The time has come for the "Sport of Kings" to realize its place in the American sports lexicon.
A spectator sport that needs to pass into the history books and join other barbaric and greedy spectator pastimes that employ animals for amusement. There is, and has been for some time now, little difference between horse racing and cock fights, bull fighting and dog racing.
Each erroneously labeled sport is based on the same premise. Animals that have no say in the matter other than to please their masters. These same magnificent athletic creatures performing as any circus animal would for treats and, in many cases, faux affection. Animals that while they may have cost someone a pretty penny are nothing more than disposable flesh should they fail to return on their investment.
Thoroughbred horse racing was once a major sport in this country, well before the days of pay-per-view, 24-hour sports networks and fantasy leagues for everything from marbles to motor sports. Before live carnival style broadcasts which allowed for every flaw and foible to be magnified.
But horse racing today is a dying sport, on a day-to-day basis at tracks and OTB parlors across the country followed and wagered on only by a sordid mix of degenerate gamblers and cigar-chewing nonagenarians who have little more than this as their main source of entertainment. It is sad and even pathetic to walk around the concourse at many a race track and try to imagine what was once a civilized industry that has for years now wallowed in mediocrity and perpetual avarice.
I speak from experience, having covered the Triple Crown from barns to the Winners Circle. These are the showcase events, where an international audience gets to see the sport at it's finest. Dressed in colorful hats, replete with celebrity red carpets, and of course presenting their young athletes as those who are cared for with white glove efficiency. Receiving nothing but affection and attention, as they "love to run and show off for the adoring crowds". They were "born to race, bred to be champions", and have it in their respective hearts and souls to flash by the grandstand in a blaze of equestrian excellence.
What is not shown at these events, and rarely if ever witnessed by even those who crowd the grandstands or tune in for those exciting 2 minutes, is the dark and tragic side of a sport featuring truly disposable heroes.
Even those who make their living in this industry are keenly yet often silently aware of the slaughter that takes place on a stunning level. It was only 5 years ago that over 40,000 horses were slaughtered in this country. To be sure, not all of these were thoroughbreds. Investigators cannot get a handle on the exact number because, as one might guess, the industry would rather numbers such as these remain private and hazy at best.
It should also be pointed out that not every thoroughbred owner treats their animals as little more than overseas dog food once their productive days are over. There are many doing whatever they can to insure these proud and prideful animals are neither abused nor slaughtered. The ones who genuinely love their animals and treat them as much more than an investment. They are gaining in number, but are still overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of horses killed because they couldn't turn a profit.
Perhaps those who think of the sport as such a grand example of the animal spirit would see it differently were they to watch a Kentucky Derby and hear the announcers tell the story in a truly dispassionate manner. No coddling the audience. No insuring the network contract would remain in it's lucrative place for next year. But a simple stated, non-eloquent description.
Eight Belles crossed the finish line second at the Derby, a rousing story for the only filly in the race. Seconds later, both her front legs shattered into millions of tiny pieces in front of those counting their winnings and others calling for the defeated to be turned into glue or some other cheap substance.
There was not a single soul who has ever been connected in any manner with horses or racing that didn't know what would come next. Injuries such as these can never be repaired. We were told by various announcers on TV and radio that Eight Belles had to be "put down", "humanely treated for her wounds", or "euthanized".
It was certainly humane, as there are those medical professionals connected with the sport who realize the abject pain these animals are under when such an injury occurs. They race to the scene and without a second thought administer a life-ending shot that kills the horse in seconds. They are to be commended for their attempts to treat the animal with dignity in it's dying moments.
But in the end, the horse was killed. Put out of it's misery. Ending what has to be incredible pain and suffering. In days past they would do the same thing with a bullet to the brain.Now they bring out the trailer, put a tarp up around the animal so no one from the grandstand or the TV audience can see, administered the killing shot and then load the carcass onto a flatbed for disposition. Nice and tidy. No muss, no fuss, no blood. Nothing to see here.
Trainer Larry Jones and owner Rick Porter made the decision to run Eight Belles despite her being the only filly in the race and NEVER having raced against colts before. This was treated in the days and minutes leading up to the race as the lady against the big boys, with one fellow trainer even joking on national radio that he hoped his horse didn't get too amorous with her during the race.
