Hollywood Casino's Charles Town Race Course Sees More Horse Deaths in West Virginia

CHARLES TOWN, WEST VIRGINIA , USA, February 21, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Following the death of Paul’s Plunder who “was fatally injured past the eighth pole and was euthanized on the track” on February 20th at Hollywood Casino's Charles Town Race Course operated by Penn National Gaming, Animal Wellness Action executive director Marty Irby, who testified³ before Congress in support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) that was signed into law on December 27, 2020, issued the following statement:

“We’re astounded to see the number of deaths that continue to occur at Charles Town. The betting public will no longer tolerate the deaths of these horses – this isn’t Ancient Rome with games at the Colosseum and Circus Maximus, it’s 2021, and the Charles Town track has become widely known as the ‘bottom of the barrel’ when it comes to equine welfare and protection.

“It’s imperative that Penn National Gaming who operates the site and racing authorities evaluate and improve track surfaces and implement a ban on whipping and policies that prevent American racehorses from ending up dead on the track or in the slaughter pipeline, ultimately as a slab of meat on foreign dinner plates. Our iconic American equines deserve better.”

The death of Paul's Plunder was discovered through research in the racing industry's EQUIBASE database and follows the death of numerous horse deaths reported first by The Journal-News² and subsequently by the Associated Press earlier this month.

Irby, who was recently honored by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, II for his work to protect American equines led the charge within the animal protection space in support of HISA and has long advocated ending the use of the whip, and for the passage of the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, led by U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), and U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that would ban horse slaughter on U.S. soil, and ban the transport of American equines for the purposes of slaughter.

Animal Wellness Action (Action) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) organization with a mission of helping animals by promoting legal standards forbidding cruelty. We champion causes that alleviate the suffering of companion animals, farm animals, and wildlife. We advocate for policies to stop dogfighting and cockfighting and other forms of malicious cruelty and to confront factory farming and other systemic forms of animal exploitation. To prevent cruelty, we promote enacting good public policies, and we work to enforce those policies. To enact good laws, we must elect good lawmakers, and that’s why we remind voters which candidates care about our issues and which ones don’t. We believe helping animals helps us all.

Marty Irby
Animal Wellness Action
+1 202-821-5686
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WATCH NOW: Marty Irby before the Horseracing Integrity Act hearing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6UtPG2lGCw

¹ https://www.equibase.com/premium/chartEmb.cfm?track=CT&raceDate=02/20/2021&cy=USA
² https://www.journal-news.net/journal-news/horse-deaths-at-charles-town-races-raise-concerns/article_c728bbd0-a80f-51f8-8946-c87a11a5af9a.html
³ https://energycommerce.house.gov/sites/democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/files/documents/Irby_Testimony_012820.pdf