PETA Global AU 2023 Issue 1

the neck during races. PETA caught several jockeys on video with these abusive devices taped to their wrists.

Quarter Horse races before they were sold into the underground circuit. Owners can often make more money in these races than they would be able to in regulated racing. Take Action Now PETA has asked local and state law enforcement to prosecute electroshocked or injected with street drugs and there will be no more gruesome breakdowns. Please join us in urging the American Quarter Horse Association to ban any jockeys, trainers, or owners who participate in unregulated black market races. Visit PETA.org/UndergroundRacing . illegal conduct so that no more horses will be

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Breakneck Speed, Battered Bodies The doping, whipping, and electroshocking puts horses at extreme risk of accidents and fatal injuries. Horses at these unsanctioned tracks break down frequently, usually ending in death. PETA filmed a race in March 2022 in which both participating horses died. One of the horses staggered on two badly broken front legs before collapsing and eventually being shot in the head. The winning horse died of a "heart attack," likely caused by having been doped and overdriven. A typical race day involves up to 20 of these potentially deadly races. Some jockeys also suffered severe – even fatal – injuries. Small Tracks, Big Bucks Gambling is a major part of these black market races. In addition to admission fees of up to $100, people openly wagered amounts that appeared to add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s a lucrative business, and some of the horses in these illicit races had previously been used in mainstream

Mother and foal: © Christy berry/Shuttersto k.com

A jockey wears shock devices on his wrists.

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Woman in balaclava: © iStock.com/MykolaSenyuk • Bolt cutters: © iStock.com/ivan-96 • Barbed wire: © iStock.com/AlxeyPnferov • Poodle illustration: © iStock.com/chronicler101 Cocaine, Meth, and Death

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Jockey Roman Chapa rode a horse who fell and was fatally injured; Chapa later died from his own severe injuries.

Underground Bush Track Races

PETA Is Stopping

Racers experiment with drug cocktails to rev horses up and mask injuries.

PETA undercover investigators pulled back the curtain on this clandestine underworld of crime and cruelty, where racegoers wager hundreds of thousands of dollars and trainers and jockeys drug, whip, and electroshock horses in an effort to win at any cost. For months, a team of PETA operatives investigated unregulated Quarter Horse racing in Georgia, primarily at the largest bush track in the state, Rancho El Centenario, which is south of Atlanta. Brazen Doping PETA’s investigators caught race teams injecting horses in the neck shortly before races, often right on the racetrack. A variety of drug cocktails are used to rev horses up, mask injuries, and kill pain in hopes of achieving maximum speed. PETA was able to

collect 27 syringes or needles on six different dates, and laboratory testing revealed that the syringes contained cocaine, methamphetamine, Ritalin, and caffeine, sometimes mixed together. Whipped and Electroshocked PETA recorded jockeys whipping horses mercilessly during races, often over 20 times in a row, and other teammembers striking the horses from behind just as the starting gates opened. Jockeys and handlers whipped and hit horses before races, during loading into the starting gate, and inside the gate, either as punishment or as an attempt to control unruly behavior likely caused by the drugs. Many jockeys use electric shock devices (aka “batteries,” “buzzers,” “machines,” “ chicharras ,” or “ máquinas ”) to zap horses in

PETA found this carcass of a horse rotting just a few feet away from the track.

W hat in the world is a “bush track”? These underground racetracks are the dark underbelly of the wider Quarter Horse racing industry, which profits from breeding and selling horses who excel at sprinting a quarter-mile or less and then looks the other way when the same horses are exploited at secretive tracks.

“ The doping, whipping, and electroshocking puts horses at extreme risk of accidents and fatal injuries. ”

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FELONIES AND FATALITIES

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