However, Larry Jones & Rick Porter should be seen as nothing more than greedy opportunists looking to ride the back, and the legs, of his inexperienced and possibly highly over matched filly. Jones won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and being the trainer of a Derby winning horse would make him one of the few to win those 2 races on the same weekend. History for the man, oats for the animal. Instead, a tax write-off for the owner and a chance to buy yet another horse at auction to take Eight Belles place. Greed at it's worst.
There are those who will counter and point to the fact Eight Belles finished second in the Derby and could have won. But at what cost? What did that effort take out of her? We'll never know. She couldn't talk. Couldn't say no. Couldn't stop running at any point in the race because all she was ever taught to do was to please her masters. And now Eight Belles is dead for doing just that.
I have been close to handlers, trainers, owners, and many others in the thoroughbred industry. I have seen those who treat their animals with care and respect. The people who get little or no attention for their efforts to see these animals cared for as something more than money on the hoof. Too often, however, they are the little guys and gals who never sniff a whiff of places like Churchill Downs. Many of whom get out of the business because they simply cannot bear mute witness to the tragic way these animals are sometimes treated.
But I also have seen and know the other side of this industry. The horses that are shot up with enough drugs to keep them happy and running if there were bear traps snapped onto each leg. The fetid and filthy stalls they are given to call home. The crack of a more than one whip for those who can't make the grade on track. The execution and dumping of bodies either into a landfill hole or chopped up to be sold for animal food, fertilizer, and sometimes even winding up as additives for your dinner table.
These are wonderful creatures who will indeed run their heart out for an owner or trainer. They live to please as so many other animals do. We humanize them by noting how they love to play for a crowd and have their picture taken. We grieve for them when they fall victim to disease. We make pilgrimages to their grave sites in order to mourn their passing.
But only for a very, very select few. Barbaro's death was tragic, but what followed bordered on the ludicrous. He was painted by the media as a symbol of what it meant to be a true champion. To this day there are those who will tell you under hushed breath it was all a wonderfully choreographed media campaign by the thoroughbred industry, desperate to use his death as a way to show people the caring side of their sport and bring them back to the betting windows once again.
Does anyone remember the tale of Ferdinand? Winner of the 1986 Kentucky Derby. Winner of the 1987 Breeders Cup. A failure at stud, which meant he was no longer of any monetary value to his owners. Sold to a group in Japan, we learned in 2002 that Ferdinand was executed there and sent to a slaughterhouse.
No longer a money maker. Couldn't turn out future champions for owners to line their pockets with. Good for nothing save for the butcher block.
These animals are used for nothing more than making money by some who reside in a dark and wretched corner of society, knowing full well they can buy them, race them, abuse them, and kill them without a second thought. Those used as speed horses to make the more talented colts with a higher investment tag run even faster, and can be disposed of with a minimal dollar loss. The colts and fillies bought for short prices but fail to make good on the owners dollar. Then taken away and sold for a profit to other countries where horse flesh is a delicacy. The colt standing to stud who fails to sire possible winners and has a battery attached to his genitals until dropping dead. Don't waste the cost of a bullet on that nag.
I have personally seen each and every one of these scenarios take place. I made a mistake by not saying something then. I won't make the same mistake twice.
The time has come to bid an overdue farewell to horse racing in this country. It serves no purpose than to create an easy and disposable way for the wealthy to play with their money. For gamblers to have something else when the blackjack tables are closed. The beauty and pageantry of the sport are often mere facades to keep one from seeing what really goes on in some of the more unscrupulous barns and paddocks across the country. The sport, in it's current form, properly continues to lose fans, interest, and credibility.
And would lose many more if people only wanted to know the truth.
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5 months ago
Bravo, Ed, for a wonderfully written, informative article about horse racing. What an eye opener. Quite naturally I've informed our readers about this. Thomas at Sonshi.com
5 months ago
Excellent article. But do you have the courage to on the barbaric sports of hockey and football next?
from 5 months ago
There is one big difference between the two, human beings CHOOSE to play hockey and football. Horses have no say in what there fate may be.
5 months ago
My thanks for the comment, Virginia. The difference between horse racing and the sports you mentioned is the participants in those are able to make a choice in what they do and when they do it. Human athletes are afforded constant protection from physical harm, are paid well, and have unions representing them to air grievances and such. Horses have no such choices. That, and when their careers are over, the option of executing the athlete does not exist. At least, one would certainly hope that is the case. Best, Ed.
from 5 months ago
Sorry Ed but you're wrong.
