Teen Racer Allegedly Takes Knife to Rival Horses

A national barrel racing event in Las Vegas was rocked over the weekend after three horses were found stabbed in their stalls, and police say a teenage competitor is to blame. Las Vegas Metro officers responded around 2am Saturday to the South Point Hotel and casino complex, where the National Barrel Horse Association was hosting its Professional Choice Las Vegas Super Show, reports KTLA. The department's Animal Cruelty Section says the teen, who had access to the barns, allegedly used a knife to repeatedly stab the animals, identified by their owners as Saaul Good, Detail, and Rocket.

All three horses required medical treatment but are expected to recover; they were sidelined from the rest of the competition. Saaul Good or "Sully" and owner Hailey Krahenbuhl had just won an event on Friday, per Sports Illustrated, which describes both as "superstars." Detail's owner, Arielle Phillips, described the suspect as "a crazy obsessed stalker" who repeatedly visited her horse's stall late Friday "to check if I had left yet." She said surveillance footage showed the teen entering the stall two minutes after Phillips exited just after midnight. Arrested at a nearby hotel and booked into Clark County Juvenile Hall, the girl faces 12 counts related to animal torture and three felony property-damage charges, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.