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HBO cancels 'Luck' following horse deaths

WENN

The producers of Dustin Hoffman's hit TV series "Luck" have announced they are canceling the show following the death of a horse on Tuesday.

The tragedy marked the third time in a year that a horse had to be euthanized during filming at the Santa Anita racetrack in California.

Bing: PETA attacks 'Luck' over horse deaths

And although the latest incident happened off-set in the stables area of the location, executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann have decided not to proceed with the remainder of the second season of the show.

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A statement from HBO, the film company behind the project, reads, "It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann, together with HBO, have decided to cease all future production on the series Luck.

"Safety is always of paramount concern. We maintained the highest safety standards throughout production, higher in fact than any protocols existing in horseracing anywhere with many fewer incidents than occur in racing or than befall horses normally in barns at night or pastures.

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"While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won't in the future. Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision.

"We are immensely proud of this series, the writing, the acting, the filmmaking, the celebration of the culture of horses, and everyone involved in its creation."

A joint statement from Mann and Milch reads, "The two of us loved this series, loved the cast, crew and writers. This has been a tremendous collaboration and one that we plan to continue in the future."

Luck launched earlier this year to rave reviews and was quickly picked up for a second season.

HBO bosses will continue to run all episodes filmed so far.

Tell us on Facebook: Did HBO do the right thing?

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493Comments
Johnathan D595
Mar 14, 2012 6:29PM
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I grew up around horses and racing, and I'm tired of people making horse racing out to be evil and exploitative. In the real world, the racing industry benefits people and horses as a whole. There are cases of abuse, but its far from the norm. Owners and trainers love these animals. There are cruel owners who abuse pet cats and dogs, and they rightly face criminal charges, but you don't see attempts to ban pet ownership as a whole. As big and powerful as horses are, they're remarkably fragile. They can be injured just walking them to their stall. If a horse breaks a leg, whether racing or by stepping in a gopher hole, it basically has to be euthanized. Not because it can't keep earning money, but because there's no way to set the leg and allow it to heal. The horse simply can't stand on three legs. If the horse isn't euthanized, it will lie on its side until fluid pools in its lungs and it dies painfully. Euthanasia is the compassionate thing to do in these cases. That's why any accident is so often fatal. There are people who will say that horses shouldn't be put in dangerous situations, but racing is the reason these horses live. If the industry didn't exist to give horses a monetary value in today's mechanized world, they wouldn't be running around happily on farms somewhere. Nobody could afford to keep them and thousands of owners would be faced with hard choices. You'd see a lot of horses released into the wild, where the majority would starve or freeze, or sold abroad where they can end up slaughtered for meat. Peta should be focusing its energy in other areas, rather than haranguing a show that promoted an economically troubled industry and the very animals that industry effectively subsidizes. 
kotp
Mar 14, 2012 9:32PM
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Now all we need to do is kill a horse during production of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
the bart man
Mar 14, 2012 5:05PM
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good show sorry too see it go, love horse's
turffan82
Mar 14, 2012 5:04PM
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It's certainly teriible the horses had to be put down. My question is this: Why don't they just use footage of races at the track and continue to film scripted scenes. A well known handicapping figure asked this question on Twitter, and I agree with him. This just seems like a knee-jerk reaction to me? It really is a good show. And to those who say that the only concern is profit, you don't know anything about horse racing, so don't talk.
hype22
Mar 14, 2012 8:53PM
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sorry must disagree with cancelation,I have been around horse racing for just shy of 50 years,injuries in horse racing are a part of the sport,but groups like peta with their personal agendas would have no horse dying,but like humans  all animals on this planet have an expiration date,I read a story yesterday about red meat saying people die because of red meat,last i checked in the history of mankind none of us have gotten out of here alive...some people have the arrogance to think they will be different 
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