Black-Owned Racehorse Named ‘Black Lives Matter’ Mysteriously Dies, Raising The Owner’s Suspicions
“Black Lives Matter,” a racehorse which gained national attention for its moniker, has died and the animal’s owners want to know why.
The Hatley family, who became the first Black family to race quarter horses in Texas, revealed in an Instagram post that the colt mysteriously died after a routine veterinary procedure.
Last week, the horse was reportedly admitted to an equestrian veterinary clinic in Texas, but when the Hatleys arrived to retrieve their prize-winning horse he was found unresponsive and lying still in a stall.
“We took our horse BLM an hour away for a VET for a short, simple procedure that will collect sperm for future breeding and also have him castrated so that he can perform without overactive hormones and have better success during the race,” Keeundra Hatley-Smith said in an Instagram post. “We left him healthy! But when we returned to pick him up he didn’t respond.”
Hatley-Smith also suggested that her horse’s death was racially charged.
“There is no proof of post op care and documentation. We are so hurt! We need answers and we want justice!” she wrote on IG. “This is proof that Black people AND THIER PETS are neglected in all aspects of the medical fields. My children loved him and knew exactly what his name stood for. Now it’s gone!”
The horse initially gained national recognition back in January after it won his first race at Louisiana Downs. On April 30, “BLM” raced for the final time and won his last race at the Sam Houston Derby, where the Hatleys took home a $15,000 purse.
