Horse Hurt in Suicide Race Is Destroyed

OMAK, Wash. — A horse being ridden in the Suicide Race at the yearly Omak Stampede was destroyed Sunday after suffering severe injuries in the race.

It was the sixth horse to die in the 53 years that the riders and their mounts have plunged down a steep river bluff in the race.

Race organizers said the death was a freak accident that occurred after the animal safely raced down the near-vertical 250-foot bluff and was headed on flatland toward the finish line.

Organizers of the race, which has drawn strong protests from animal rights groups, say it is a tradition of Western manhood, grit and nerve. But pressure from animal groups caused last year’s sponsors, Coca-Cola and Wrangler Jeans, to withdraw from the event.