Outrage as champion racehorse is killed and served to unwitting diners at council-run soup kitchen
A champion racehorse was killed and served to unwitting diners at a council-run soup kitchen, sparking public outrage.
The four-year-old racehorse named Smart Latch was injured and retired from the track. Instead of being donated to a riding club as the owner wanted, it ended up being served at a soup kitchen in southern Türkiye.
Last month, a resident of Mersin’s Yenşir district discovered a strange object in his portion of a traditional Turkish fried meat dish, roasted meat, while eating at a soup kitchen, local media reported on Thursday.
Agriculture ministry inspectors were alarmed and after testing they found that it was Smart Latch’s microchip.
The horse was a thoroughbred mare who won first place and two other career victories at the racecourse in the nearby city of Adana.
When the roast served at the soup kitchen on February 4 was examined, it was understood that it was made from horse meat.
They had to destroy 213 kilos of roasted meat produced in the soup kitchen that day and the day before.
Slaughtering horses for meat is illegal in Türkiye, especially for registered racehorses, which are often fostered or rehomed.
Details only emerged this week, nearly a month after the chip was found in food.
The Ministry said that the Mersin Municipality soup kitchen was added to the list of unsafe products after it was tested to contain the meat of a single-hoofed animal such as a ‘horse, donkey or mule’.
Smart Latch (pictured) won three races in his career but broke his leg in his final race in October. Won prize money of 1,125,000 Turkish Lira (£19,200)
A customer at a soup kitchen discovered the microchip in his food, which was later found to belong to his four-year-old racehorse, Smart Latch.
In his statement on Friday, Suat Topçu, the owner of Smart Latch, said, “We are in a difficult situation” and said that the horse started racing in 2024 but retired after breaking its leg in its last race on October 14.
Smart Latch has earned a total of 1,125,000 Turkish Lira (£19,200) in prize money with three wins during his short career.
Mr Topcu said he arranged to donate it to a riding club, using a local transporter he knew.
He said he didn’t know what happened to Smart Latch until he was contacted by the agriculture ministry.
He was later fined 132,000 Turkish lira (£2,260) for failing to officially report the donation.
The owner of the racehorse said, ‘The punishment is not important, what is important is that those who committed this cruelty are found.’
Investigators suspect the horse never went to the riding club but instead went to the slaughterhouse.
They believe the horse’s meat was mistakenly labeled as ‘beef’ and then sold to the company that supplies the council’s soup kitchen.
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Smart Latch owner Suat Topçu (pictured) was fined 132,000 Turkish lira (£2,260) for failing to declare that he planned to donate the injured horse to a riding club. ‘Punishment is not important, what is important is finding those who committed this cruelty,’ he said.
The municipality defended itself on the issue of horse meat being served from soup kitchens and said that the meat used was procured in accordance with the necessary regulations.
Mersin Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry continues its investigation into how Smart Mandalı was murdered instead of going to the riding club that Topçu wanted to send him to.
