On March 31, 2019, a 5-year-old racehorse named Arms Runner was injured so badly during a race at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California that he ultimately had to be euthanized. Even worse, he wasn’t the only one. Last year, he was just one of thirty-seven horses to needlessly die at the park. How did this happen? The U.S. horseracing industry is notorious for forcing injured or sick animals to continue competing by pumping them full of pain medication to mask their underlying conditions. This is a dangerous practice that’s led to a string of tragic and preventable deaths for these over-worked, exploited creatures.
It’s too late to help Arms Runner and the other 36 horses that died, but we can still help those who remain. That’s why we’re asking the U.S. Congress to pass the Horseracing Integrity Act. This bill would protect all U.S. racehorses by creating a uniform national standard for drug testing. It would also ban all medications within 24 hours of a race and would create an independent authority to develop and administer a nationwide anti-doping control program for the horseracing industry. These measures would be lifesaving, and they can’t come soon enough! Sign the petition to demand that the U.S. Congress pass the Horseracing Integrity Act to help save the lives of countless innocent horses!