By T. D. Thornton
The posting of a $12,500 reward and increased law enforcement patrols in the area of Tates Creek Road on the Jessamine and Fayette county borderline in Kentucky have been the two most proactive Saturday developments in an attempt to catch the person who gunned down a nine-month-old Thoroughbred in the overnight hours of Sep. 27-28.
The weanling colt was shot with a rifle while turned out in a Springhouse Farm paddock with about a dozen other horses and had to be euthanized because of spinal injuries when it was found the next morning unable to stand. According to the Jessamine County Sheriff's Office (JCSO), numerous shell casings were found on the roadway about 120 yards from where the stricken colt was lying.
“I'm hoping it's an isolated incident. I don't want to start spreading fear that there is someone out there targeting horses,” JCSO lieutenant Anthony Purcell told TDN. “But in light of that worry, we did increase our presence out there on that road [Friday] night. I directed my deputies to stop cars out there to see if we could generate any kinds of leads in case anybody had seen or heard anything. There are no real big developments right now, but we've had people call in, so we are currently following up on a couple of leads and are still waiting on necropsy results.”
Despite the horrific nature of the crime that has left farm owners on edge in the heart of Bluegrass horse country, Purcell expressed frustration at the framework of laws that are in place. He said if and when a suspect is arrested, law enforcement officials and prosecutors are going to have get creative to bring charges that carry a fitting punishment for shooting a horse.
“The base charge is going to be cruelty to animals, second degree,” Purcell said. “Unfortunately, in Kentucky, the animal cruelty charge doesn't carry that stiff a penalty. In this state, it's a misdemeanor. In order for animal cruelty to be a felony in Kentucky, it has to involve dog fighting. Those are the laws that we have to work within. Those are passed by the state legislature. We don't really have a say in it.
“But due to the fact that the horse is worth so much money and could have generated further income for its owner, we're trying to talk to the county and the commonwealth attorneys about maybe bringing a criminal mischief charge,” Purcell continued. “There are different ways of dealing with it to level a harsher charge if we can develop a suspect.”
Purcell said it was still unclear what monetary value is being placed on the loss of the weanling colt.
“Officially, I don't know,” Purcell said. “[The farm owner] said upwards of $80,000 when we were talking to him [Friday]. From what he was saying, it was a pretty expensive foal.”
On Saturday morning, Thoroughbred industry stakeholders and the JCSO came together to announce a $12,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons involved in the fatal foal shooting. Entities contributing to the reward include Fasig-Tipton, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Keeneland, the KTA-KTOB, and Taylor Made.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at (859) 885-4139.
Click here to read the original TDN story from the Sept. 29 edition.
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