In the print edition of the Toronto Star today there is an article on a veterinarian at Woodbine Racetrack.
In the article, which has yet to appear online, a trainer at Woodbine, Carrie Russiani, says in the article of her horse, Short Man, “he might be on my dinner plate by December” as the horse appears to suffer from airway bleeding. The article says Russiani was “making it clear Short Man is not likely to contend for racing immortality”. Like its a big joke.
In light of the controversy surrounding Thoroubreds going to slaughter by the thousands every year we find this type of comment callous and ill advised.
The Toronto Star itself recently ran a first class front page article on horse slaughter.
What’s wrong with this picture??
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I just spoke to Christina in the media department at the Woodbine racetrack. She said that she herself had to read the article twice and was astonished at what the trainer said – especially to be quoted in the Toronto Star.
Please call the racetrack and ask for Christina @ 416.675.7223 to register a complaint against the trainer Carrie Russiani. The racetrack sounds like they are very shocked at this.
OMG, I hear this comment and ones similar in meaning all the time. I am involved with standardbred horses and racing, and in the race barns all the time. Mind you, I am talking about the B tracks here in Southern Ontario, but have spend many an hour at both the A and B tracks. To say the racetrack is very shocked about this, shocks me!!!! I wonder what this racetrack has to say about a kill buyer, purchasing a TB horse right on their backdoor, following a race!!!! Can they really be wearing rose coloured glasses? Maybe, I will hold my opinion on that, and give them some benefit of doubt.
I just called the number and was put through to Christina Barts (sp?) at local 2634.
I get the Toronto Star everyday and was totally aghast at that comment from the trainer. I plan to leave a messaget with Christina tomorrow as well and also I plant to get alot of my friends who are Against these things to get involved via posting it on my Facebook page.
This is the way most of the trainer’s feel. All of them know that sooner or later the horse they are working with will break down one way or another and the owners will look the other way and not care what happens to it. Just so it will not cost them any money. Uncaring people like this trainer is why so many TB’s end up slaughtered even with all the vet drugs the horses have been given.
Our race tracks run red with the blood of these innocent animals.
please do not generalize this industry. Yes there is a few “bad apples” as there are in any industry, but I can say for myself and for many others in this industry that we do A LOT for these animals because we appreciate them so much. We do our best to find these animals loving homes and a lot of the time finding these homes costs a fair bit of money that is never recovered. We do not have the resources to do home searches and find out if the home they are going to will be the absolute best, but we rely on the honesty of the people acquiring the horses. So please do not generalize because there is a lot more people that care about the well being of these animals than is being led to believe….You never hear of the countless horses being put to good homes and the trainers names that have made the day of our younger generation by allowing them to own these beautiful animals, we only hear of these bad apples…In every industry there will always be these people no matter how hard we try or what we do…
Very true Bard, I see and hear it all the time. It seems to be worse with the TB horses than the standardbred, but nevertheless, it goes on. Mind you, there are also many owners/trainers that don’t fit that bill, to those, I applaud you for not taking the easy way out, but even 1 horse is too many. If you truly care about the horses, those in the biz, you would speak out to those that sell their horse right after a race, to kill buyers waiting at the back door of the racetrack. We can not continue to walk around with blinders on.
If nothing else it’s brought to light to the ‘unknowing public’ (will make some of them think about that beautiful horse they looked in the eye before placing a bet) to hear such a dusgusting comment? Also, it makes the ‘track’ very aware of the ‘backdoor’ sending of many of these horses down the slaughter pipeline & that THEIR policy for this better get upgraded & CHANGED NOW!! I don’t give a rats ass what ‘this owner/trainers’ attitude is when they are ‘done’ with a TB….the mentality of just ‘get rid of it’ are DONE or should be, within this racing association A or B tracks. These PEOPLE belong to the racing association & if there are RULES on what is to happen with a horse no longer able to run (rehome, rescue, retire, etc.) MUST go thru the track authorities. There maybe good folks that do rehome their TB, but unforturnately there are the scum/bottom barrel feeders that are involved in the racing industry & those ones need to be stopped – fined, band from racing , WHATEVER DO IT !!!
