By Nicole Arciello | Executive Director
Every day, we at Horseracing Wrongs are working to be a voice for the horses and end their suffering.
As the only organization in United States solely focused on ending the cruel horseracing industry, Horseracing Wrongs is building momentum and our campaigns are mobilizing thousands to become advocates for the horses.
When Patrick and I began our mission in 2013 to expose (and end) the cruel, deadly horseracing industry, we were told that we were delusional extremists and admonished to work with the industry on reform. But we stayed firm in our message, maintaining our undying faith that progress would come. And it has.
In 2016, we started protesting at one track, NY's famed Saratoga Race Course. These protests gained traction, quickly drawing a large number of advocates, which attracted local media - amplifying our message. Through social media, the message spread even further - from coast to coast! We knew we had to build a community and empower local advocates by providing resources for them to join the mission and fight for the horses.
In 2017, we became a non-profit to build that community, and by doing so we built a movement. People like you who love horses and believe in this mission are what make this community strong!
Now the horses need your help more than ever as we grow and expand. Having regular funding that we can count on allows us to strategize and use our resources most efficiently. This means that your money can go further! And joining us now as a monthly donor can help us continue our work of educating and creating a more compassionate world for the horses!
OUR PROGRAMS:
Media Communication
Patrick works closely with media sharing our seminal data and cruelty investigations. In 2021, Horseracing Wrongs was featured by 22 media outlets including The New Yorker and the Philadelphia Inquirer. With the latter, Patrick helped sway the Editorial Board to call for an end to horseracing, in April 2021. Previously, Patrick worked with The Washington Post, which in addition to its board also calling for an end to horseracing, offered Patrick our own stand-alone op-ed.
Policy Changes
As a result of our years of exposing tax-payer subsidies, Horseracing Wrongs, along with other animal-protection and community groups, has formed The Coalition to End Horseracing Subsidies in New York State.
NY Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal has introduced two bills to redirect the $230M in subsidies from the cruel racing industry to education - where the money belongs. Successfully redirecting the subsidies would shut down 9 of the 11 tracks in NYS virtually overnight!
Stopping new racing in its tracks!
In the two years since New England’s last Thoroughbred track, Suffolk Downs, closed, there have been repeated attempts to bring racing back. Having previously worked with advocates in Great Barrington and Wareham, HW took an active, leading role in fighting the Sturbridge plan. In addition to sending out 4,500 full-page inserts (below) in the Sturbridge Villager and providing hundreds of materials for activists to disseminate around town, Nicole, Patrick and HW organizers and MA advocate groups attended town meetings and on voting night we were there to greet residents – with the facts, the truth about horseracing – as they arrived to cast their ballots. The horses won that night! The measure, in the words of the town administrator, “defeated soundly.” A victory for the horses! While it’s likely the racing people will move onto another Mass town, know this, we will meet them every step of the way, fighting for the innocent and voiceless!
Educational Billboards
We rolled out our Triple Crown Mobile Billboard Campaign in the Spring of 2021, with billboards during The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness and The Belmont Stakes. Two, 3-sided, digital trucks spent 8 hours driving in front of the respective tracks and surrounding areas. With the great response, we added more for Travers Day at Saratoga and two more at Del Mar for the Breeder’s Cup. We intend to continue this campaign this year, adding trucks to the Haskell in New Jersey, and we have plans for a stationary 4-week billboard in Tampa this March - the first of its kind in the state of Florida! If you are counting, that was 10 billboards last year and plans for at least 13 in 2022!
Another track shuttered for good!
After almost 100 years of abusing and killing horses, Arlington International Racecourse outside Chicago was permanently shuttered after the final race Saturday, September 25, 2021. As bids were coming in for the space, Horseracing Wrongs along with advocates from Illinois and around the country reached out to the Arlington Heights Village Board to educate and persuade members not to allow new horseracing. Victory! No more horseracing in Arlington Heights! The property is currently in a pending sale to the Chicago Bears! So many lives saved!
Protests and Education
Horseracing Wrongs sponsored over 40 protests and educational events in 2021. We provide signs, banners and leaflets for protest and tabling events. In addition to the Hoseracing Wrongs Action Group on Facebook, we provide online events and workshops to empower advocates with the tools they need to make a difference in the lives of horses.
Links:
By Nicole Arciello | Executive Director
By Nicole Arciello | Executive Director
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