In 2003, Bloodhorse reported:
Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner who went on to capture the following year's Horse of the Year title with a dramatic victory over 1987 Derby hero Alysheba in the Breeders' Cup Classic, is dead. The Blood-Horse has learned the big chestnut son of Nijinsky II died sometime in 2002, most likely in a slaughterhouse in Japan, where his career at stud was unsuccessful.
Ferdinand won eight of 29 starts and earned $3,777,978, retiring as what was then the fifth leading money winner of all time. Today the New York Times reports:
Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, wound up slaughtered in Japan in 2002 after failing as a stallion. Even though the federal government closed the last United States slaughterhouse in 2007, horses are regularly sold at auction and trucked to slaughter in Mexico or Canada.Comment: This is totally outrageous. Not just the slaughter of Ferdinand, but that of all the thoroughbreds that wind up abandoned, euthanized or slaughtered each year. It is probably not the worst behavior of our society; think of the millions of pet dogs and cats euthanized each year. However, the horse racing industry should not breed more horses a year than it is willing to support for a full lifetime. How expensive is it to let a horse live in a field in its old age? JAD
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