Football and Hockey are not just played on the professional level. There are far more people that play in elementary, middle school, high school, and college for no compensation other than the chance to play.
Protection from harm. Well lets see. This happened during a horse race. How much protection does a sprinter get? Comparing racing and football or hockey is laughable.
Unions representing them. Again, you are restricting this argument to professionals only and they are the smallest population of the athletes. Get a clue, pal.
Horses have no choices, ok. What about your dog? What if your dog doesn't really want to be a lap-dog? I'm sure you love your poodle but I have a feeling your poodle would rather be doing something else.
Careers end all the time over random injuries. I lost my soccer scholarship on a torn ACL I got walking to my fridge. No trip, no stumble, just bad luck.
You are very narrow minded, like most people commenting on this article.
The best part is that I'm not even a fan of horses or horse racing. I've never even been on one except a little pony at the state fair when i was 6. You people are just so uneducated I had to say something.
from 5 months ago
Ed,
Execute = to murder/assassinate.
Murder = the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law.
I don't think "executing" is exactly the word that describes this situation. It's just anthropomorphism at its best to make it seem more dramatic.
5 months ago
Gee, Ed, I wonder which side of the horse slaughter act you support. You can't make it much more obvious - so was this actually an article about the tragedy of losing a filly that gave her heart and soul to race? Yes, she was raced in a race she should have been pulled out of after the strain of the race the day before, but horse racing continues to be a BUSINESS. As far as the animals you listed that've been sent to a "tragic" end, like any other business, when faced with big losses, any competent owner is going to salvage what they can. Horse slaughter in this case is a means to salvage money invested, but in the interest of all horse owners (not just those rich few), the slaughter of horses for food, be it human or other, means that the horses at least have a final purpose. Some in the U.S. tend to anthropomorphize horses, and it's toll is already being seen with the closure of the last horse slaughter plants and the abandonment of thousands of horses. These horses are going to die slow and painful deaths as they starve to death, instead of a merciful and quick death with a stun gun. So until we get a hold on this catastrophe that is coming as a result of the ban of the plants, I'm going to focus my efforts on something other than getting the horse racing industry closed down.
from 5 months ago
To Wendy:
You state "the slaughter of horses for food, be it human or other, means that the horses at least have a final purpose."
Ah, so you want to feed the rich of France, Belgium and any other person in the world who can afford the high price of American horse meat, with our companions. Just for the few cents it's going to bring to you? No matter the absolute barbaric torture they face during the journey and in their final moments.
You are Judas personified.
from 5 months ago
To Wendy
You belong working in a slaughter house
wringing chicken necks for a living.
Making a BUSINESS from pushing young horses too fast and too soon
is inhumane.
How do you sleep at night?
from 5 months ago
Eight Belles did NOT race the day before. She was stratched God Bless her.
from 4 months ago
Maam:
you are out of line and since I don't have a clue who you are, i'll call you on it. If you think that PETA is going to get the horse racing industry closed down, then you best turn to the one's in the animal world who actually know what is going on. I would like to take a few mins to tell you some of the things that I know about PETA, This might devistate you, so hopefully. 90% of the animals that PETA claims to save are killed. 10% of there animals that are rescued are put in homes of people who are indicted on animal cruelty, or have previous charges of animal cruelty. 50-60% of them are not vegetarians. i have talked to PETA employees that will openly admit that the organization is fraud. What more do you need to know? Thoroughbred racing is a buisness but there is also science behind the things that are done. Weather or not fillies are physiologically built to run in the Derby or not is not the issue at hand, PETA wanting more attention and more money is what the issue is. Just keep that in mind.
5 months ago
Wendy making it a business transaction doesn't make it right. Yes we need to be aware of the consequences of new laws but I don't see anything wrong with putting up regulations to further protect animal welfare. In many ways, those laws reflect how we would treat each other as human beings, much like the Bill of Rights did for all Americans.
from 5 months ago
The problem becomes - when does it stop? If the ban on horse slaughter is allowed to continue, what's to say that the next target won't become the cattle industry? The swine industry? It just continues on and on, and it becomes a snowball effect that no one can stop. I personally own horses and respect their right not to suffer, to have shelter, food, water, veterinary care, and to live a relatively happy life. I enjoy their companionship and am sad when I sell them. However, it all comes down to the fact that I OWN them. That means they are property, regardless of their cognitive abilities and whatever other properties give them personalities. Humans are not property of other humans in this nation as given by the Constitution, but nowhere are the same rights granted to animals. I know that people are becoming more aware of the abuse that some animals are subject to, and the abuse that some animals endure should not be accepted. However, these cases cannot be allowed to be generalized to the point that all animals are granted "rights." This is dangerous ground that we're treading.
from 5 months ago
Horses are NOT property....they CHOOSE to let us have them with us. Trust me, if a horse doesn't want to do something there is no way in hell you or anyone else is going to make them do it.
