Belmont Park is anything but safe for horses. New data published by the state gaming commission shows that at least 322 horses died between 2014 and 2021, making it the fourth-deadliest track in the country during that timespan.
Horses die nearly every week of racing there, with the most common cause of death being a broken limb, followed by euthanasia, said Patrick Battuello, president of the anti-horse racing nonprofit Horseracing Wrongs. The group has kept a record of horse deaths at every track in the nation since 2014.
“They may hit the dirt in an awkward way, or it’s just the exertion of being raced at that speed and their bodies can’t take it,” Battuello told New York Focus. “It’s that cumulative wear and tear on the horse’s body.” Many horses develop arthritis and continue racing through it.
But now, if New York’s state legislature approves Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal to allocate $455 million in public funds to renovate the facility, then, according to Horseracing Wrongs, doing so could only make the track even more dangerous. If the rates of death remain constant, nearly 1,000 horses will die at Belmont over the loan’s 20-year term. And that measure is likely to be approved.
The reason Belmont would get deadlier has nothing to do with the money heading its way. Instead, more horses would die because the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens would shut down and thus, more races would come to Belmont. Given the conditions at the latter, more races will mean more deaths.
Between 2017 and 2021, Belmont and Aqueduct combined had more deaths than any other track in the country with 274 fatalities. The one saving grace would be the proposed plan to make Belmont a synthetic track, which some evidence says is safer.
The New York Racing Association’ which operates Belmont, Aqueduct, and Saratoga Race Track, argues on their part that horse injuries and deaths are rare, and occur in spite of efforts made to improve safety.
“This record of safe racing is the direct result of NYRA’s commitment to implementing responsible risk mitigation strategies coupled with significant financial investments in racing surfaces and safety protocols informed by data and relevant expertise,” according to documents from New York Racing Association spokesman Richard McKenna.
However, Andrew Rein, the Commission’s president, wrote in a letter to legislators, “The downstate horse racing industry is already dependent on State subsidies…The State should work toward re-evaluating the entirety of its subsidy arrangement instead of doubling down.”
