PETA

These are uncertain times for Monmouth Park. The foal crop is down, their horse population is way down, and they're having trouble filling fields. That's what happens when you are one of many players in an overloaded Mid-Atlantic region and you are the only track that does not get revenue from casinos. (Monmouth does get a $10 million subsidy from the state to prop up purses, but that could be reduced to $2.5 million in 2027). Yet, better news may be around the corner. Bills have been introduced to have...

Maryland State Steward Adam Campola said Saturday that the Laurel stewards took a close look at Paco Lopez's winning ride aboard Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map) in the GI Preakness Stakes, but decided not to take action because they did not believe that the jockey violated any of HISA's rules related to misuse of the whip. PETA called on Maryland officials to strip Lopez of his race winnings and suspend him. It contended that he violated HISA Rule 2280(c)(1), which reads, "A Jockey shall not: raise the crop with the Jockey's...

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has raised concerns about the winning Preakness ride by Paco Lopez on Napoleon Solo, suggesting that Lopez raised his whip above his helmet on three different occasions before striking his horse, in violation of HISA regulations. HISA announced Monday night that they were investigating the concerns. "The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is aware of the concerns raised regarding Paco Lopez's ride in the referenced race at Laurel Park," the organization wrote in an email. "In accordance with the standard...

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has sent a letter to stakeholders at the Eclipse Awards asking them to bar jockeys Irad Ortiz Jr. and his brother, Jose, from future consideration for the awards after the discovery of a social media video that appears to show the brothers collecting cash in a ring at a cockfight in Puerto Rico. It is unclear when the event took place. The 18-second video was posted on X in November, 2025 on the account of @Josmaestre131, with a caption in Spanish...

After running a lengthy March 2 opinion piece by Noah Shachtman that questioned why so much money from slot machines, casinos and other subsidies was being to paid to what Shachtman describes as a dying industry in horse racing, the New York Times let its readers have their say. Saturday's edition included five letters to the editor, all from people reacting to a piece entitled "Dead Athletes. Empty Stands. Why Are We Paying Billions to Keep This Sport Alive?" Five letters were published, including one from NTRA CEO Tom Rooney...

A New York Appellate Court has dismissed a complaint from two New York State taxpayers, Jannette Patterson and John Di Leonardo, who sought on behalf of PETA to prevent the state from loaning NYRA the $455 million it plans to use to rebuild Belmont Park. The court, the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, was ruling on an appeal from the plaintiffs whose complaint was dismissed by an Albany County court in October of 2023. With the filing of the original lawsuit PETA said, in a...

An Albany County Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit from two New York taxpayers backed by PETA that attempted to block the State of New York from loaning NYRA $455 million that is earmarked for the construction of a new Belmont Park. The new Belmont Park is expected to open for the 2026 spring meet. The plaintiffs, Jannette Patterson and John Dileonardo, had argued that the New York State Constitution prohibited the state from giving or loaning state funds to any private corporation. The lawsuit, filed in June, was announced...

It's often been said that, no matter how hard the sport works to become safer, there will never come a time when there are zero fatalities. Unfortunately, that's probably true. But at the recently concluded Del Mar meet, not a single horse suffered a fatal breakdown during a race. Not once did a horse break a leg, crumple to the ground and then have to be euthanized behind a curtain blocking the view of a horrified public, the story making its way into the newspapers or the local news and...

by Beau Lane Rumor has it that Mike Repole said he was going to get out of the business if things didn't change. Well, I can see how Mr. Repole could feel that way; he's had some real kicks in the behind this year. But the racing industry needs more people like Mike Repole. He goes to the sales, buys nice horses, goes to the races, and takes his chances. He spends more than most and has Todd Pletcher for a trainer (there is no better), and so his chances...

In a letter released to the media Friday afternoon, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), along with 15 bipartisan supporters, are urging the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to launch an investigation into the equine deaths at Churchill Downs earlier this month. Addressed to HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus, Blumenauer's letter requests a response within 60 days and makes note of figures from the Equine Injury Database showing that between 2009 and 2021 some 7,274 Thoroughbred fatalities have occurred on American racetracks. The Congressman urges HISA to make the findings of...

PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo has released the following statement regarding the first races at Monmouth Park May 2 under the new whip rule: "PETA congratulates Monmouth Park and New Jersey officials for eliminating the most obvious and visible form of abuse in horse racing—whipping. Under any circumstances outside a race track, beating a horse can be prosecuted as cruelty to animals. Putting a jockey on the animal's back doesn't make it less cruel. While there is still much suffering in the horse racing industry, Monmouth Park is now...

At the start of last month, a small cadre of animal rights protestors snuck onto the Golden Gate Fields racetrack, lay down with arms interlocked in pipes, and halted live racing--as well as a vaccination drive on facility grounds--until police intervention saw their removal. While the incident had a flash-in-the-pan quality, it had the corollary effect of reminding those within the sport here in the Golden State of the somewhat precarious position in which it still finds itself--an important part of the economic puzzle, employing tens of thousands, but one...