5 months ago
Ferdinand was the 1986 winner of the derby ( not 1996 )
5 months ago
Thanks for a sobering and well balanced article on horse racing. I cried over Ruffian, read many
horse novels as a teen, and have regularly watched triple crown races just to see those beautiful
animals run. Never again - and I'll do my best to keep my daughter and her friends from falling
in the same trap. As for Wendy, what a perfect post to show how the almighty business dollar has
led to the death of ethics in this country. Just replace "horses" by "people" to get the Nazis. How long
is it until "Soylent Green" is a reality (not soon enough in the case of some posters, I deem...)?
from 5 months ago
I can officially call this day a full day. I've been compared to being a Nazi for believing that horse slaughter has a place in this world. Ask anyone who lost family to the Nazis if they feel the same.
5 months ago
There are several problems with your view on this. The most obvious problem is that you are comparing raising horses to the slaughter and imprisonment of MILLIONS of people. Do you know what happened during the holocaust or WWII? You clearly have no education in history and your family was obviously not affected by this tragedy. To someone who lost most of his family, and the rest being forced to be refugees that escaped eventually to America, your comments are extremely insulting. Your blatent lack of education means you should stop talking and go read a lot of books.
I tried my best to use small words so you could follow, Deb.
from 4 months ago
Horses are not people. You can't relate the Holocaust to horse racing. Really it is ignorant if you would even try. Learn a couple things about how the horse functions before you try to make that argument.
Jessica
5 months ago
Let's keep this discussion going but keep it on target. Bringing any form of genocide or ethnic cleansing has no place in this debate because it simply is not germane to the discussion. And my thanks to Chelsea for catching a slip of the keyboard, as it has been fixed.
5 months ago
Ed, thank you for a well-written and heartfelt article. I, too, have spent my life following closely and being involved in the breeding and selling side of racing. I watched the match race where Ruffian paid the ultimate price. I followed the career of Secretariat with amazement and appreciation. I have been and still am involved in the competitive horseworld, although no longer in racing. I own 7 horses which we compete on and ride for pleasure. I am horse lover if ever there was one.
It broke my heart to see this tragic race. It breaks my heart to see the dark side of racing which you so concisely described in your article. But I, personally, do not think it calls for the end of horse racing. Instead I believe it calls for a good hard look at the footing, training, nutrition and support of these amazing athletes before, during and after their careers.
Not every breeder, owner, trainer, jockey, etc. sees these animals as the almighty dollar. Many of these people love and appreciate horses. They glory in the beauty and power of an athlete at the top of his game. They care for their horses during and after their career. Many ex-racehorses go on to careers in jumping or showhorses or simply backyard receational riding. Not all of course. There are the lowlifes, the abusers, the heartless who treat them as just another commodity.
And I don't believe horses only run because they are forced to. A great racehorse runs for the love of it. He glories in it and craves the competition. You've been there, you've seen the light in the eye of a true competitor. This is the horse at his best and lights a fire in the heart of those who see him.
I'm afraid if we end the sport of racing altogether, we lose this appreciation and connection with a magnificent animal. For many people the only time they get a chance to see how amazing an animal a horse can be is through racing.
Rather than calling for the end of racing, I would rather call for major reform that improves the lives of the equine athlete.
As a side note, for a wonderful look at both sides of racing, I highly recommend reading Jane Smiley's novel, Horse Heaven.
from 5 months ago
Laurie,
I think your post here is better then the article itself.
5 months ago
BRAVO, Mr. Berliner, for an article that tells it like it really is!
I stopped watching or supporting horse racing after Barbaro's breakdown in the Preakness and the resultant facts and statistics concerning this cruel sport came to light. Over the course of a one-year period, an average of ONE horse per DAY dies as a result of injuries sustained on the track. ONE a DAY! Do you think this kind of mortality statistic would be tolerated in ANY kind of sport involving human athletes?
