During a sprint race on the opening weekend of the new, $550-million-dollar Belmont Park, a horse named Heat Missile suffered catastrophic injuries to her left front leg: Both sesamoid bones were fractured, and her fetlock joint dislocated. Workers cradled her mangled leg while a veterinarian filled a syringe with pink euthanasia drug.
It was Saturday, September 19—the second day at the newly renovated Belmont Park. Backed by a $455 million, taxpayer-funded loan from New York State, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) sunk $550 million into the new lavish facility—but it couldn’t even keep all the horses alive through opening weekend. PETA was there to film her final moments. After her body was removed from the track, racing, betting, and opening weekend festivities continued.
Hundreds of miles away at Churchill Downs in Kentucky, another horse, two-year-old Lutkenhaus, also suffered a catastrophic fatal injury to his left front leg. He fell on the track, and five other two-year-old horses— Ritornello, Midnight Rumble, Shacklebolt, Steve Wood, and Industrious—fell over one another in a massive, multi-horse crash that left the track looking like a war zone.
Lutkenhaus was euthanized, and Industrious and Shacklebolt were loaded onto the equine ambulance. Three jockeys ended up in the hospital. Footage posted on X shows the aftermath of the disaster.
That’s at least two deaths at Triple Crown tracks in one day. Belmont Park and Churchill Downs failed Heat Missile and Lutkenhaus, and PETA is pushing the industry hard to adopt meaningful safety reforms that will spare horses like them. We’re also demanding to know the terms of the repayment plan between NYRA and the state of New York because taxpayers shouldn’t be funding this carnage.
Horses have their own intellectual capabilities and experience a complex range of emotions, just as humans do. But in the racing industry, these social herd animals are routinely kept confined and isolated. Horses love to run, but do not “love to race” while being whipped and forced to run at speeds and distances that result in bleeding lungs and injuries. And they cannot consent to risking their lives on the racetrack.
The screens exist so that the public can’t see horses killed on the track, but by sharing our exclusive footage of Heat Missile’s fatal breakdown, you can ensure that people know what happened to her at Belmont Park. Please, remember her: Never bet, attend, or watch the races while horses are being killed.
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