Racehorses
Since 2016, the Fund has supported PETA’s Campaign to End Racehorse Cruelty, which opposes racing and all sports involving animals, while it also works to improve conditions for horses immediately.
In 2023 :
PETA's new investigative report revealed that U.S. federal protections for racehorses don’t apply to the youngest, most vulnerable thoroughbreds. The report was accompanied by a proposal for immediate industry reform.
In California, PETA persuaded the California Horse Racing Board to approve a new regulation to crack down on unlicensed Quarter Horse racing events that are increasingly common in California and across the United States — events involving blatant cruelty to horses as well as dangers for human participants.
In New York State, PETA Foundation attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of state taxpayers, alleging that an approved $455 million loan from the state to renovate Belmont Park — one of the deadliest U.S. tracks — is unconstitutional and must be stopped.
In 2022 :
PETA’s undercover investigation of unregulated Quarter Horse racing went public, focusing on the Rancho El Centenario "bush track" south of Atlanta -- one of over 100 such tracks that operate across the US, from California to Virginia. The Washington Post article A Horse Track with No Rules reported extensively on PETA's revelations of the drugging, whipping, and electroshocking that has led to numerous fatal outcomes for horses and their jockeys.
In 2021 :
🐴 November: In New York State, PETA supported legislation to end $230 million in annual taxpayer horse racing subsidies, joining forces with a coalition including New York Communities for Change; Alliance for Quality Education; Human Services Council; New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS); Horseracing Wrongs; New York State Humane Association; LiveOn New York; and Worker Justice Center of New York.
🐴 May: Four bettors filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in California against Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert for racketeering and fraud, after Kentucky Derby winning horse Medina Spirit tested positive for Betamethasone, a steroid that is not allowed within two weeks of racing because it masks more serious doping drugs. The precedent was the PETA-backed lawsuit that resulted in $20,000 payment to a harness racing bettor in July 2020.
🐴 March: A PETA-funded survey in New York State found 83% support across New York City, upstate and in suburban communities for redirecting revenues to public services rather than to the horse racing industry.
In 2020 :
🐴 December: The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (S. 4547/H.R. 1754) was signed into law, as part of an omnibus government funding and pandemic aid package. An early impetus for this legislation was PETA‘s 2013 investigation into treatment of racehorses including Charlie’s Quest, who we jointly rescued. PETA’s multi-pronged campaign to end drugging and other cruel racehorse treatment — which this Fund has long supported — was cited by The Washington Post editorial board among others, as the bill advanced to passage.
🐴 July: In a first-of-its kind lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey and financed by PETA, a harness-racing bettor received $20,000 to settle his claim that he was cheated out of his winnings when a doped horse won a race in New Jersey in 2016. This sets an important precedent for more bettor litigation, putting trainers and owners on notice that there is a price to pay for drugging horses. The bettor has also agreed to donate more than 1/3 of his settlement proceeds to a racehorse adoption program - a double win for racehorses!
🐴 March: After PETA's decade of work to end the use of performance-enhancing drugs that cause most fatal racehorse breakdowns, on March 9 federal prosecutors charged 27 racehorse trainers, veterinarians, and drug distributors with “a corrupt scheme to secretly dope horses and cheat the betting public in what has become a $100 billion global industry.” Then on March 13, Washington Post Opinion published its editorial board's position that Horse Racing has Outlived its Time -- citing as key evidence PETA's 2013 investigation into treatment of horses including Charlie's Quest, who was later adopted by Greg's surviving family.
In 2019, Campaign successes included a series of urgent responses after dozens of horse deaths at Santa Anita Park, California; a West Virginia racehorse necropsy program initiated after revelations of horses dumped at a landfill; and animal cruelty charges filed against a South Korean horse slaughter company.
In 2018, the Campaign led the New York State Gaming Commission to implement new anti-doping regulations.
In 2017, the Campaign introduced a new technology that allows bettors to donate for racehorse aftercare, to prevent these horses being sent to slaughter in Canada or Mexico.
In 2016, the Greg Fund worked with PETA to rescue racehorse Charlie’s Quest when he was at imminent risk of breaking down on the track, and then provided two months of rehabilitative care, before Greg's surviving family adopted him.
In 2014, during the last full year of Greg's life, he and his wife Alysoun adopted two PETA rescue horses--Henry, who had raced as Root Beer Float, and another horse named Caroline.