I called today and left a message for Christina with respect to the article. What kind of a person is Carrie Russiani that she can make a comment like that in the first place and secondly to a national media source. Can you say “in need of a brain scan to see if she actually has one in her thick skull?”. The fact that Carrie Russiani can be so cold and callous in her comments about a living being that provides her with a job and income is diplorable. Short Man deserves more respect than this as do all horses. People like Carrie Russiani need to be taken out of the racing industry and I will make it my mission to educate the public on the shady practices of the people behind the scenes, whether they are trainers, owners, grooms, hotwalkers, riders or drivers. The whole racing industry needs to be overhauld and the blood and sweat of the equine athletes and what they give to the racing world needs to honored and respected. Without horses there would not be horse racing and there would not be the jobs and income this industry provides. Alittle, no ALOT more respect for our equine athletes is not only required but has been earned by the horses that race, train to race and are bred to foal the future racers.They are not machines, they are living, breathing creatures who deserve a second chance in life. I would have thought it would be people like Carrie Russiani who earn there income from these magnificent creatures that would be the first to defend the equine racing athlete and their earned right to a second chance at life not a one way ticket to her “dinner plate”. Shame on you Carrie Russiani. I hope you reap the ramifications of your ill choosen words. If you are a consumer of horse meat, may you choke on your next bite.
Very well said Debbie
People need to step back, take a breath and understand one persons words are not the sentiment of all persons who work with these wonderful animals. Sure there are certainly people who are simply in this for the love of money however that is the exception and not the rule. Most of those who work with the horses, (trainers, grooms, hotwalker, vets, blacksmiths) work hours that most people would turn their nose up at and when you equate those hours regardless of profession to an hourly rate you would be shocked how low it works out to be. Why? Because MOST of these individuals love what they do. The love, care and respect most of these animals recieve is incredible and as a result those individuals, again this reflects MOST people on the track, should be applauded for a job well done.
Some people just need to think before they speak, Carrie Russiani.
Dennis W, I understand your point and do know that caring, responsible people are also involved with racing. Russiani’s quote is so incredibly ill-conceived that I question that she has enough sense to find a hole in the ground to crawl into. Which she should do right promptly.
Very sad. Not very surprising, but very sad. “that is the exception and not the rule. “. Yeah, well, keep on telling yourself that. I lost all respect for the CTHS some time ago. They will take money from ANYBODY.
The “lower-level” people are indeed in it, mostly, for the love of the animals. The upper levels, trainers and the like? Money. I love how you lump the grroms in with the trainers and vets. Grooms get paid less than any other job, and they receive no credit. NONE. They are not quite in the same tax bracket as anybody else on the track. Foolish to state otherwise. Try to keep it truthful. I’m glad Woodbine is upset. Here’s hoping that nutbar is banned from the track.
Dear THE HORSE IS IN THE GARAGE
I stand behind my statement. It is too bad your bitterness and resentment towards the CTHS has clouded your judgment. You have obviously been mixed with the wrong crowd within the Ontario horse racing industry because in my experience it was an inappropriate statement made by Carrie Russiani and her alone… (Let me say this again for you, same meaning but in different terms) YOU CANNOT PAINT EVERYONE WITH THE SAME BRUSH!
My point regarding the earnings made by the different professions was to indicate the low wages when calculated on a per hour bases and not the differnt pay scales associated with each profession.
As for your comment of choosing to discredit the upper levels and trainers, you are way too narrow minded and need to come out of the closet or in your case the GARAGE to see just how the majority of these Professionals work. I, in all my years on the backside of Woodbine, have been very fortunate to witness nothing but exceptional people provide exceptional care for these great animals. I hope that one day you will experience that same fortune.
Dennis, I just have one question. Are you also there on the backside of Woodbine when a horse is bought right after a race by a killbuyer, drives it right off the lot, straight to the auction? I realize not everyone is like that, and not all horsea that don’t make the cut, are treated like this, but 1 horse is one to many. One such owner is 1 too many. We need to be the voice for the horses, stand up against this practice, you can’t just talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. This practice does go on, and it has to change.
Sad thing is, it is more than just 1 horse!!!
Me too, sir. Me too.
As the saying goes, one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel. Time to clean house, in my opinion.
The TB industry has to start becoming likeable again. I’d love to enjoy a race, without feeling slightly ill about it.
Let’s see good news TB racing stories, please. Where are those stories shared?
I realize that happy stories don’t sell as well. l still think we need to hear more of them. I’m so tired of the attitude of “WE aren’t like that, THOSE people are blah, blah.”
Unify your TB people. Make the game respectable again. Stop protecting your crazies.
Pony Club for the racing game? Hey, it works overseas, far better than here. Horses legs don’t snap with such impunity, on the other side of the pond. There must be a reason for that!
