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"TRAINER OF THE YEAR" RUNS HORSE TO DEATH
- signatures:
- signature goal: 10,000
- Target: THOROUGHBRED RACING / U.S. HOUSE COMMERCE SUBCOMMITTEE
- Sponsored by: Friends of Equines FOES of Equine Slaughter
Heavenly Perfect, a descendent of War Admiral was just
a number to the racing industry - The heart of a racehorse
can be their demise.
To the people who rescued her, Heavenly Perfect, known
to those who loved her as Melody, was a beautiful loving
mare who lured you into her stall with her low loving nickers
and then when you went into her stall she was there to wrap
her head around you and give you a big horsy hug. To other
horses Melody was nice mare that was the peacekeeper of
her small herd. She got along with everyone and made sure
no one was picked on. But, to the racing industry Melody was
a number... she was tattoo number G24671,
she was known as Heavenly Perfect, a descendent of War
Admiral.
Heavenly perfect was born in 2003 and bred by Magali
Ventures, LLC, she was sold at Barretts Equine Limited
October 2004 Sale of Preferred Yearlings for $33,000.
She had what they wanted, a potential earner and the
heart of a racehorse.
Life does not always end as it begins, for many
racehorses there is a cruel twist that changes their life
and not for the better. Melody was rescued from going
to the slaughterhouse in Mexico on May 23, 2008.
She had run her last physical race 10 days prior and this
time the only wagering going on was between the
killbuyers and the rescuers. It was a claiming race
taking place at a cold dark kill auction in Sugarcreek,
Ohio and if Melody lost, the price would be her life.
That day, Melody and the other horses won their race,
... They were rescued.
Sometimes in rescue the most you can do is give the
horses a last chapter that is filled with love and kindness
and a dignified ending. On June 7th Melody was brought
into the hospital because of a bout with colic, which she
was able to get through. What was discovered at the
hospital was disgraceful. Melody not only had laminitis
but it was evident from the x-rays that this rotation began
over 5 months ago, by the time she came to us her coffin
bone was nearly coming through her sole on both front feet.
Melody had 3 chips in her knees, one in the 4th Carpel bone
and 2 in her joints, the x-rays also showed that she had at
least 2 fractures, one in her second carpel bone and one in
her radial carpel bone. These injuries were not new. On a
scale of 1 to 10, ten being the worst, Melody´s arthritis was
an 8.
Here are some videos of her last three (3) races. They are
so close in time, you just got to know she was hurting in every
one of them, but look how hard she tried to win, even with
founder, fracture, chipped knees and arthiritis.
What a heart she had for the race and to please her
heartless owner!
PLEASE NOTE: These are YouTube Videos and you can leave
your comments on them underneath the vids, and we ask
that you PLEASE DO and let the world know what you think
of Hollendorfer running Heavenly Perfect in the condition
she was! We WILL NOT let him get away with
it but will make an example of him for all others.
He is now our International Posterboy of Racehorse
Cruelty. Welcome to the Horseracing Hall of Shame, Jerry!
Bay Meadows on Mar 23, 2008 in Race 9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZl7gyB-cBY
Bay Meadows on April 6, 2008 in Race 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PJFupVJHvQ
River Downs on May 13, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thzyC6bqqas
One would think that months ago Melody would have
quit racing, but no, her trainers would get everything
they could out of this mare. Her last race was May 13th,
2008, where the only comment about her was " a steady
fade." What would you expect in her condition, her trainer
and owner was Jerry Hollendorfer. Click below to see his
bio, ranked as the 4th "winningest owner
and trainer in all of North America whos
horses have won him over $90,000.000!
http://www.goldengatefields.com/Handicapping/TrainerBios/JerryHollendorfer/
Jerry Hollendorfer is not new to the racing industry nor
was he new to Heavenly Perfect. According to Equineline
Database he and his partner George Todaro obtained her
in a claiming race in October of 2006. Hollendorfer
developed a reputation as a claiming trainer, but in a
career turning point, Hollendorfer turned
$16,000 claimer Novel Sprite into a $467,586
multiple stakes winner, to receive the Horsemen's
Benevolent and Protection Association's 1986 Claimer
of the Year award. Selected as California Thoroughbred
Breeders Association Trainer of the Year in 1995. With
over 5,000 training victories, his horses have earned
more than $91 million. AS of May 13th Holledorger was
still her owner and trainer of record and on May 13th
Hollendorfer raced Heavenly Perfect at River Downs
Racetrack in Ohio in the condition she was in, the only
comment on her chart said "steady fade."
