HBO cancels Luck after third horse dies, should they have done something sooner?

Have any of you been watching HBO’s “Luck”? From what I’ve read, It’s about a recently paroled mobster (Dustin Hoffman) who gets into the horse racing business, and sketchiness ensues. Nick Nolte also stars as a horse trainer. The first season has been airing since early February, with the pilot debuting in mid December. I have HBO, but I usually either DVR the shows I’m watching or use HBO Go, and I have to admit that I have no recollection of the show whatsoever. It just didn’t register with me. (Maybe that’s because I have blinders on and am so focused on the upcoming premiere of “Game of Thrones.”)

Well a third horse just died on the set of “Luck,” after producers were blasted for two earlier premature deaths of horses used in the show. The series was just canceled and production for the second season was totally shut down. There are two more episodes set to air in this season and that’s it. The ratings for “Luck” are consistently about double to triple the ratings for another new HBO series, the critically acclaimed “Enlightened.” So while ratings may have played a small role in the show’s cancellation, it seems the fate of the poor horses were what really pushed it over the edge. Here’s more:

Following the deaths of three horses on the set of its racing drama Luck, HBO announced Wednesday that it will cease all future production on the series.

Executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann made the decision “with heartbreak,” according to a statement from HBO.

“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,” reads the statement.

“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.”

The latest death of a horse came Tuesday, when a 5-year-old thoroughbred reared back and hit its head after a fall, sustaining a severe injury that led to its euthanization.

The American Humane Association insisted that filming involving horses cease, but shooting on the second season of the series continued without horses while the investigation proceeded. Groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for the show to halt all production.

“The two of us loved this series, loved the cast, crew and writers,” Milch and Mann said in the statement. “This has been a tremendous collaboration and one that we plan to continue in the future.”

[From People]

Radar Online has a very extensive analysis of just why so many horses were dying on set. They talked to a VP at PETA, though, so take this for what it is. According to the “equine expert” at PETA, Kathy Guillermo, it was more about the fact that the horses were retired race horses whose bodies just weren’t up to racing again. The horses were apparently compelled to race when they were put on the track, just due to their years of training, and the poor creatures weren’t up to it. Radar also interviewed a veterinarian, who said “Looking over the necropsy forms, it appears to me that these horses had been retired for a reason so I think that people are right to have raised concerns over the show. We all make mistakes and this is a big one on HBO’s part from the horse’s perspective.” That’s sad, and you would have hoped that they would have used more fit and younger horses at least after the untimely deaths of the first two. It never happened though, another horse died, and the show had to be shut down. They probably just used old horses because it was cheaper.

Also, I really like Nick Nolte and I’m kind of sad for him, too. He’s got a ton of movies coming out this year and he was just nominated for his third Oscar, so it’s not like his career is suffering at all though.

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