Information About Retired Race Horses Is a Privilege, Not a Right

Last week, many thoroughbred fans went up in arms when it was leaked that Rachel Alexandra and her new foal were at Rood and Riddle for pain management related to the colt's birth.

Fans were understandably upset to learn that one of the most popular mares in horse racing was at the vet clinic and it wasn’t until Stonestreet released a statement later that day that the storm calmed. But that was just the beginning.

After the farm announced the mare had been taken to the vet for observation, they were criticized for not telling fans right away, including a tweet from a journalist that sparked a debate on twitter.

While Rachel Alexandra is a big-time horse and has a ton of fans, at what point can a horse’s life step out of the spotlight?

On the track, full disclosure makes sense due to the millions of dollars spent on betting. But when it comes to the breeding shed, it shouldn’t be expected that the fans get information right away, if ever. Other than prop wagers made on some high profile foals, betting is no longer a concern when it comes to the horse.

Yes, information about some mares has been easy to get due to their public nature (Zenyatta’s diary for example) but should this courtesy be extended for every single instance? Should fans be allowed every detail of the lives of these mares and their foals, even when they aren’t at the track?

Sure, every year we see tons of foaling announcements thanks to the owners that feel like sharing the information with us. But when they do share this information, it doesn't require them to share anything else, they don’t then have to tell us every time mare and foal has a scratch or even if the animals have died.

After all, they are the ones paying the money for everything and the ones with their names on the Jockey Club papers.

Yes, the sport is attempting to grow and by providing fans information on their favorite racehorses; it keeps people interested. But it also has to be remembered that this information doesn’t have to be provided to people outside the connections to the animal.

Horse racing already provides more information than other sports. What other sport allows you to know what medications an athlete is on when it runs or what its times were when it went for its weekly timed run? With a little investigating, you can also find out what a horse did on the days it didn’t work out when they are at a track.

Walk up to a coach and ask what their training regiment is for their team and mostly likely, many won’t give you a lot of details. Nor will you get many details about what a retired athlete is doing unless they step into the public spotlight after retirement.

By pushing for more information on a horse and then blasting a farm for not giving the information out within an hour or two of a person’s request, the person discourages farms from giving out any information on retired horses.

If fans want more access to their favorite horses after they leave the track, they need to be patient and realize that not all information should be shared right away, especially when it comes to emergency type situations where it can take days to make any definite diagnose.