The finish line

View all photos for this campaign in the photo gallery

Every 1-2 months, horses of all breeds and backgrounds are bought and sold through the local saleyard at the small southwest-Sydney town of Camden. Among them, ex-racehorses presented as 'unridden', bought for cheap by 'kill buyers' from knackeries across the state.

Of the many horses bought and killed by Luddenham Pet Meats and Burns Pet Foods in western Sydney - some from the Camden saleyards, others from a livestock company in Cootamundra, others from private drop-offs - hidden cameras captured the final moments of the following confirmed ex-racehorses:

• Formply
  Prize money: $2,275. Bought by Luddenham Pet Meats at Camden for $200.
• Halos Image
  Prize money: $51,470. Bought by Burns Pet Foods at Camden for $380.
• Perfectly Spun
  Prize money: $0. Bought by Luddenham Pet Meats.
• Rebel Prince
  Prize money: $159,195. Bought by Luddenham Pet Meats.
• Startreusse
  Prize money: $115,675. Bought by Luddenham Pet Meats.
• Touchdown Miss
  Prize money: $375. Bought by Burns Pet Foods.
• Unbuckled
  Prize money: $2,625. Bought by Luddenham Pet Meats.

Others horses from the racing industry observed at the saleyards or holding pens of the knackeries:

• Cloverdale
  Prize money: $12,462. Bought by Burns Pet Foods at Camden for $510.
• Courtney's Luv
  Prize money: $2,625. Observed in the holding pens at Luddenham Pet Meats.
• Explore the World:
  Prize money: $124,550. Bought by Burns Pet Foods at Camden for $510.
• Grand Icon
  Prize money: $2,950. Bought by Burns Pet Foods at Camden for $330.
• Handson Approach
  Never made it to the racetrack. Bought by Burns Pet Foods at Camden for $320.
• Hard Reign
  Never made it to the racetrack. Bought by Burns Pet Foods at Camden for $510.
• Legal Waves
  Prize money: $41,783. Bought by Burns Pet Foods at Camden for $370.
• Millster
  Prize money: $2,850. Bought by Luddenham Pet Meats at Camden for $350.
• National Flag
  Prize money: $1,500. Bought by Luddenham Pet Meats at Camden for $380.
• Next of Kin
  Never made it to the racetrack. Bought by Burns Pet Foods at Camden for $320.
• Reliable Kingdom
  Never made it to the racetrack. Bought by Burns Pet Foods at Camden for $510
• Griddlebone
  Prize money: $76,270. Bought by Burns Pet Foods at Camden.

Many of these horses are officially listed as 'retired' on the Racing Australia website.

Numerous other thoroughbreds (used in regular flats and jumps racing) and standardbreds (used in harness racing) were observed being bought at the saleyard by knackeries, or waiting to be killed in the holding pens of knackeries, or killed on hidden camera - but could not be identified due to not having a microchip, or their branding not being clear in recorded footage, or their branding not matching records in the industry's database of racehorses.

View all 5 videos for this campaign in the video gallery

Beneath the glamour and gambling of the horse racing industry exists a dark underbelly of pain and suffering for the very creatures most patrons believe they are celebrating. Horses are gentle, intelligent and social creatures that are being exploited on a mass scale and it is our responsibility to boycott the racing industry to work towards ending this cruel ‘sport’ once and for all.

Please, for their sake, don't go to the races.

• Activists defy ‘ag-gag’ laws to release footage of ex-racehorses killed at Sydney knackeries

  Media release: Monday 29 Jun 2020

  Animal protection organisation Aussie Farms has released ‘devastating’ hidden camera footage of horses, including ex-racing thoroughbreds and standardbreds, being shot at two Sydney knackeries.

• Animal rights group prepared to risk jail over secret camera footage

  Wednesday 1 Jul 2020 by Matt Bungard (The Sydney Morning Herald)

  Aussie Farms released secret camera footage from Burns Pet Food and Luddenham Pet Meats, despite that action being prohibited by NSW legislation.

As a small charity entirely reliant on private donations, we need your help to continue creating campaigns like this and to reach more of the people who need to see them.