We called Hollendorfer´s facility to get a comment but
did not receive a return phone call. On May 23, 2008,
10 days after her last race, she was sent to the kill
auction in Sugarcreek, Ohio. On May 23, 2008 with the
combined efforts of the Victoria McCullough Founder of
the Triumph Project through the Davis/McCullough
Foundation and Pure Thoughts, Heavenly Perfect was safe.
The Triumph Project was formed in November 2007 to
assist in raising awareness about horse slaughter and
horse welfare. It is the hope of the "Triumph Project"
that enlightenment of the senseless cruelty that lurks within
the shadows be brought forward and the horses have an
ally and are given a voice.
On July 8th, Melody was laid to rest, no longer would
she endure the pain. Victoria McCullough promised this
mare she would soon be in greener pasture. The
realization of the cruelty to the horses was said
eloquently by Victoria "
For myself and the "Davis McCullough Foundation
we are learning everyday that it is not enough to
save the horses from needless slaughter, there is
yet another abuse that rests in silence, it is
unspeakable that any horse endure this painful
road to a premature death thankfully given in dignity
instead of at the hand of an inhuman and callous worker
with a knife to sever her spine as a reward for her
gallant heart."
This brave mare touched the heart of many in her
short time with us, Dr. Robert Smith somberly stated,
"Melody was an exceptional horse, I am very sorry
that a mare with such a heart had to be put down."
It was not the slaughterhouse that killed Melody....
it was her heart.... the heart of a racehorse. They give
their heart and soul to their passion... the race. They
give their heart and soul to their trainers/owners.
These racehorses give their heart and soul to the
racing industry... who in turn, .... chew it up, spit it
out and send the horses to a tortuous end.
If only, 6 months ago, the people in charge of
Heavenly Perfect´s well being had given back
to her what she had given to them, she would
be alive today. A change must be made.
PLEASE NOTE: If you would like more information
about this story of Heavenly Perfect, please
contact Jennifer Swanson, one of the original
rescuers, by emailing her here; (below)
Jennifer@PureThoughtsHorseRescue.com
or visiting her website here;
www.PTHR.org
PLEASE NOTE: For those of you like us who are
determined to see justice done in Heavenly Perfects case,
there is a Thoroughbred Racing Industry Congressional
House Subcomitte studying race-horse abuse and is calling
for more over-sight. I am sure they woud love to hear of the
torture Mr Jerry Hollendorfer put poor Heavenly Perfect
through by forcing her to race time and time again knowing
she was not fit to race.
Here is a list with some of the SubCommitte-members names
and websites. Please note that they do not answer emails from
people in any state but their own, but the sites do have telephone numbers & addresses if you want to call or write.
These are the only people who really want to know and to do something about it.
We hope everyone will contact them with their concerns about
the mistreatment of Heavenly Perfect and hopefully we will see
Jerry Hollendofer sitting in the hot seat before the next
Congressional Hearing on the Maltreatment of race horses.
You can see videos of these congressional hearings below.
Here you can see how serious they are about correcting
these sorts of problems. Once you open the link, click on
the big red button to the right to activate the media player.
Be sure to "undock" it for the larger picture.
Watch it, get mad, and then contact the Representatives
listed below the link;
http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=206060-1
Contact:
The Thoroughbred Horse Racing House Commerce Subcomitte,
Washington, DC
Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Il.)
http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/
Ranking Member, Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY)
http://whitfield.house.gov/
Rep. Cliff Sterns (R-Fla)http://www.house.gov/stearns/Congressman/Biography.html
Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb)
http://leeterry.house.gov/
Joe Pitts (R-Pa)
http://www.house.gov/pitts/
PLEASE ALSO NOTE: That because of incidents like this, where rescuers discover lame horses being raced, race horse owners and trainers are not bringing their "unwanted" horses to auctions anymore, but are being them to MEL HOOVERS STABLES in New Holland, Pa, where Mel promices them that the horse will be destroyed. Mels is a "direct to slaughter" stable where the horses have NO chance of being rescued. Please see and sign the petition against MEL HOOVER in the link below;
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/horsekiller-has-secret-pact-w-racehorse-owners
ALSO, Below are listed some major Racing Industry
Organizations and Media Outlets you may also want to
contact and let them know what you think of Mr. Jerry
Hollendorfer and what he did to Heavenly Perfect:
RACING INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS
American Horse Council
Washington, D.C.
