Defund NY Horse Racing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 10, 2021

STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO KENTUCKY DERBY WINNER TESTING POSITIVE FOR DRUGS

NEW YORK -- Following the announcement today that Medina Spirit, the Kentucky Derby winner, tested positive for an excessive presence of betamethasone, organizations New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS) and PETA condemned the corrupt horse racing system and called on New York State to stop directing millions of dollars in subsidies to prop up this failing industry. Note: 2,000 horses die on U.S. racing tracks every year, and many more spent horses are sent to slaughter. 17 horses have died on the tracks at Belmont in just a few months. NYCLASS is co-hosting a huge June 5 protest at Belmont Park during the Belmont Stakes.

Edita Birnkrant, Executive Director of NYCLASS said, "Like nearly every event in the horse racing industry, the Kentucky Derby is now engulfed in another doping scandal. The news that Medina Spirit tested positive for an excessive amount of betamethasone is extremely troubling, but entirely unsurprising. From forced doping to abusive training to deplorable conditions, this heavily subsidized industry has a long history of corrupt and deadly practices. In New York and beyond, it is time to end corporate welfare for horse racing and redirect funds elsewhere to make people's lives better."

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