Pain-killers, anti-inflammatory drugs, cocaine and cobra venom — whatever it takes to keep the race going, keep the money coming. Splayed bone shards, shattered ankles, lungs full of blood — we rip them limb-from-limb. While some novel element of tragedy may yet be discovered in the particulars of the 12 dead at Churchill Downs, there’s no mystery in the near-identical deaths that have marred American race tracks for years.
There’s no more need to ask why. Whatever killed those 12 racehorses, it’s the same cause of death it’s always been. It’s us.
https://www.salon.com/2023/06/10/horse-kentucky-derby-belmont-stakes-2023/