(202) 296-4031
Association of Racing Commissioners International
Lexington, KY(859) 224-7070
Equibase Company LLC
Lexington, KY(859) 224-2860
Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association
Lexington, KY(859) 259-0451
InCompass Lexington, KY(859) 296-3000
International Racing Bureau Lexington, KY(859) 223-3597
Jockeys' Guild Nicholasville, KY(866) 465-6257
National Racing Compact Lexington, KY(877) 457-2538
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
Lexington, KY(859) 245-6872
National Turf Writers Association Lexington, KY(859) 219-9437
Racing Medication and Testing Consortium
Lexington, KY(859) 224-2844
The Jockey Club New York, NY(212) 371-5970
The Jockey Club Lexington, KY(859) 224-2700
The Jockey Club Foundation New York, NY(212) 371-5970
Thoroughbred Horsemen's Associations, Inc.
Columbia, MD(410) 740-4900
Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association
Lexington, KY(859) 276-2291
Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America
Elkton, MD(410) 392-9200
Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau
Elkton, MD(410) 398-2261
Turf Publicists of America
Elmont, NY (516) 204-5078
United States Equestrian Federation, Inc.
Lexington, KY(859) 258-2472
North American Racing Academy
Lexington, KY(859) 256-3100
University of Louisville Equine Industry Program
Louisville, KY (502) 852-7617
Winners Federation
Wilmington, DE(302) 383-7233
Animal Welfare (Horse Protection Act)
Riverdale, MD(301) 734-7833
National Center for Animal Health Surveillance
Fort Collins, CO (970) 494-7200
RACING PUBLICATIONS:
Daily Racing Form New York, NY(212) 366-7600
The Blood-Horse Lexington, KY(859) 278-2361
Thoroughbred Daily News Red Bank, NJ(732) 747-8060
Thoroughbred Times Lexington, KY(859) 260-9800
THOROUGHBRED RETIREMENT FACILITIES
CANTER (810) 796-9239
Kentucky Equine Humane Center
(859) 881-5849
New Vocations (614) 771-6825
Old Friends (502) 863-1775
ReRun (732) 521-1370
The Exceller Fund (818) 429-3418
Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation
(518) 226-0028
UNITED STATES EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION
Executive
David O'Connor President
(859) 225 - 2046
doconnor@usef.org
John Long CEO
(859) 225 - 6912
jlong@usef.org
Karen Adams Executive Assistant
(859) 225 - 2046 kcadams@usef.org
Olivia Arden Sr. Business Analyst
(859) 225 - 2030 oarden@usef.org
Abigail Cook Legislative Coordinator
(859) 225 - 2057 acook@usef.org
Marketing
Kathy Meyer SVP,
Marketing/Communications
(859) 225 - 6941 kmeyer@usef.org
Stacey Meier Director, National Marketing
(859) 225 - 6974 smeier@usef.org
Brian SosbyEditor, EQUESTRIAN Magazine(859) 225 - 6934 bsosby@usef.org
Sarah EversManaging Editor
(859) 225 - 6937 severs@usef.org
NORTH AMERICAN MEDIA OUTLETS & TURF WRITERS
AAAA
Albany Times Union
Tim Farkas & Matt Graves
(518) 454-5413 (518) 454-5819
tusports@timesunion.com
Arizona Republic
Dave Lumia & Mark Armijo
(602) 444-8641 (602) 444-8686
sports@arizonarepublic.com
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Wally Hall Robert Yates
(501) 378-3411 (501) 375-4521
Asbury Park Press
John Quinn Howard Bass
(732) 643-4000 (732) 643-4015
sports@app.com
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don Boykin & Mike Tierney
(404) 526-5488 (404) 526-5977
sports@ajc.com
BBBBBB
Baltimore Sun
Jack Gibbons, Jr. &Tom Keyser
(410) 332-6565(410) 783-2518
sun.features@baltsun.com
Boston Globe
Don Skwar & Ron Indrisano
(617) 929-2840 (617) 929-2670
sports@globe.com
Boston Herald
Mark Torpey& Ed Gray
(800) 234-5680 (617) 619-6430
sports@bostonherald.com
Buffalo News
Howard Smith & Bob Summers
(716) 849-4461 (716) 849-4587
