Hipodromo Camarero

The Other Final Stretch for the Horses at the Hipódromo Camarero

He must be euthanized. 

Severe osteoarthritis is devouring him. The condition eats him alive, from his swollen fetlock joints, between the third metacarpus and the proximal phalanx of the horse’s legs, down to his trembling knees. When he walks, his body mass of more than 900 pounds barely holds up. He does not look like a horse that has raced twice on the Hipódromo Camarero racetrack, in March and April of this year. His bones don’t cross any finish line.

Camarero Racetrack: A Money Machine that Runs on Injured and Abused Horses

It’s Friday and it’s payday. Abuelo says that it’s good to bet a few dollars from time to time “to try your luck.” That’s why we are in a horse racing betting agency putting together a lineup, wearing a mask, our hands sticky from the hand sanitizer and a few “hints” on the table. I want to bet on a horse that hasn’t run for five years. His name is Cachupito and he is number 11 of the sixth race.

Hipódromo Camarero: una máquina de dinero que corre con caballos lastimados y maltratados

Es viernes y es día de cobro. Abuelo dice que de vez en cuando es bueno apostar unos pesitos “para probar la suerte”. Por eso estamos en una agencia hípica preparando un cuadrito, con mascarilla puesta, las manos pegajosas por el hand sanitizer y unas cuantas “orejitas” sobre la mesa. Quiero jugarle a un caballo que hace cinco años no corre. Se llama Cachupito y es el número once de la sexta carrera.