"There have been 12 fatalities at Saratoga since racing began July 13"

LAT's brief write-up. "Last year the racecourse had 15 deaths total."

"Gruesome scene" as a horse had to be euthanized on the track during a Preakness undercard race

The jockey was taken to the hospital.

"The death count at Churchill Downs grew to seven in a week"

"five horses were scratched from the Kentucky Derby."

A race horse threw its rider and fled down the highway before being captured

Just in: Ellis Park officials tell Eyewitness News a race horse bucked its rider and escaped the track before the first race this afternoon. It traveled along US-41 before the owner managed to rescue it at the Evansville Water Department. pic.twitter.com/YWbaklhDaO

— Blake Sandlin (@BlakeSandlin) August 21, 2021

UPDATE: Ellis Park officials confirm race horse who escaped the track this afternoon is doing "okay," but has minor cuts and scrapes. Officials say the horse managed to run several miles on the Interstate to the water treatment plant near downtown.

Video Credit: Cullen Stanley. pic.twitter.com/lYIbFj4EG6

— Noah Alatza (@noahalatza) August 21, 2021

Race horse safe after escaping Ellis Park >> https://t.co/Mz5zJHZzJw pic.twitter.com/rESxz9TKug

— 14 News (@14News) August 21, 2021

"Bob Baffert has been suspended by Churchill Downs after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for the topical steroid cream betamethasone"

SI:

"I don't know what's going on in racing right now, but there's something not right," Baffert said in a press conference at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning. "I don't feel embarrassed, I feel like I was wronged. We're going to do our own investigation. 

I just write these posts annually.

the trainer doesnt control what the horse does off the court https://t.co/fJEWo24Zqo

— sir archibald snopes (@MostCrucified) May 9, 2021

A roundup of the nonsense from yesterday's Kentucky Derby

ESPN:

Authentic dueled with Tiz the Law in the final turn and upset the heavy favorite to win the 146th Kentucky Derby

...

Baffert tied Ben Jones for the most wins by a trainer.

...

Baffert's other horse on Saturday, Thousand Words, acted up in the paddock, reared up and fell on his side shortly before post time. He was scratched by the veterinarians. Kathy Anderson, the on-call veterinarian at the Derby, said afterward that Thousand Words was returned to the stable area and was "cleared for service with not a scratch upon him" after being examined.

Baffert said his assistant, Jim Barnes, broke his arm trying to get a saddle on the unruly colt.

...

Baffert later took a spill, too. In the winner's circle, the long ribbons hanging off the garland of red roses kept hitting Authentic's hind leg, agitating him, and in turn he knocked the trainer to the ground. Baffert had to be helped up.

NYT:

But the fact that Baffert is a Hall of Famer, one who was recently suspended by the Arkansas Racing Commission for 15 days and who vacated the victories of two of his horses after they tested positive for a banned substance, puts the seamier side of horse racing in the spotlight once more.

...

The Arkansas violations were his 26th and 27th drug violations, according to public records compiled by the Association of Racetrack Commissioners International and the Thoroughbred Regulatory Rulings database maintained by the Jockey Club.

In addition, the Baffert-trained Justify failed a drug test after winning the Santa Anita Derby, nearly a month before the 2018 Kentucky Derby. Justify wound up winning the Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont that year for the Triple Crown.

Authentic had 4200 "micro-owners":

The 1-year-old online app MyRacehorse.com has sold 12,500 shares of Authentic for $206 per share.

...

His company, which he says is responsible for “the democratization of racehorse ownership,” has sold 70,000 shares in 47 horses in the last year and owns 12½% of Authentic. Some people buy only one or two shares, he said. Others buy more

...

So how much will micro-owners get if Authentic wins the Kentucky Derby? It’s complicated.

Horse wins Kentucky Derby, investors who have fractional ownership in horse, Authentic, are told by @MyRacehorse (MRH) that win money will go to former owners as part of previous agreement (via @SwiftHitter) pic.twitter.com/x75cWGtoRi

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 6, 2020

What is happening today? Down goes Baffert. pic.twitter.com/IYWJIL9cqK

— Anthony Biase (@AnthonyBiase) September 5, 2020

"Mike Pence says Triple Crown winner American Pharoah bit him. Did the horse do it?"