sports@buffnews.com
CCCCCC
Calgary Herald
Tom Moloney& Doug Abraham
(403) 235-7373
sports@theherald.southam.ca
Calgary Sun
Martin Hudson & Ron Manz
(403) 250-4141 (403) 250-4180
cal-sports@calgarysun.com
Chicago Sun Times
Bill Adee & Jim O%u2019Donnell
(312) 321-2664 (312) 645-9213
sports@suntimes.com
Chicago Tribune
Dan McGrath & Neil Milbert
(312) 222-3474 (312) 828-9392
sports@tribune.com
Cincinnati Enquirer
Julie Engebrecht & Jack Murray
(513) 768-8438 (513) 768-8550
tempo@enquirer.com
Cincinnati Post
Frank Carini & Richard Skinner
(513) 352-2767 (513) 621-3962
postsports@cincipost.com
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Roy Hewitt & Bob Roberts
(216) 999-4370 (216) 999-6276
sports@plaind.com
Columbus Dispatch
Danny Goodwin & Brad Schmaltz
(614) 461-8522 (614) 461-8798
post@dispatch.com
DDDDDDD
Daily Oklahoman
Mike Sherman & Jerry Shottenkirk
(405) 475-3314 (405) 475-3315
msherman@oklahoman.com
Dallas Morning News
Bob Yates & Gary West
(214) 977-8444 (214) 651-0580
dmnsports@dallasnews.com
Des Moines Register
Randy Brubaker & Dan Johnson
(515) 284-8130 (515) 284-8391
dansjohn@dmreg.com
Detroit Free Press
Gene Myers & Gene Guidi
(313) 222-6661 (313) 222-5983
sports@freepress.com
Detroit News
Bill McMillan NA
(313) 222-2260 (313) 222-6019
sports@detnews.com
FFFFFFF
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Celeste Williams & Tim Price
(817) 390-7401(817) 390-7210
sports@star-telegram.com
HHHHHHH
Houston Chronicle
Dan Cunningham & Richard Dean
(713) 220-7891(713) 362-7866
fred.fauor@chron.com
LLLLLLL
Las Vegas Review Journal
Jay Richards & Richard Eng
(702) 383-0298(702) 383-0302
rich_eng@yahoo.com
Lexington Herald-Leader
Gene Abell & Maryjean Wall
(859) 231-3236(859) 231-1451
hlfeatures@heraldleader.com
Los Angeles Daily News
Michael Anastasi &Kevin Modesti
(818) 713-3627(818) 713-3436
dnlasports@dailynews.com
Los Angeles Times
Bill Dwyre & Bill Christine
(213) 237-3569(213) 237-7876
sports@latimes.com
Louisville Courier-Journal
Harry Bryan & Jennie Rees
(502) 582-4361(502) 582-7186
sports@courier-journal.com
MMMMMMM
Miami Herald
Richard Bush & Clark Spencer
(305) 376-3500(305) 376-2295
sports@herald.com
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Glenn Crevier & Rachel Blount
(612) 673-4447(612) 673-7774
sports@gwstartribune.com
NNNNNNN
New Orleans Times-Picayune
David Meeks & Bob Fortus
(504) 826-3405(504) 826-3401
sports@timespicayune.com
New York Daily News
Leon Carter & Sherry Ross
(212) 210-1671(212) 643-7845
sherrydarlingnj@aol.com
New York Post
Greg Gallo & Ed Fountaine
(212) 930-8000(212) 930-8727
sports@nypost.com
New York Times
Tom Jolly & Joe Drape
(212) 556-7381(212) 556-5848
sports@nytimes.com
Newark Star-Ledger
Chris D%u2019Amico & Tom Lucci
(973) 392-4023(973) 392-5445
sports@starledger.com
Newsday
Steve Ruinski & Paul Moran
(516) 843-2810(516) 454-6892
sports@newsday.com
OOOOOOO
Oakland Tribune
John Becker & Dennis Miller
(925) 416-4803(925) 416-4874
incoming@agnewspapers.com
Omaha World Herald
Steve Sinclair & Mike Patterson
(402) 444-1311(402) 344-3343
sports@owh.com
Orange County Register
Bill Gibson NA (714) 796-7804(714) 796-6765
sports@ocregister.com
PPPPPPP
Palm Beach Post
Tim Burke NA(561) 820-4440 561) 820-4481
Philadelphia Daily News
Caesar Alksop & Dick Jerardi
(215) 854-5700(215) 854-5524
dnsports@phillynews.com
Philadelphia Inquirer
Jim Jenks NA (215) 854-4550(215) 854-4564
gmiles@phillynews.com
SSSSSSS
Sacramento Bee
Armondo Acuna & Debbie Arrington
(916) 441-4100(916) 326-5503
sidetracks@sacbee.com
San Antonio Express News
Mitchell Krugel& Lee Scheide
(210) 351-7330(210) 250-3371
sports@express-news.net
San Diego Union Tribune
