to the relief of animal lovers everywhere that know many horses don’t make it through the race uninjured–or alive.

The Onion has provided a little satire to the situtation, as news anchors provide commentary on the champion “Horse beaters,” and the techniques they use to make horses race faster in a sport where “there are no rules.”

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PETA Kentucky Derby Ad

As expected, no billboard company in Louisville is willing to let animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals place a poster describing how many horses have died since Eight Bells did in 2008 from racing.

Maybe they should start campaigning for next year. It must be a factor of space, obviously.

PETA said that, on average, three horses break down on the race track every day and although the industry has made improvements, like banning steroids from the tracks where the Triple Crown races are run, officials resort to using drugs that mask the animal’s pain so it can still race when it should be in recovery.

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Maria Menounos will host the first annual Ferdinand’s Ball, which kicks off the Kentucky Derby on Thursday, April 29.

Proceeds from the ball will directly benefit Old Friends, a non-profit organization that rescues retired racehorses from neglect, abuse and slaughter.

The event will feature a four-course vegetarian meal, athletes and local politicians, a silent auction, live entertainment and a presentation of an award to the Humane Society of the United States for their contribution to equine welfare.

For more information, visit the organization’s website.

Ferdinand was a 1986 Kentucky Derby winner who made millions and ended up in a slaughter house after being sent to Japan.

It’s fantastic that these horses can retire in comfort, but it’s questionable whether horse racing should be allowed to begin with.

According to In Defense of Animals, about 800 race horses die each year from fatal injuries on U.S race tracks and approximately 3,500 sustain injuries so bad they cannot finish the race.

IDA also states that many state governments are hesitant to prosecute abusers in the industry because they share revenue.

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