A great opportunity to make a difference for animals

Help end Washington’s deadliest horse race.

Each year in mid August, Omak, a small town in Eastern Washington State, proudly promotes an event called The World-Famous Suicide Race. Although the name suggests it’s not a race for the weak at heart, the reality is it’s literally murder on horses.

Over a span of four days and nights, riders repeatedly run their horses off Suicide Hill with a 120-foot galloping start. Horses blindly plunge more than 210 feet down a slope that event organizer’s have boasted is an "almost vertical… 62 degree angle." At breakneck speed, the horses then meet the Okanogan River. Entry into the river is narrow, often causing bottlenecks and horrendous multiple-horse spills. If both rider and horse do make it to the river, they face a treacherous and often panicked swim about the length of a football field. The final grueling sprint is a 500-foot uphill climb to the finish line.

Many of the horses, “on-loan” for the event, have suffered heart attacks from over exertion, broken bones from collisions, shocking tumbles, and even gruesome deaths by drowning.

Over the last two decades, PAWS has worked to monitor the race, raise awareness and evoke action to end it. It is unclear how many horses or people have died in the race since it was founded in 1935 to draw more people to the town’s annual rodeo event, the Omak Stampede. Since 1983, at least 20 horse deaths have been documented. In 2004, three horses were killed in the first heat alone.

Last year, your letters to help end the Suicide Race made a world of difference. Sponsors like Crown Royal and Wal-Mart withdrew their support completely. We also received letters from almost every other sponsor stating they do not condone the Suicide Race.

Practices for the race have already started. The official event is August 10-13. There is still time to make a difference this year!

What you can do to help:

Step 1. Write the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and ask that it withdraw its sanction of the Omak Stampede and Suicide Race until the Suicide Race is permanently cancelled.

The PRCA, a national sponsor of rodeo events similar to NASCAR’s sponsorship of car racing, says the Stampede and Suicide Race are unrelated events. Ask them to stop avoiding the issue and to take responsibility by condemning the event! The Omak Stampede and Suicide Race are ultimately the responsibility of Omak Stampede, Inc., a Washington State non-profit organization. Both the Omak Stampede and Suicide Race are advertised, marketed, managed and funded by Omak Stampede, Inc. You can view the Omak Stampede home page which demonstrates this combined marketing.

Last year, your letters to help end the Suicide Race made a world of difference. Sponsors like Crown Royal and Wal-Mart withdrew their support completely. We also received letters from almost every other sponsor stating they do not condone the Suicide Race.

Write to:
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
101 Pro Rodeo Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80919-2301

Step 2. Contact the mayor of Omak, Dale Sparber.

Let Mayor Sparber know that although the Omak Stampede and Indian Encampment may be events that showcase the heart of his town to the rest of the world, the Suicide Race only shows Omak’s heart to be uncaring and cruel. Tell him you won't be visiting Omak or Okanogan County as long as the Suicide Race is permitted to take place.

Dale Sparber, Mayor, City of Omak
Email: mayor@omakcity.com
Phone: 509.826.1170
Write to:
2 North Ash Street       
PO Box 72
Omak, WA 98841

Step 3. Contact the Omak Stampede and Suicide Race organizers and tell them to stop misleading the public about the race’s origins and safety record.

Stampede organizers claim that the Suicide Race death rate is equal to, or less than, the state’s thoroughbred racing industry. This is blatantly untrue. According to the Washington State Horse Racing Commission, eight out of 5,894 horses died in races at Emerald Downs in 2004. According to the Omak Stampede three out of 20 were killed in the Omak Suicide Race in 2004. That makes the death rate at Emerald Downs less than one half of a percent. The death rate of the Omak Suicide Race in 2004 was a staggering 15 percent.

Race organizers also claim that the Suicide Race is a rite of passage. In truth, the Suicide Race was the idea of an Omak furniture salesman and Stampede publicity chair looking for a way to bring people and dollars to the small town. It was not a tradition for the 12 tribes that comprise the Colville Confederated Tribes.

Omak Stampede and Suicide Race
Email: stampede@northcascades.net
Phone: 509.826.1983
Toll-Free: 1.800.993.6625
Write to:
PO Box 2028
Omak, WA 98841

Things to remember:

• You can find more supportive facts for ending the Suicide Race on our SuicideRace Frequently Asked Questions page
• When corresponding with people, please be respectful.
• If you receive a response please forward it to suicideerasers@paws.org or mail it to PAWS Suicide Erasers, PO Box 1037, Lynnwood, WA 98046.

For the horses of Omak—thank you!