Good luck, Short Man. A bleeder needs out of the game.
Re horse racing…… it’s a crooked business. The horses are running at too young an age, they’re drugged to go faster, and if they don’t they get shipped. I have no desire to watch that. OTOH, why don’t some of you horse race fans get yer fat arses out on the track and run around a few times? I’d buy tickets to that. But I digress……. despite leaving a polite complaint with Woodbine’s HR department, I have received no response at all. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I’m hoping they were absolutely inundated with complaints and it’s going to take them months to get through them all. The power of the internet . I hope we see Carrie whats-her-face in the unemployment line.
@horse in the garage,
it is not about good story vs bad story, it is not about which one sells. It is about educating the public at large. As I strive to educate, you would not believe the number of people that have no idea of what happens to horses that end up in the auction pipeline, of the horrific way they are treated on their way to the slaughter plants in this country, nor the violent and abusive manner in which they die. They have no idea what a kill buyer is, or that horsemeat is considered a delicacy in some Eurpean and Asian countries. They have no idea that thousands of horses from the USA are sent to Canada, to meet their death at one of our horse slaughter plants. We can’t clean up the image of horse racing without the public realizing what is happening, and finally saying, ‘no more’ right now, It is a dirty business, with dirty money going into dirty hands. I am not saying the horse racing associations themselves are involved with it directly, but what i am saying, with confidence, is that every horse racing track, be it TB or standardbred, and every association knows this goes on, yet they do very little to put an end to it. Yes, both standardbred and TB associations donates to ‘retirement’ stables, but it has to go further, they have to make it one of the rules, you must follow, to belong to these associations and race, if you are ‘caught’ knowingly selling your horse to a kill buyer you will not be allowed to race your horses. they need to be involved with the horse once it is finished its racing career, following up to ensure they are placed either at a retirement stable or a good family. To stand by and know that it is going on makes them and all, part of the problem.
These horses love to race, it is in their blood Karen, so I would never agree that horseracing should not continue, but things have to change, keeping the health and safety of the horse while it is racing and afterward as the main concern.
And breeders need to take more responsibility for the foals/horses they bring into the world. The majority of them never make it to the races, it is those horses that suffer the most. What happens to all the horses the breeders can not sell? Do the breeders just keep them? I think not, and yes the racehorse associations know this as well. It is racehorse associations/members/owners dirty little secret.
It just peeves me off when I hear comments like: the race office is just shocked by Cassie’s comment and is looking into it. They are just making sure their image is intact. They are completely aware of this kind of thing! These comments are standard communication in the race barns, it was just Cassie’s bad luck that someone heard her saying it. So stop pretending Woodbine!!!
There’s a big difference between ‘love to run’ and ‘love to race’. Horses love to run but they have no love for racetracks. That’s a human thing, not a horse thing.
Oh Karen, I beg to differ with you. I have been around race horses most of my life, not as a big training stable, just a small ma and pa hobby on the B tracks. And they DO love the race, They love to be out there racing for the lead. It may ever well have been a man made activity, but be it right or wrong it is now embedded in their pyschic. Horses love the thrill of racing, and you see that in nature all the time. And yes, they can be very compettive, even in the wild. Horse racing, has taken that natural stance and harnessed the power, they are not forcing the horse to race. That has always been part of their being. Not all of them like it or want to do it for one reason or another, but that is what makes the difference between a good owner and a not so good one. I don’t race any of my horse if they just are not into it, or lose the desire. I have seen many a racehorse that just loves it, and I have seen how there disposition changes almost to a state of depression, when they can’t race for an extended period of time, even when they are out in the field “running around’ with their friends. If you understand horse communication, it is soooo easy to see how happy and excited they are prior to going out to race. You can see the proudness they feel when they do well. Just like you can see a sense of disappointment when they don’t do well. Just look into the eyes of a racehorse, and let them tell you what they feel, not the other way around. If you haven’t been there, seen it in their heart and soul, through their eyes, all you are doing is projecting your ideas and feeling, in relation to the horse. Horses and man have been together in high speed activities from the beginning of time. They may not have been racing against each other, but they definately have been racing for time, just take a look through history books, whether they were racing across the plains, or racing across a battle field, they are racing, NOT running.
