14 Horses Drop Dead Before Polo Match

21 animals lost in mystery affliction

(NEWSER) - The death of 21 horses in Florida for the US Open Polo Championship yesterday remains a mystery, but a veterinarian for the Venezuelan team that owned the horses said it was unlikely they were killed by a bad reaction to steroids, the Palm Beach Post reports. "Almost certainly they don't use anabolic steroids," he said. “I’ve been in practice 50 years. I’ve never seen anything like this.” Necropsy results could come as soon as today. More»

(NEWSER) - Exactly what killed 21 polo horses in Florida is not known, but details of their enigmatic owner are emerging in spades. Victor Vargas has succeeded at the tricky proposition of banking in Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, and tried the US market—with less-than-stellar results. In 1993, he had to settle with the Fed for $1.5 million, and can’t invest here without government permission. Time takes a look at the secretive multimillionaire. More»

Common drug was tainted, he claims

(NEWSER) - A tainted vitamin supplement killed the 21 horses that collapsed before a polo match in Florida last weekend, the captain of the Venezuelan team claims. He notes that five horses not given the drug are fine. The French drug, called Biodyl, is commonly administered in Europe but not approved for use or sale in the US, the Miami Herald reports. More»

Tests not likely to reveal cause of deaths for weeks

(NEWSER) - Devastated polo team owner Victor Vargas cradled the heads of his fallen horses and sobbed as they died in his arms, colleagues said yesterday. The wealthy Venezuelan banker—whose business has thrived despite Hugo Chavez's socialist regime—rushed from animal to animal as 21 suddenly collapsed and died shortly before a Palm Beach polo tournament Sunday. It could be weeks before tests reveal the cause of their baffling deaths, according to the Palm Beach Post. More»

NYT investigates the deadly, drug-filled world of horse racing

(NEWSER) - If the extent of your horse-racing knowledge starts with the Kentucky Derby and ends with mint juleps, the New York Times' look at the deadly sport is both an eye-opening and jarring read. It reports that an average of 24 horses die every single week on the country's racetracks. Most aren't high-profile losses like that of Eight Belles, who was euthanized at the 2008 Derby after breaking two ankles. They're less expensive horses whose deaths typically go unnoticed, their bodies sent not to a pathologist for examination, but to a rendering plant or dump. More»