Omak Suicide Race

It's "The Deadliest Horse Race in the World" and it's right here in Washington

"It is one thing to preserve traditions or commemorate acts of courage in the history of a people, but this staged spectacle, putting horses and humans at grave risk year after year for entertainment and profit, is an abomination. This is a blight on the organizers, promoters, participants and willing spectators, and no credit to horsemanship or anyone’s culture. It is the reckless infliction of terror, pain, exhaustion, suffering, and death on an animal that has been our faithful partner and companion through the ages." - Dr. Andrew G. Lang, Former ASPCA Director of Equine Programs

Omak is a small town in Eastern Washington State. Every year the local rodeo, called the Omak Stampede, boasts of its main attraction "The World-Famous Omak Suicide Race." The race regularly and routinely kills horses.

Over a span of four days and nights, riders repeatedly send horses off "Suicide Hill" with a 120-foot full-galloping start. Horses plunge blindly more than 210 feet downhill, at a slope organizers have boasted is an "almost vertical…62 degree angle." At breakneck speed horses then meet, with concrete force, the rocky Okanogan River. After a panicked swim of more than a football field in length, the horses face a final, grueling uphill sprint.

These horses, many 'on-loan' for the event, have suffered heart attacks from over exertion, broken bones from collisions and shocking tumbles, and even horrifying death by drowning.

In the past 25 years, 20 deaths have been documented; in 2004, three horses were killed in the first heat alone. When will they stop calling it a Suicide Race and start calling it murder?

What You Can Do
Take Action! Five Minutes of Your Time Can Save Their Lives

History Archive
Watch Video of the Suicide Race (Warning: Graphic and disturbing video of horse deaths)
View 2005 Suicide Race Brochure [PDF 2.83 MB]
Horses Killed: 1983 - 2007
Press Archive: 1992 - 2007
The True History of the Omak Suicide Race
Find Out What Other Animal Groups Have Said About the Race

Frequently Asked Questions About the Suicide Race