# Luck -- The "Spiderman -- Turn Off the Dark" of Horses **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 14, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745 "2012-03-14T14:37:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/1 "2012-03-14T14:37:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Filming that does not involve horses will continue on HBO’s critical fave “Luck” while the American Humane Association investigates the death of a third animal on the show’s Southern California set. > **[‘Luck’ continues filming after third horse dies | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2012/03/14/showbiz/tv/luck-horse-death-ew/index.html?hpt=hp_bn4)** > > Filming that does not involve horses will continue on HBO’s critical fave “Luck” while the American Humane Association investigates the death of a third animal on the show’s Southern California set. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/2 "2012-03-14T16:56:58Z")
Ouch. What a shame. I’d be interested to know if the production is any more dangerous to the horses involved than an equivalent number of horses and passage of time at a working racetrack or stables. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/3 "2012-03-14T23:52:52Z")
Oh no! I’d be curious to know what the circumstances of the other two deaths were. It doesn’t sound like the third horse was being filmed or doing anything that a million horses don’t every day (walk back to the barn, not rear over and die). Things do happen though- horses are big, flighty and fragile. I’m also sad to see the numbers of people watching the show, IMHO it’s gotten better each episode and is one of my current favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/4 "2012-03-15T00:23:14Z")
[Is the show canceled then?](http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2012/03/hbos-luck-canceled/1#.T2E2ZXnN2VE) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/5 "2012-03-15T00:45:16Z")
[It is, indeed, canceled. All future production is canceled.](http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/03/14/hbo-cancels-luck/) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/6 "2012-03-15T01:41:50Z")
I saw this elsewhere. “I guess those three horses were the glue that held Luck together.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/7 "2012-03-15T02:09:45Z")
Horses Being Offed ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/8 "2012-03-15T03:05:52Z")
Interesting. My understanding is the first two horses suffered catastrophic injuries filming racing scenes, which IMO can be more or less prevented depending on how it is done. This is more of a fluke accident; the filly reared up while being led onto the track, flipped over, and hit her head on the ground. Santa Anita, the host track where all of this is filmed, disallowed further filming until the incident could be investigated. I need to go see what the scuttlebutt is on this in the racing forums. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/9 "2012-03-15T03:25:31Z")
How unlucky. ---
**Author:** ![Yogurt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f0a364/32.png) [@Yogurt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yogurt)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/10 "2012-03-15T04:44:17Z")
I was really beginning to enjoy the series. I wonder if this was simply a pretext to cancel the series due to the ratings, or if the track’s production ban really caused the shutdown. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/11 "2012-03-15T04:52:25Z")
> [@Yogurt](#): > > I was really beginning to enjoy the series. I wonder if this was simply a pretext to cancel the series due to the ratings, or if the track’s production ban really caused the shutdown. I’d be willing to bet that it was a situation where HBO looked at the ratings, looked at the history of accidents, and said, “You know what, it’s not worth it.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/12 "2012-03-15T05:05:57Z")
> [@Yogurt](#): > > I was really beginning to enjoy the series. I wonder if this was simply a pretext to cancel the series due to the ratings, or if the track’s production ban really caused the shutdown. They would have had all the expense of casting a new horse into the role and reshooting all the deceased horse’s scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/13 "2012-03-15T13:16:56Z")
Well, on the upside, the fired crew members won’t go hungry. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/14 "2012-03-15T13:33:46Z")
Well it looks like the show’s been put down: [http://gawker.com/5893443/hbos-luck-has-died-faster-than-a-horse-on-the-set-of-hbos-luck](http://gawker.com/5893443/hbos-luck-has-died-faster-than-a-horse-on-the-set-of-hbos-luck) > [@](#): > > HBO has canceled its racetrack drama “Luck,” after news of the series’ third on-set horse death in two seasons broke earlier this week. > > In a statement released this afternoon, the network denied allegations that the animal fatalities were the result of unsafe working conditions, stating: > > ``` > "Recent assertions of lax attitudes or negligence could not be further from the truth." > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/15 "2012-03-15T13:40:20Z")
Horses are fragile creatures and thoroughbred racehorses doubly so - all right that’s a sweeping generalisation, but if you read the posts on equine message boards ever day someone posts about a horse going lame or dying… At this year’s Cheltenham Festival (National Hunt racing where they jump fences) so far, in the first two days 5, yes _five_ horses have died, or been PTS as a result of injuries (mostly leg) sustained in racing - the good going is being blamed. I doubt that the production of this TV series has been the cause of any of the horses’ deaths ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/16 "2012-03-15T15:40:02Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > I’d be willing to bet that it was a situation where HBO looked at the ratings, looked at the history of accidents, and said, “You know what, it’s not worth it.” I think so. The show wasn’t doing well and I don’t think HBO wants to deal with boycotts and bad publicity for purportedly failing to keep animals safe. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/17 "2012-03-15T15:50:36Z")
I think I read that the Humane Society organization affiliated with the show had issued a suspension order. Not sure how that process works. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/18 "2012-03-15T18:33:19Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I think I read that the Humane Society organization affiliated with the show had issued a suspension order. Not sure how that process works. I’m not sure either, but I don’t think the AHA has the power to stop anything during filming. Wikipedia says HBO made the decision to stop filming the racing sequences while it looked into the deaths of the horses, and the AHA asked them not to resume filming until they had done a thorough investigation. Films and movies like to have the AHA’s approval because it reassures viewers, but producers and networks aren’t going to give the humane society the authority to stop them from filming. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luck-the-spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-of-horses/615745/19 "2012-03-19T12:36:49Z")
Terribly sad that these horses died and the show got canceled. I was really enjoying the show - it was probably the best drama on TV at the moment.