racism

After a horse reportedly named after a racist slur won the first race at Aqueduct Jan. 8, reaction on social media and throughout the industry was swift to denounce the name and trainer Eric Guillot, who had posted a picture of the horse and its name days earlier on social media. The 3-year-old gelding by Uncle Mo, who won his debut Friday, was named Grape Soda, a racist stereoptype directed at African Americans. A Tweet on January 1 on Eric Guillot's Twitter feed indicated that he had been named after...

'Condemning' Tom Van Meter's mind-numbingly horrible racist comments is next to worthless, an example of empty industry PR. The only worthwhile response from anyone in the thoroughbred industry is an outright refusal to conduct any business with him, period. As owner Robert Masiello stated "If you buy a horse from Tom VanMeter in September, you are part of the problem. End of story,". The same goes for sales companies, racetracks, farms, owners, vets, jockeys, agents, etc. If you work with this man in any fashion, you share in his guilt...

One day after his racist comments on social media were made public, Tom VanMeter sent the Thoroughbred Daily News a statement which he asked be published in the Tuesday night edition. "Over the weekend, comments I made on a private page of a social media platform surfaced which have since come under scrutiny due to their racist nature. I will not attempt to deny that I wrote the comments, nor will I attempt to justify my actions. Certainly, I am frustrated with the current social situation in our country, however,...

Dozens of angry industry members took to social media Monday morning after a racially charged social media post by a prominent Thoroughbred consignor surfaced on Twitter. By the end of the day, The Jockey Club, Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, the Stronach Group and the NTRA had issued statements denouncing the posts. Tom VanMeter, who owns and operates VanMeter Sales, a leading consignor based in Lexington, Kentucky, posted two comments in response to a question posted on Facebook by farm manager Donnie Snellings, asking people to repost his post if they planned to...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association issued the following statement Friday from President and CEO Alex Waldrop: "The racing industry would not exist and could not function without the contributions of the black community and people of color. The systemic racism that has poisoned our country cannot be allowed to inflict its pain on one more generation. We must work individually and collectively to dismantle these prejudices for good and confront the injustice that devalues the lives of the very people who make sure our industry can endure. "We at the...

Kendrick Carmouche said he has never experienced racism, at the racetrack or elsewhere. But that doesn't mean that the events surrounding the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers didn't hit home for the 36-year-old jockey. The New York-based Carmouche is one of only a handful of African-American jockeys riding in the U.S. Earlier this week, Carmouche posted an emotional video on social media. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he spoke of the heartache he had been experiencing since the Floyd killing. "It is very...