The ignorant comments such as "horses like to to run" are in themselves laughable. Yes, horses like to run, but have you ever actually watched a horse run for the sheer love of it? They do so with their heads & tails high and seem to fairly float over the ground; they don't run at sheer breakneck speed, gasping for air, with a rider on their back beating the hell out of them with a whip for a mile and a quarter! These horses are pushed to the very limits of their physical endurance, and many times resultant deaths, for nothing more than money and entertainment.
Yes, this sport is CRUEL and until something is done to make it safer for the horses, I along with many others will no longer watch or support it. It's ironic; I started watching horse racing in my youth because of my love for horses and now I find myself no longer willing to watch or support it for the very same reason.
from 5 months ago
If a horse runs by itself, I agree that it does run with its head and tail held high. However, if you've ever watched a herd of horses run, they run closer to the ground, with their ears back, and with determination in their stride. I'd invite you to watch my 3 year-olds and 4 year-olds sometime. Or watch my horse that works cattle all by himself to the point that he has to be kept out of the pasture that the cattle are in. A race horse is not whipped for the mile and a quarter, if you watch races, they're actually restrained for the first 3/4 or so of the race many times. They WANT to run hard to compete with one another, and the whip is used only at the end to get a horse to run away from its competitors.
I'm definitely not going to say there aren't parts of the industry that need to change to make it safer. I don't personally believe in asking a horse to canter under saddle until it's at least 3 years old, and my horses will never be found running competitive races at the age of two. I know that their skeletomuscular systems aren't ready for it at that time, and they're just babies in their mentality. However, everyone is entitled to their opinions on training methods and theories, however misguided they might seem to me.
5 months ago
Hmm, it is clear that some folks do regular searches on the word "Nazi" using Google so that they can castigate everyone who is perceived as insulting their family history (either that, or Wendy has a convenient friend or alias). No denigration of anyone's suffering was intended. A more perceptive reader might have realized that a simple analogy was being used to point out the similarity between language used by those who justify inhumane actions toward non-human animals "of any cognitive ability" by referral to property rights and language used by repressive human regimes of the past. I guess if I had used "Assyria" rather than the Third Reich, Godwin's Law would not have been invoked and only the well-educated would have followed the analogy. My mistake. I note that the definition of "property" has changed within the past several centuries to the point where it no longer includes women and human slaves. Wendy is rightly concerned over the impact to business if that the definition continues to change. From an ethical perspective, I hope it does.
Ed, I apologize for using an "N" word in my comments and introducing chaos to this thread :P.
from 5 months ago
Deb, I'm actually capable of being offended all by myself. I read a LOT about the Holocaust and Nazis during my youth and have actually visited Auschwitz and other sites in Germany that now pay tribute to those who lost their lives. I didn't have to do a "Google" search nor did I have to post under an alias to support myself. I can support my statements without the need to regress to a childish method such as posting under an alias to respond to such an outlandish comparison.
And I'm out on that topic, per Ed's request.
5 months ago
I agree 100%. We have to stop abusing those amazing and noble animals who are in our care. How can we, in the public, make that heard? Any ideas? If racing doesn't change to protect them, then it should be stopped completely!
5 months ago
Wen, I've been a horse owner most of my life and I've seen many horses run both alone and in herds. In neither of the aforementioned, do horses run like they're made to run in thoroughbred racing. And oh, excuse me ... since they hold them back for part of the race it's ok to beat the hell out of them in the backstretch to get them to pull away. Determination in their stride?? I think racing demands a little more than that.
You can promote horse slaughter, cruelty to animals, animals-as-property, and the animals-have-no-rights mentality until you're blue in the face; that's your right in a free speech society. But I pity the 'free spirits' you call property and the end they face when they're no longer of any use to you.
5 months ago
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” - M. Gandhi
I do worry that the total abolition of horse racing would lead to the wholesale slaughter or abandonment of Thoroughbreds in the short term. The activity needs to be phased out gradually. As in dog rescue, there is far more need for foster homes than capacity, especially for animals with expensive care needs. Perhaps if the gambling aspect were de-legitimized, the organized crime and lowlife involvement in horse racing would decrease to the benefit of those who truly love the animals. By increasing the minimum age for entries to 4 - 5, changing the track surfaces, simply canceling runs on "sloppy" tracks, and broadening funds for horse (and jockey) injury care supported by owner entry fees (to eliminate purely economic euthanasias), I think improvement could be made. The business of horse racing needs to transition to the hobby of horse racing, in my opinion.
from 5 months ago
Here, here, Deb. This is the kind of creative reformist thinking that can make the sport more humane without eliminating it entirely.
