What happens in Beijing, China when racetracks close? Most people may not want to know. The track may get sold, but the horses don’t.
The horses aren’t worth much afterwards, and so the decision comes what to do with them. In this particular case, a racetrack was closed it October, and 600 Thoroughbreds were left without a home. When there weren’t homes that could be found for them, they had not choice, but to put them out of their miseries.
They were administered lethal injections; it was to be as simple and as painless as possible. Of the horse 400 were thoroughbred mares, and 200 were females. They are just a percentage of the 2,000 horses in Beijing.
Kevin Connolly, racing director at Beijing racecourse, confirmed that this had already taken place, but it wasn’t unusual. This is typical of an end-of-season harvest practice. It’s sad, but it is the tradition is a country against pari-mutuel wagering. |