Miami Herald:

Vice President Mike Pence says Triple Crown winner American Pharoah bit him hard enough on the arm during a 2018 visit to Kentucky that he nearly collapsed.

But

*Previously: "Human bites can be fatally infectious even to other humans"

"Justify Failed a Drug Test Before Winning the [2018] Triple Crown"

NYT:

It was the perfect ending to an improbable journey for a talented horse, his eclectic ownership group, and his Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert.

Only a few people, however, knew the secret that Baffert carried with him into the winner’s circle that day: Justify had failed a drug test weeks before the first race in the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby. That meant Justify should not have run in the Derby, if the sport’s rules were followed.

They were not, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. Instead of the failed drug test causing a speedy disqualification, the California Horse Racing Board took more than a month to confirm the results. Then, instead of filing a public complaint as it usually does, the board made a series of decisions behind closed doors as it moved to drop the case and lighten the penalty for any horse found to have the banned substance that Justify tested positive for in its system.

...

In retirement, Justify mates as often as three times a day. Coolmore, the international breeding concern that bought Justify’s breeding rights, receives as much as $150,000 for a mating, or $450,000 a day over a five-month breeding season.

*Previously: "Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls, Once a Secret Society, Now Prance in Public"

"Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls, Once a Secret Society, Now Prance in Public"

NYT with lots of photos:

A dozen girls waited in line in a Helsinki arena for the dressage competition, ready to show off their riding skills, their faces masks of concentration.

The judge put them through their paces — walk, trot, canter — and then asked them for a three-step rein-back, that classic test of a dressage horse’s training and obedience. The judge looked on gravely, occasionally taking notes.

If anyone thought it strange that the girls were riding sticks, no one let on. The make-believe world of the hobbyhorse girls extended as far as the eye could see.

A veterinarian lectured girls on hobbyhorse vaccination schedules, saying “check that the eyes are clear and there is no nasal discharge.” The girls discussed hobbyhorse bloodlines and hobbyhorse temperaments, hobbyhorse training routines and hobbyhorse diets. There were rhinestone-studded bridles for sale.

...

It is impossible to say exactly when the Finnish hobbyhorse craze began, because it spread for years under the radar before adults became aware of it.

...

within the rapidly expanding community of enthusiasts, the problem of ridicule really doesn’t come up. “I haven’t run into that sort of situation in a long time,” she said. “I live in a bubble that is filled with hobbyhorses.”

Pas-De-Deux Vaulting - Italy claims gold! FEI World Equestrian Games 2018

Tryon2018:

VAULTING is simply described as gymnastics on horseback, and has a history as an equestrian act at circuses, but its origins stretch back at least two thousand years. Vaulting is a harmonious bond between horse and athlete that creates awe-inspiring acrobatic displays of skill and precision.

All vaulting routines—team, individual, and freestyle—are performed on the back of a cantering horse, traveling in a circle and attached to a lunge line. Competitors are judged on their ability to smoothly execute compulsory movements demonstrating strength, flexibility, and balance during their routines. The horses are an important part of the team and, like the human gymnasts, are also judged on their performance.

Justify's win

First time seeing this since I was at the race. Kind of strange how Baffert’s other horse was there to block instead of to win. Dangerous for sure. Gamesmanship or unfair? pic.twitter.com/A8leGGnBoG

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 11, 2018

Justify’s breeding deal with Coolmore is now worth $85 million, $25 million win bonus for winning Triple Crown.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 9, 2018

"Belmont controversy erupts: Did alliance ensure a Justify victory?"

"Two weeks before the Belmont Stakes and a chance at the Triple Crown, a deal has been reached for the breeding rights to Justify"

ESPN:

The buyer is Coolmore, who bought the breeding rights to the last Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah, and the price is in the $60 million range

...

Justify is the most famous offspring of Scat Daddy, which Coolmore stood at stud from 2008 to 2015, when the horse died.

Justify was purchased at the Keeneland yearling sale less than a year after Scat Daddy's death for $500,000 by the China Horse Club and Winstar Farm.

This year, Scat Daddy became the first sire in 95 years to produce four starters in the Kentucky Derby