Chuck Scott & Hank Wesch
(619) 293-1342(619) 293-2443
sports@uniontrib.com
San Francisco Chronicle
Glen Schwarz & Larry Stumes
(415) 777-7201(415) 543-3754
lstumes@sfchronicle.com
San Jose Mercury News
Mike Guersch & Ron Bergman
(408) 920-5354(408) 920-5244
sports@sjmercury.com
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ron Mathes& Larry Lee Palmer
(206) 448-8370(206) 448-8164
sports@seattlepi.com
Seattle Times
Cathy Henkel & Mart Koivastik
(206) 464-8278(206) 464-3255
sports@seattletimes.com
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Fred Turner & Dave Joseph
(954)356-4635(954) 356-4676
djoseph@sun-sentinel.com
St. Petersburg Times
Jack Sheppard & Bernie Dickman
(727) 893-8123(727) 893-8782
sptsnews@sptimes.com
TTTTTTT
Tacoma News Tribune
Dale Phelps
(253) 597-8681(253) 597-8360
sports@mail.tribnet.com
Tampa Tribune
Mike Pennetti NA
(813) 259-7655(813) 259-8148
sports@tampatrib.com
Toronto Globe
Steve McAllister & Beverly Smith
(416) 585-5333(416) 585-5085
globesports@globeandmail.ca
Toronto Star
Graham Farley & John Chuun
(416) 869-4361(416) 865-3999
sports@thestar.com
Toronto Sun
Pat Grier & Rob Longley
(416) 947-2266(416) 947-2454
copy@tor.sunpub.com
VVVVVVV
Vancouver Province
Paul Chapman &Tom Wolski
(604) 605-2014(604) 605-2223
provsports@png.canwest.com
Vancouver Sun
Steve Snelgrove & Dennis Feser
(604) 605-2395(604) 605-2524
sunsports@png.canwest.com
WWWWWWW
Washington Post
George Solomon& Andrew Beyer
(202) 334-7350(202) 334-7685
sports@washpost.com
WIRE SERVICES
The Associated Press
Rich Rosenblatt
(212) 621-1631(212) 621-1639
rrosenblatt@ap.org
The Associated Press
Beth Harris
(213) 626-1200 (213) 346-0200
bharris@ap.org
Bloomberg News
Pete Coates
(609) 750-4688(646) 268-5238
pcoates@bloomberg.net
Canadian Press
Neil Davidson
(416) 507-2154(416) 507-2074
ndavidson@cp.org
Reuters
Larry Fine
(646) 223-6290(646) 223-6299
larry.fine@reuters.com
United Press International
Bob Kieckhefer
(312) 781-1608(312) 781-1603
rkieck@aol.com
NATIONAL DAILIES, MAGAZINES & PUBLICATIONS
USA Today
Tom Pedulla
(703) 276-3693 (703) 284-3381
tpedulla@usatoday.com
Reid Cherner (703) 854-3694
rcherner@usatoday.com
Sports Illustrated
Mark Godich
(212) 522-5630 (212) 977-4540
mark.godich@simail.com
The Sporting News
Barry Reeves
(314) 993-7759 (314) 993-7794
breeves@sportingnews.com
Newsweek
Mark Starr
(617) 425-0077 (617) 425-5199
mstarr@newsweek.com
Time
Bill Saporito
(212) 522-2004 (212) 522-3002
bill_saporito@timemagazine.com
THOROUGHBRED OUTLETS
Daily Racing Form
Rich Rosenbush
(212) 366-7651 (212) 366-7718
John Eastwood
jeastwood@drf.com
Equibase
Rhonda Norby
(859) 224-2856 (859) 224-2811
rnorby@equibase.com
NTRA Communications
Eric Wing
(212) 907-9283 (212) 927-9281
ewing@ntra.com
The Blood-Horse
Ray Paulick
(606) 278-2361 (606) 276-4450
Ron Mitchell
Rmitchell@bloodhorse.com
Thoroughbred Daily News
Andy Belfiore
(732) 747-8955 (732) 847-8955
Thoroughbred Times
Mark Simon
(606) 260-9800 (606) 260-9812
Michele MacDonald
mmacdonald@thoroughbredtimes.com
TVG
Shawna McLean
(310) 979-5046 (310) 207-7310
smclean@tvgnetwork.com
Tim Rutter
(310) 979-5056 (310) 207-7310
Winner Communications
Chris Lincoln
(918) 496-1900 (918) 496-8606
clincoln@winnercomm.com
NATIONAL CABLE NETWORKS
ESPN News
Vince Doria
(860) 585-2330 (860) 585-2213ESPN
SportsCenter
Bob Eaton
(860) 585-2135 (860) 585-2422
Fox Sports Net
Steve Hauser
(310) 369-9160 (310) 969-6049
Thank you.
This petition is now closed.
Please take action on these important issues below., this petition is now closed.
Please take action on these important issues below., this petition is now closed.
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