Bad Karma

Lots of bad luck surrounding the now canceled HBO series of the same name when tragedies on the track forced the producers to thankfully suspend production. Three horses in the series were euthanized during the filming after suffering fatal injuries on the track and pressures from the American Human Association and PETA finally forced them to pull the plug.

I watched about five minutes of the series, found the language offensive and truly had no interest in the underside of the sport, so I am not sad to see it go. I am sad, however, that three horses had to die, although I do believe that the accidents were just part of the business and not a direct result of their filming techniques.

To underscore that point New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, ordered a investigation into the deaths of 16 races horses on the inner track at Aqueduct, which had been in use since November 30. That is a lot of coincidences and I am with the Governor on this one. That inner track at Aqueduct has long been a bone of contention among horse people and I am delighted that he has called for a formal investigation.

No one knows better than trainer Graham Motion about the fragility of these high strung animals, whose instincts often lead them into trouble. Animal Kingdom, the winner of last year's Kentucky Derby and sidelined after an injury in the Belmont, was expected to enter the Dubai World Cup at the end of the month. Those plans have been put on hold due to a stress fracture that will not require more surgery, only rest.

"We have tremendous responsibility to these animals to know what's going on," Motion told the New York Daily News. "The highs are highs and the lows are low no doubt about it."

"The complicated thing with horses is that they can't talk and tell you what's wrong with them." he continued. "We basically have to look out for them and be very conscious of what they're doing."