5 months ago
Ed, thank you for saying what has long needed to be said.
I am a Thoroughbred trainer who more and more with each and every passing day is beginning to believe that there is just no hope left for this industry. The continued blatant disregard for the welfare of our Thoroughbred athletes by owners, trainers, and the industry itself, is an outrage to those of us within the sport who actually do love and respect our horses.
I am sick to death of greedy, wanna-be horsemen chewing these horses up on the racetrack and then tossing over to the backstretch "meatman" as if they were nothing more than yesterday's trash.
For years now, many truly caring and professional horsemen have been begging and pleading with the industry to step up to the plate to address the critical welfare issues affecting our Thoroughbred athletes, and thus far our pleas have time and time again, fallen upon deaf ears. We have begged for the industry to assist in funding Thoroughbred retirement programs, and other than a handful of tracks offering token support, for the most part the tracks have done NOTHING to help us help our horses transition into new homes and careers once their racing days are over.
For decades upon decades, tens of thousands of Thoroughbred horses have been sent to low end auctions where they endure unspeakable fear and suffering, only to be further tortured enroute to a heinous death at an equine slaughter plant. This is positively heartbreaking and categorically unacceptable. It has to STOP!
If the Thoroughbred racing industry doesnt immediately step up to address ALL welfare issues facing these incredible animals, then Im with you...lets bury horse racing in the graveyard of inhumanity right alongside the Greyhound industry.
Gail
5 months ago
The truth always hurts and you have told it. The Sport of Kings is really the Sport of Shame and the wealthy owners and breeders do not do nearly enough to set up a safety net for the retirement of race horses. It is called GREED , folks. As a life long racetracker , the days of caring more for horses is over, now they are treated like machinery and when they can't make any more money they are brutally killed. What a society we have become, cold, uncaring and greedy. I for one think the Jockey Gabriel Saez kept whipping that, filly in the lane to an uncecessay end. A good Jockey knows when his horse has given all they can and she did, he didn't have to punish her, she had second, couldn't get first , so why? One more thing Wendy, sad when you sell your horses, unbelivable .
Patricia Bewley , Vice President , the RACE Fund.
5 months ago
Bravo, for an honest article about horse racing.
I used to be a fan of racing, even attended the Belmont Stakes every year, until Ruffian. I watched Ruffian's race and realized that this "sport" was completely on the wrong track.
Over the years, I've learned a lot more. Perhaps much more than I wanted to know and that, of course, includes horse slaughter.
The truth is that these horses are being trained too young, raced too young, bred for speed instead of soundness, and if that wasn't enough there is the very dirty, under the radar business of Nurse Mare Foals: http://www.lastchancecorral.org/foal_rescue/foal_rescue.html
As Mr. Berliner has said, there are those owners who do treat their horses with respect and do care what happens to them after they race, but they are few and far between.
For me racing was over with Ruffian, but my love for horses will never be over. I will fight until horse slaughter and abuse is a thing of the past.
Please, call your senators and representatives and ask them to support and bring S 311 and HR 503 to a vote!
5 months ago
Bravo, for an honest article about horse racing.
I used to be a fan of racing, even attended the Belmont Stakes every year, until Ruffian. I watched Ruffian's race and realized that this "sport" was completely on the wrong track.
Over the years, I've learned a lot more. Perhaps much more than I wanted to know and that, of course, includes horse slaughter.
The truth is that these horses are being trained too young, raced too young, bred for speed instead of soundness, and if that wasn't enough there is the very dirty, under the radar business of Nurse Mare Foals: http://www.lastchancecorral.org/foal_rescue/foal_rescue.html
As Mr. Berliner has said, there are those owners who do treat their horses with respect and do care what happens to them after they race, but they are few and far between.
For me racing was over with Ruffian, but my love for horses will never be over. I will fight until horse slaughter and abuse is a thing of the past.
Please, call your senators and representatives and ask them to support and bring S 311 and HR 503 to a vote!
