Horse deaths at Parx Casino and a racing association’s alleged financial misconduct have the industry alarmed
Several weeks earlier, on Aug. 24, a top-earning gelding named Causes Trouble took a spill on the course, suffering a shoulder injury so catastrophic that the 5-year-old racehorse had to be euthanized. But as the horses approached the turf’s three-eighths mile marker during the Alphabet Soup Handicap two weekends ago, onlookers were aghast.
“This may be one of the worst turf courses anywhere in the United States,” Hutt said. “People have told me they wouldn’t let Little Leaguers practice, let alone play a game on a field that looked like that.” This month alongside fellow PTHA board member John Julia, Hutt launched a civil court filing alleging that past leaders of the nonprofit Horsemen’s Association fostered a system of financial misconduct and cronyism before Hutt’s tenure began, bleeding money from the organization for more than a decade.
This year, including two deaths on Sept. 21, 10 horses were euthanized after suffering racing-related injuries on Parx’s turf and dirt tracks. The nonprofit, whose presidency Hutt assumed in 2023 after running on a reform-oriented platform, is open to anyone who owns or trains a horse at Parx. Members rely on the group’s leaders to negotiate for them with Parx management.Race Horse Development and Gaming Act — meant to salvage the state’s struggling horse racing industry — secured horsemen’s groups a percentage of slot-machine income from their casino affiliates.
Those board members said in a joint statement that they would “not be intimidated by those who engage in personal attacks and litigation for their own gain.” Hutt considers himself a whistle-blower speaking for underrepresented members of the Horsemen’s Association.