Belmont Park is plunged into controversy again as ANOTHER horse is killed – just 24 hours after a first died at the track – as PETA calls for racing to be ‘suspended immediately’
- A second horse has died at Belmont Park within the last 24 hours
- It brings to the end a deadly Triple Crown season with over a dozen horses dead
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Yet another race horse has died at Belmont Park in New York – with today’s death of thoroughbred Mashnee Girl at the famed track.
According to the NYRA’s Senior Examining Veteran, via @TripleDeadHeat, Mashnee Girl ‘sustained a catastrophic injury to her left front leg in R1 on Sunday and was humanely euthanized on track’.
The jockey riding on Mashnee Girl, Jose Lezcano, reportedly took a visit to first aid personnel and was cleared to keep riding.
This comes after Excursionniste was put down on the track at the end of the Belmont on Saturday afternoon.
Animal rights group PETA released a statement calling for the suspension of racing and saying Belmont is ‘failing to protect horses’.
A second horse has been put down after the conclusion of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes
Excursionniste (above) was put down at the end of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes race
In a statement provided to Mail Sport, the organization said: ‘Two dead Thoroughbreds in two days with the same trainer on the same track means one thing: Belmont Park is failing to protect horses.
‘Like Churchill Downs, Belmont must suspend racing immediately to avoid the same bloodbath. Anything less makes Belmont complicit in the fatalities.’
Since April, a whopping 12 horses have died at Churchill Downs, with officials yet to be able to identify a commonality between the deaths.
Additionally, Havnameltdown was euthanized after buckling on its front left leg at the Preakness undercard last month.
Following the recent spate of deaths at Churchill Downs, the track made the decision to suspend all racing there, instead moving its 2023 Spring Meet to Ellis Park.
Multiple horses have died since April – including at least one at Pimlico in Maryland (above)
However, PETA accused the track of playing ‘Russian roulette’ with the lives of the horses after that move.
‘We are relieved that racing has been suspended, which PETA has been calling for since May 2, but Churchill Downs must not play Russian roulette with these horses’ lives by simply shifting the problem elsewhere,’ the animal-rights organization said in a statement to Mail Sport.
‘Putting the bullet in a different chamber could have the same lethal outcome. We are frustrated at the racing industry’s refusal to implement technology that is scientifically and statistically proven to save lives.
‘Until race tracks install synthetic surfaces and utilize CT scanning equipment to detect injuries, among other improvements, they can’t pretend to be mystified by fatalities.’
