Source: MailOnline
‘Unfortunately the mare was already in a “kill pen”…’
He may never run for the Kentucky Derby roses, but Illinois race horse Magna Fortuna and his owners are celebrating a victory none-the-less — his survival.
The three-year-old gelding’s name means ‘great luck’, and he was a long shot when he won a recent race at Hawthorne Race Course outside Chicago – one of the biggest race tracks in America.
His mother Lulu was purchased for $300 at an Indiana slaughter auction by Gail Vacca, founder and president of the Illinois Equine Rescue Center.
Vacca found out later that Lulu was pregnant when purchased.
When the foal was born he was first named Taxi – that was until Vacca traced his lineage back to an impressive sire — a $2.58 million career stakes winner called Magna Graduate.
‘Unfortunately the mare was already in a “kill pen” just waiting to be loaded onto a trailer for the grueling ride to slaughter in Canada.’
After being taken back to Illinois, Silver Option soon gave birth to Magna Fortuna, who was originally named Taxi until his routes were traced back to his race-winning father.
It was then that Vacca decided he would be trained to race.
Since the victory, offers have flooded in to buy the horse but so far they have been rejected.
Rescue: Gail Vacca, center, the founder and president of the Illinois Equine Rescue Center, purchased the horse’s mother at a slaughter auction and later found out the horse was pregnant with Magna Fortuna
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Yay for those who Rescue! May the offers to buy him be rejected forever!
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That is the only way that his safety can be ensured!
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This story brings tears to my eyes knowing that there are so many good horses slaughtered. This only proves that the horses on the slaughter truck do have lives to live. Let these horses live with love and care. Not hate and death. Good job to all involved with rescuing these horses. Thank you.
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Agree Patty,….it’s so sad for them in the racing industry knowing where most end up…….but great story and rescue….
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GOD bless your group and you for this rescue.this just proves to me and it should to everyone else out there that the slaughter houses are unjustified
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WOW
God bless…
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R.T. you’ve got your work cut out for you to top this for ‘Feel Good Sunday’! Thanks for sharing this wonderful story…
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Yes, my thoughts too. What a wonderful thing.
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The poor mare – I can’t understand how people can turn a blind eye to all of this suffering. I love the young horse’s name – Magna Fortuna. There are some really good people in the world.
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Got tears in my eyes what a GREAT story, so wonderful, see and in a slaughter the mom to be killed, jeepers when are people who want slaughter going to see the over all destruction and evil about the whole slaughter business………… Don’t sell ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Wonderful story and hoping Silver Option also has a forever home
This is undeniable proof that severely lame horses are shipped to slaughter
Thank you Gail Vacca and to your Illinois Equine Rescue Center!!
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Horse slaughter must be banned. Enough said.
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Thank you Gail for all you do for the horses.
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Praise The Lord! Maybe this is one way to allow the message to get out! Race on, dear one! Race on!
God Bless you, Gail.
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😀 and another one sorry.. two! slip out of the grimy hands of the slaughter industry! this story shoulda been saved for feel good .sunday! haha!
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Can you imagine how many other horses, who have been slaughtered, might have had a foal that might have won the Kentucky Derby? It isn’t the right of humans to have a horse slaughtered just because they don’t put $$$ in their greedy pockets. That goes for Greyhounds too. I would love to have a horse, but don’t. Then the rich just have them made into steaks for other parts of the world. I wonder how people can sleep at night. Someday it might happen to the human race, as wer continue to over populate this planet.
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RT, Can you use your Connections and persuasion to put an article regarding this horse on the wire or any news-source that would be a combo article and request for some stories of horse’s that were rescues from slaughter that show that we are NOT sending old, half dead injured beyond repair horses to slaughter targeting officials in Washington to see that this is what is being sent to die, which disproves the theory of the types of animals that are dying needlessly in slaughter houses. We also need to point out a list of animals saved from slaughter that went to be the best companions anyone would ever want. WE need to publicize the other side of the kill pen, these animals are directly brought from the kill pen and this is their story, in one article, not just racehorses, ask people to subject stories of barrel horses, trail horses, show horses, dressage horses, and crazy horse loving grandpa’s like mine who blaze into a slaughterhouse and save as many as he could drag out! Those people are out there! Those horse’s stories need told and entitled Washington needs to save other horses lives, cause here’s what we are good for when someone else had left us for dead! And A copy needs sent to the President! There’s success and we need to show it. So Huffington or Vickery or anyone and every resource you have call for the stories and let’s show what we are preventing from going into the darkness. Please RT, we need to give them an outcome, this is why they have to vote NO to slaughter in the US. I love horses with a passion so deep, no breed, no color, no discipline is less in my eyes, no horse is unlovable, or unreachable. Just most people they don’t understand, the horses they choose us, we have to fit together, they just choose and then they think its magik which is what makes people like Slaughter house Sue and David Duquette, they just don’t understand the methodology of hearing what the horses want us to know, nor do they understand, horse’s may just not really like them and therefore don’t want to communicate, so lets show them how horses communicate when the RIGHT owners get them! They don’t like when dreams and movies make people believe horses are perfect, well, we don’t need dreams and movies, look at the story above, and in my life, your worst horse is my favorite ride, bad horses dig me! I love a challenge and they hand it out daily and it works out famously! So we are bombarding everyone daily with why its bad for the horses, and why its dangerous with drugs, so lets write an article about the love the almost slaughtered give us back! Funny what you find under all that fear when you remove the ropes and whips, you find personalities that love to give! Can we do This?
