The case has sparked outrage across the country.
Photos: Horse identified by tattoos, suffered injuries
Records from the U.S. Trotting Association records show the horse, named Killean Cut Kid, often raced at the Dayton raceway.
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But a national rescue group said his career ended more than a thousand miles away in a Louisiana kill pen. When Save our Standardbreds From Slaughter (SOSS) found the horse, his legs were covered in ulcers so severe that those caring for him say it was difficult for the horse to stand.
“In my eyes what happened to this horse is nothing less of animal cruelty, especially if he had to travel 1,800 miles down to Louisiana to the kill-pen with his feet looking like that, and in that much pain,” said Amanda Keyes, spokesperson for SOSS.
She said SOSS identified the horse by the "freezeband" tattoo in pictures from Louisiana.
This news organization dug up U.S. Trotting Association records on the organization's website, and the ID numbers match Killean Cut Kid.
USTA records show that kid ran his last race in April, adding that the horse won more than $315,000 during his racing career.
But Keyes said the story about Kid being euthanized was made up by its owner, who this news organization is not naming because no charges have been filed against him.
“The owners had told everybody that they knew this horse was humanely euthanized,” Keyes said. “They made this big sap story about how the horse died in their arms… and they knew he was in a better place.”
She said the Louisiana ship pen gave SOSS just hours to pay $600 to prevent Kid from being shipped out of the country to be slaughtered for his meat.
“What happened? What happened between when you were supposed to have put this horse down, and why is he now in a kill pen?” Keyes asked.
While the source of the horse's injuries is not clear, SOSS says it rescued Kid from the pen in Louisiana two weeks after the owner claimed the animal was put down.
This news organization found Facebook posts that have since been made private. In them, a person claiming to be Kid's owner said the 12-year-old horse was humanely euthanized.
We reached out to the apparent owner multiple times...after initially agreeing to do an interview, he stopped returning our messages.
When we called a listed number for the apparent owner, it was disconnected.
SOSS said pictures taken in Louisiana show the horse was never euthanized, and the rescue group now wants to know how Kid ended up there.
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The U.S. Trotting Association has confirmed that there is an investigation surrounding Kid. The organization said it’s disturbed by the allegations--- and has assigned an investigator to the case.
USTA officials say they have no authority to suspend Kid’s owner’s license, and that other authorities have been notified.
“This should not be OK in the eyes of the USTA, in the eyes of the Ohio racing commission,” said Keyes, the SOSS spokesperson.
Kid is currently in Louisiana being cared for by an SOSS veterinarian.
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