If you want to get into this, it is man made not natural crap, well then originally all horses stood alone without man upon its back. So I can say that to ride a horse is not natural but man made. So can I assume then, that you would never ride a horse, you would never gallop along side a river, or across a field. Or is it ok to ride one, because that is what you do. Your theory is flawed and extremely juvenile in aurguement, with very little understanding of a race horse’s psychology, and little knowledge of the genetic physiological stance of a race horse. They are designed for speed, whether you are racing across a field or on a track. They want and need the race.
Can I also assume that you would never be involved or approve of show horses, dressage, steeple, or any of the other disciplines out there, as none of that is natural either, it is all man made.
And what about our working horses, the horses that carved out this country, herd the cattle, pulled the feld trees, plough the fields, so your ancestors could build a home, and feed their family. Or the horses that carried our past souldiers upon their back, to ensure future generations, (that’s you) would live in the peaceful civilized country you now occupy. These were all man made activities.
Your opinions are based on what you THINK, not what you KNOW to be true. If you are going to take a stance on something, that is great, but you should first understand and be totally knowlegdeable about the issue before you take that stance.
You abviously have a great love for our horses, why not harness that love, and use it to make the life of all horses better, like working toward the end of horse slaughter, or care for a horse that has been abused or abandoned. I totally understand how you feel about what happens to so many of our race horses by owners that don’t care what happens to them once their race days are over. That is where the biggest problem lies, not in the race itself. Let’s work together to bring an end to the auction pipeline, the kill buyers, and the slaughter plants, instead of aurgueing about whether or not a horse likes to race. Did you know that quarter horse associations are very much pro slaughter, and send more horses to slaughter than standardbred horses. Horses from all disciplines are sent to auction. It is not just the racing population that throw their horses into the lion’s den. There are good and bad in every field.
Cut the crap all of you!!!! Of course there are good and bad in every field of the horse world.
I was on Woodbine Racetrack for many years.
Where are all of the horses from the past?? How many aged horses are still racing? How many didn’t make it to the races because they broke down as babies??
How many are put down every year during training hours for snapping legs off?? That’s all you seem to hear over the P.A. system…..Would any vet on the grounds go to the main track…..emergency…..Would any vet on the grounds go to the training track at the 3/4 pole.
Has anyone ever been behind the scenes when Fort Erie is over for the short summer meet??
Maybe you should go and count how many meat buyers are skulking around filling their trucks with slaughterbound horses, better yet….stand there and count the horses sold for meat the last week of summer racing. Fort Erie is end of the line for most.
Woodbine Racetrack deserves NO RESPECT, they don’t treat the grooms any better either. That place probably has the highest % of drug and alcohol problems around. If they drug and alcohol tested every employee on the racetrack, the rescult would be astounding.
They hire anyone who walks in off of the street, half of them can’t spell the word racehorse, they’re there for the party.. Most of the trainers are business men in suits, some don’t even know the horses personally. They’re not true horsemen or they would respect each and every horse and a true horseman or caring owner would NEVER send a horse for meat because they’d understand what is going to be going through that horse’s mind and the stress and panic they’re going to go through…..not to mention the inhumane treatment. Have you ever watched the vets racing around all day long injecting this injecting that. Joint after joint, vein after vein has got some kind of drug being injected constantly. How many horses from each daily racing card are treated for bleeding with lasix. The #’s are astounding. Just take a look in the program and count. Half of the time the horse isn’t even a bleeder, it’s used like a pre-race hoping to get the edge. Because they don’t know how to hold a horse together naturally.
Standardbred trainers are the better horsemen. They condition them properly, they know how to work on legs and they know their equipment and shoeing.
Yeah, let’s sweep this all under the rug like they have for how many years???????
It ALL comes down to The Almighty Dollar. Pound them into the ground then ship them as quick as they can. Fill that empty stall the same day with another one or the stall man will take that stall and give it to the next guy.
Ask the Attards where are the horses they no longer grind $$$$ out of are? How many Attard stables are there????
Ask Bobby Tiller ,Kinghaven, Bruno Schickendanz, oh and especially Frank Pizzero how many they can account for now. You’d be shocked at the results…….so stop covering up for them all and quit bullshitting the Public.
They all are so aware of where those horses end up and so are the owners and the big wig trainers who sit up in the clubhouse every day drinking. Most of them don’t even come to the backstretch after the race to see if the horse came out of it o.k.
Do you know where every horse is now that you groomed or trained over the years??
If you can still positively account for them all, then you are a rare breed on your own.
Yes, some racehorses love to race, but not all of them for one reason or another.. They have no choice so they comply.
What a joke……Woodbine Racetrack.