Just-Raced Thoroughbreds Found on Slaughter Truck After Crash Now Identified

Desert Frontier was found running down I-44 after the wreck, and was later euthanized due to injuries sustained from the accident. I’m That Bird and Sassy Little Girl also sustained serious injuries but survived.

Desert Frontier had just raced at Mountaineer (WV), I'm That Bird had just raced at Thristledown (OH), and Sassy Little Girl had just raced at Presque Isle Downs (PA), all within a week or two of being shipped to slaughter. Thoroughbred Amos n' Ernie (age 3) sustained serious injury and was also identified after the crash; it is unknown if he raced prior to the accident.

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A tractor trailer hauling 29 horses for slaughter heading westbound on 1-44 in Missouri crashed on October 18, 2020. The slaughter truck was traveling from Ohio. 11 horses were dead in the trailer when police arrived. Another four were euthanized due to injury (including Desert Frontier). 14 horses survived.

Six young thoroughbreds were among the 14 horses that survived, with four having just now been identified. The breed, age, and sex of the 11 horses that died on the trailer is still unknown. No owner/shipping certificates or health certificates were recovered, and the backtags on the horses were not from the USDA. This was a Commercial Transportation of Horses for Slaughter Violation.