AMANDA VELLA WEIGHS IN ON THE DARK SIDE OF HORSE RACING
After we published information about Melbourne Cup winning trainer Darren Weir including video of Weir using an illegal ‘jigger’ to shock multiple horses (read more here) — Amanda Vella of Bella Vita Equine Welfare and Horse Sanctuary weighed in on her experience with Off the Track Thoroughbred horses.
AMANDA WROTE:
The Dark Side of Racing: My Experience With OTT (Off The Track) Thoroughbreds
Over the years, I’ve rescued and rehomed countless Thoroughbreds. Many of them have been directly off the track — some from small country trainers, others from high-profile stables.
The heartbreaking truth I’ve witnessed is this:
The most traumatised, broken, and shut-down horses I’ve ever taken in are almost always the 6- to 8-year-old Group 1 winners, straight from the glamour of the big-city tracks.
These are the horses who once stood in the winner’s circle, draped in rugs, surrounded by flashing cameras and champagne toasts. On the surface, they were champions. But when the lights fade and the money dries up, they come to me physically battered and emotionally destroyed.
By contrast, the soundest and most well-adjusted horses I’ve rehomed have almost always come from small owner-trainer country stables — the ones where they’re treated as individuals, not just numbers. These horses often arrive trusting, kind, and ready for their second chance at life.
This video of Weir’s abuse makes so much sense to me now.
Because I’ve seen the aftermath with my own eyes.
You can’t inflict that kind of damage in a single moment. That level of fear and trauma is layered, repeated, systematic abuse. This wouldn’t have been his first time. It wouldn’t have been his last.
And the hardest part to swallow?
He’s not the only one.
He’s just one of the few who got caught.
For every trainer exposed, there are many more hiding behind the curtain, smiling for the cameras while their horses silently suffer.
This is why I fight so hard for these horses.
Because behind every shiny trophy and glamorous race day outfit, there’s often a horse who has paid the ultimate price.
Until we face the truth and hold the entire industry accountable, this cycle of cruelty will never end.
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We’ve been threatened by those in the horse racing industry and those who benefit from horse slaughter more times than we can count.
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