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Wonderful story. Wonderful response.
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Oh and while I know its time to RELAX for Some we also need to keep our eyes on the BRASS RING. Dave Duquette and United Horsemen alert came in about them going to Congress and talk on behalf of slaughter regarding the de-funding of the Inspectors for 2014, they are going this week and taking 10 or so members of the Tribes and Sue/Dave and a handful of others are going as well. This is a spot for anyone who can, I wish I was able to get there myself, but we need to have any and all available anti-slaughter information gathered and presented again to keep this from moving forward with stopping the defunding. WE have to constantly be working towards the goal of ending slaughter, and they are soliciting funding to go to Congress and talk on behalf of their agenda and we cannot allow the defunding to be removed. We have to suppress that idea as quickly as possible. I rebutted the Tribal Council myself with no reply from their side, I stopped their temporary rise to propaganda reining by stating that they knew America’s slaughterhouses were closing and should have been proactive in rounding up their native horses and culling or gelding the stallions, rounding up colts each year to geld would cut down tremendously on the issue, and the government is always asked to stay out of tribal issues and rightly should NOT be asking Congress to clean up their mess. They have stated the animals are ruining their medicinal plants, the same carcinogenic and medicinal plants are not able to be consumed by horses for human consumption, therefore eliminating them from slaughter option, making them toxic to people who are allergic to plants in their full form not cut in prescription values. As well, I asked them to explain why they are proposing the government step in for such a small amount of animals, because that is not enough to open any plant, instead they should have already shipped if that was their desire to slaughter instead they refused created even more horses, as well, which is their issues on the tribal lands and not a reason for Congress to restart slaughter. And the states overrun with supposed drought issues and neglected horses need to be pointed at for investigations of the owners of these lands for not properly putting down animals at the beginning of the drought or sending the animals to Canada if they so desired-because they claim its the Mexico plant that so much more horrible because they are working with the Canadian plant you know? And someone needs to be there to point at the elephant in the room, the property rights laws were in effect and slaughter was in full force, those who wished to send horses could have already done so and we don’t need to reopen it, we had 6 years they could have done away with those animals. Congress doesn’t bear the responsibility of killing animals its here for the safety of lives not to kill! We also need to remind Congress that this overbreeding for financial gain, is a form of abuse to breeding animals, to breed and then kill the offspring and rebreed is a form of major amounts of abuse they will be allowing to continue, and while the individual horse owners are not contributing to the problems we need to stop large farms from being problems. And we need to insist Congress defund because of health and welfare issues, animals that are not being properly cared for going to slaughter means they are undergoing even more pain and remind them that the horses coming from the east coast still would have the lengthy drive etc. We cant afford to pay for someone outside the US to dine on Stolen animals. They never explain how this is going to be stopped, and no one ever suggests that the amount Duquette quotes 3500 percent increase of abuse doesn’t happen it doesn’t. And finally, whether its BLM horses, burro’s, Racehorses, Quarter Horses, Appaloosa’s, Paints, Mini’s, Arabians’, Lippazan’s, ALL breeds, all types of animals, every walk of life owner, we NEED to come to the conclusion this is ALL about every horse no matter what!
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Guess this proves, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” and certainly NOT unwanted.
I love it when we (advocates) can stifle the killers.
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These stories should be constantly repeated…over and over again. Gail Vacca is one of the horse’s greatest friends. This gal was instramental in spearheading the closing of Cavel, Intl. in Illinois. Her story should be told. I was able to purchase my Arabian gelding 1 day before the “Killer ” was to arrive to pick him up. After I purchased him, I too found that his father “Padron” held multiple US Arabian National Championships and 3 or 4 Arabian Canadian Championships. It was unfortunate for my horse that he fell into the wrong hands and was not able to pursue a show career. However, he now has a forever home. I vowed to him on the day I purchased him from the owner that he would never again suffer at the hands of a human. I told him that he would always have his forever home with me. He has made a 360 degree turn around from a very nervous and sad horse. He too was not skin and bones, but was a victim of a somewhat psychotic owner. So so much for their backward rhetoric..
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Hope the original owners that sent the pregnant mare who foaled this magnificent race horse to the kill pens see this and realize how ignorant, stupid and cruel they were. Now they can really feel bad about missing an opportunity to make some money from their broodmare. How can someone send their pregnant mare to be slaughtered????? SHAME ON THEM.
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