'Luck' Extra Speaks Out (Guest Commentary)

Editor's Note: The following is a guest commentary by Chiara Tellini, an extra on the set of HBO's Luck and a horse owner and rescuer.

With the shock of HBO used on the show, the rumors have gone viral and the negative press has filled up our virtual inboxes.

Now as the dust settles, the finale was actually the Grand Finale, and the depression sets in for those who had fallen in love with the work they were doing, the family they had formulated on and off the racetrack set, it feels only appropriate to tell a few good stories—because there are many.

I met at the on March 13, 2010, when * won the Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap. I had with me an actress I had been hired by HBO to give riding lessons to. David had handpicked this actress for a part in his new pilot, Luck. My new friend offered to take me up to the and introduce me to David, and when we arrived at his table he was surrounded by the likes of and his son, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Richard Kind, John Perrotta and others. Over time, I got to know each piece of the Luck puzzle while working as an extra.

Two of the three horses I personally own came from Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg (who is portrayed on the show by Nick Nolte's character) and one from the Premarin Ranches in Canada.

I have adopted or found homes for at least 50 horses, one at a time, from the likes of Van Berg and other thoroughbred trainers at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park over the years. When I was in my teens I gravitated from Quarter Horses, to the feisty, flighty, high-strung thoroughbred for the excitement, the adrenaline rush, the challenge.

When of Luck during production of the pilot, it was just before the 2010 Kentucky Derby. Veterinarians determined the horse suffered from a broken shoulder—a fatal injury for a thoroughbred.

It is still inexplicable how the vets also discovered the fallen horse had a missing shoe and a puncture wound in his chest. How could he have been hit with his own shoe?

The cast and crew, almost exclusively novices to this world of racing, were sobered by the loss of one of the magnificent creatures they had fallen so deeply in love with and the first round of depression set in.

Below is a description of the three horse deaths from the Paulick Report:

In May 2010, jockey David Neusch had pulled up a horse, Outlaw Yodeler, that had been in a scene and was jogging him back to the barn. The horse was playfully rooting, or pulling its head up and down, and tripped on its own feet, falling onto its right shoulder. The impact shattered its humerus. Following the accident, Dr. Agnic administered several medications to relieve pain, tranquilize the horse and reduce swelling in the event the injury was treatable. It was not the kind of fracture that can be treated, however, and Outlaw Yodeler was euthanized.

A year later, during filming of Luck, a second horse, Marc’s Shadow, suffered a catastrophic fracture of its upper leg bone, or radius. The fracture was so severe that euthanasia was conducted immediately.

(On March 13), as a horse was being walked in the stable area by what Luck writer John Perrotta said was an experienced groom, the horse slipped on a dirt pathway, reared, and fell backwards. It landed on its poll, or soft area on the head where many nerve endings gather. It’s an injury that often punctures the carotid artery, and requires euthanasia.

All three of these horses had pain-killing drugs administered before euthanasia, hence the presence of such drugs in the post-mortem necropsy. There is no explanation for these incidents that will ever make sense to the general public or justify the argument that the with every horse could not have changed the outcome.

Take a tour of any barn in the country, whether it be racing, western or pleasure. The fact is, these big beautiful creatures are fragile, and as fast and powerful and fantastic as they are, they break sometimes; occasionally because of inexperience, negligence or recklessness. But not on this set; those were not the reasons. These horses were treated like all other racehorses: from their diets, to the massages, chiropractic adjustments, icing and other standard therapies.

Even more important to note, is that the horses used in Luck were never pushed or encouraged to run “all out,” like they would in a normal racing situation. They were held back.

On shooting days, the “horse actors” only worked 3/8 of a mile, no more than three times on any given day, and with a minimum 20 minute break in between takes (and the breaks were usually longer than 20 minutes, trust me. I was there.).

For the second season, the minimum running distance was reduced to 1/4 mile, no more than 2 times per day—and always under scrutiny of American Humane Society officers.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has falsely reported on Luck from the outset. Stories about horses being old, out of shape and injured are just fiction, meant to sway the public.

In early 2010, as part of the liaison between PETA and celebrities, the animal rights organization asked me to participate in an interview about rescuing horses off the track and to allow one of my horses to be filmed with model/actress Joanna Krupa.

This “PETA person,” as I will refer to her, boards her horses at the same facility as mine. She rides her horses with leather riding boots, saddle and a bit in their mouth—all absolute "no no’s," according to PETA’s criteria.

After repeated requests, I agreed to the interview. The cameramen asked me questions about my horses and where they came from. Joanna’s mother seemed to enjoy her ride around the arena on Baraka, my Premarin rescue.

The PETA Person attempted to coerce me into saying negative things about the track, but I wouldn’t comply. There are too many arguments about what is good and bad about any equine discipline for me to get into a debate with a non-expert on the subject.

When the cameramen asked me if I “ate horse meat,” I got a little choked up, flashing back to rescuing Baraka before he may have met that fate.

“Why would you ask me that?” I said.

“It’s actually very good, we’ve enjoyed it often," they responded.

At that point we were done. I couldn't care less if they were Polish and that was acceptable in Poland!

What perhaps many people don’t realize is that the horses used in Luck were actual race horses purchased from tracks around Southern California. What trainer Matt Chew basically did for these horses when he brought them into his herd for the show was save them from feed lots and slaughterhouses, a very serious reality for any horse that “doesn’t make it" in the racing world.

Of the 35,000 thoroughbreds a year born to race, only half of them get to the track for any period of time.

So if PETA wants credit for something in this Luck drama, then how about a pat on the back for leaving 47 horses without a job or a home and over 400 people out of work in a weak economy. High five to a job well done!

Next time, do a little more research on what it is you are blasting out of your bull horn.

As for HBO, they jumped the gun on a show with questionable ratings, using some convoluted bad press to escape quickly out the back door.

*On March 13, 2010, Zenyatta captured her 15th straight victory in the Grade 1 $250,000 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap at Santa Anita Park.