We’ve written in the past about Wal-Mart’s penchant for buildings stores over human remains, like the recent fiasco in Honolulu, where Wal-Mart unearthed nearly twenty graves while building its Hawaiian store. In Nashville, TN, in Greenfield,MA in Leeds, NY, Wal-Mart has literally built over someone’s dead body. But this time, Wal-Mart and Home Depot are preparing to move the grave of Princess Mary, Lady Sterling, Sir Barton, and a host of other personalities — all stars of the horse racing world. The proposed Hamburg Place Shopping Center development of a Wal-Mart supercenter and a Home Depot near Lexington will require the removal and relocation of 18 horse graves, which date back to 1898 Kentucky Derby winner Plaudit. The developer has asked Lexington planners to rezone 58-acres of farmland for the mall. According to bloodhorse.com, the land owner has indicated that he plans to relocate the horse graves to a more prominent place in the shopping center. Other Thoroughbreds they will have to dig up include Ida Pickwick- granddam of Old Rosebud, 1914 Kentucky Derby winner; Imp, Horse of the Year 1899; Lady Sterling, dam of Sir Barton, 1919 Kentucky Derby winner and first Triple Crown winner; Miss Kearney, dam of Zev, 1923 Kentucky Derby winner; Plaudit, 1898 Kentucky Derby winner; Flying Ebony; and T.V. Lark, champion grass horse of 1961; Bel Sheba, the dam of Alysheba, 1987 Kentucky Derby winner. The site is a Who’s Who of the Horse Racing world. Wal-Mart could sell cheap rubber horses made in China with the names of the graves being unearthed.
Would you want to buy packaged meat at a Wal-Mart supercenter built over a bunch of horse graves, and named “The Hamburg Place?” It’s bad enough that Wal-Mart injects its meat with salt water, but I’d rather have a glue factory than this Wal-Mart supercenter on a former horse farm.
