Cavel Loses Appeal to Overturn IL Anti-slaughter Law

It's a great day in the neighborhood if you live in DeKalb, IL--unless you're one of 60 employees who work at the Cavel slaughter plant.

It was a fabulous day for horses. The appeals court denied Cavel's attempt to overturn the Illinois law passed earlier this year to outlaw the slaughter of horses within the state's borders for human consumption abroad.

The DeKalb facility was the last such plant operating in the United States.

While the court's action will more than likely cause the facility to close, kill buyers are still free to transport horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter for human consumption, primarily in Europe and Japan. The only way to permanently ban this practice is for Congress to pass a Federal law outlawing both the practice of slaughter and the transport of horses across U.S. borders for slaughter.

You can help by contacting your Representative and Senator NOW. See how they stand. Your elected officials are now back in Washington after spending time in their home districts.

Filly Rags to Riches Suffers First Career Defeat

She became everybody's darling when she was the first filly in recent history to win the Belmont Stakes.

Plagued by iffy medical symptoms such as unexplained fevers since her blazing win, Rags to Riches missed a lot of training time this year. Yesterday, she was beaten by half a length in the Gazelle by Lear's Princess at the site of her earlier triumph, Belmont Park. She was ridden by jockey John Velazquez.

It was the first loss in the filly's career since her racing debut in June 2006.

Trainer Todd Pletcher blamed Rags to Riches' time off the track for the second-place finish and said he's concentrating on getting her ready for the Breeder's Cup Distaff at Monmouth Park on October 27. And he still considers her the best three-year-old filly in the world.