5 months ago
Tp Wendy: Eight Belles did not run in the Kentucky Oaks. She was entered in both the Oaks and the Derby, was scratched from the Oaks and entered in the Derby. She did not run in both races, no one in their right mind runs a horse two days in a row. Ed's commentary and most of the reponses illustrate the profound level of ignorance out there when it comes to anything about horse racing when terrible events like this occur. Mostly its people who know nothing about horses. Yes, there is a MINORITY of players in this business who are bad actors, who race horses who have no business running, etc. But they are the minority. The fact is, whether we ride them or not, or pop them from a gate at a racetrack or not, horses will run and occasionally break their legs doing it. It is a fact of nature. Over 100 horses raced yesterday at Churchill Downs - one broke down. Racing goes on all across the country year round, and most days at most tracks, nobody, human or equine gets hurt. Now, onto the ethics versus aesthetics argument. If there are vegetarians among you, you are more than welcome to keep standing on your soapbox. Otherwise, everyone else who had eggs for breakfast and is looking forward to a steak dinner tonight has no business wagging their fingers at the thoroughbred world for its alleged cruelty. First of all, we're not trying to hurt them, in fact, its the last thing we want - a considerable difference between racing and blood sports such as cockfighting, bullfighting and dogfighting. Secondly, as much as it is aesthetically displeasing to me, I cannot say it is ethically wrong for anyone to slaughter a horse for consumption, be it for human, canine or feline use. The problem that happened with the slaughter of horses in America is that it wasn't regulated because we don't eat them here. So the treatment the animals got on their way to their end was horrible. My point is, Eight Belles lived a far better life than the animal you are probably going to have for dinner later. The truth is most of these animals live a better life than most humans on this earth, including the ones who actually provide their hands-on care day in and day out. It was a freak incident, even Dr. Bramlage said in all his years he had never seen anything like it. Due to the adrenalin still pumping through her veins, she felt little or no pain before the injection that ended her life. So before you decide to throw the baby out with the bath water, learn about what you speak.
5 months ago
A terrific article, Ed, and one that is long overdue.
Horse racing has indeed become a blood sport.
I have "before" and "after" pictures of big stakes
winners who make their owners rich, and then,
instead of being given a good retirement, were
sold 20 times until they ended up in the hands
of someone who starved and deydrated them.
Wendy sees this as all part of the BUSINESS.
In Canada, thank heavens, animals have been
removed from the "Property" section of the
Criminal Code. So, Wendy, in this country,
you do not OWN an animal....you have a
responsibility to it. Your posts indicate
you are a horse trader. No wonder
these animals just represent dollars
to you.
5 months ago
This is a wonderful article about the realities of horse racing. Human athletes can choose whether or not to train for a sport and when to quit. Horses cannot make that choice and are pushed until they drop dead as was the case here. The filly should not have been in this race when it was noted several weeks ago that she had a bad ankle. But, greed and power won over, and she paid the price. Yes, she was humanely euthanized which is far better than the slaughter house, but she had no say in whether she should race or not. This is no longer a sport - it is animal cruelty. Horses, if they could talk, would most likely want to be a family pet, graze in the pastures, be with other horses, and live a long happy life. How many more tragedies do we need until the industry comes to an end? The owners of Eight Belles can buy another horse if they want and continue to make money. It's a lot like the puppy mills - as long as people bet and want champions, animals will suffer. And all they want to do is please their masters!
5 months ago
Beth, I fear you have missed the point. Certainly horses will run and suffer broken limbs as any animal, including human beings, may do in the course of any activity. However, the majority of those horses were not doing so for the profit and gambling value to man.
The point here is the wanton manner of disrespect some of these trainers and owners show an intelligent creature in driving them to exert themselves past what could be a point of injury. The horse
can't tell anyone where they hurt, when they hurt, and what's too much.
Regarding your comment about only 1 death out of 100 horses, consider that in a nationally televised event such as this, owners and trainers are much more cautious about allowing a horse to break down in front of an audience this large for what it might do to their industry and wallet. I have been told by more than 1 person in the industry how they are casually asked to take every precaution insuring things like this do not happen while the cameras are rolling.
Want more proof of this? At Del Mar race track near San Diego, when the national broadcast cameras were not running, there were 55 horse deaths from 2004-2006. I'm sure your response will be how few deaths there were in a 3 season span, but how much attention did this receive from any form of media? What action has been taken to see how many of these were senseless deaths that could have been avoided? And if this is at one facility, how many more might there be at tracks not only in America, but around the world? As an aside, I have yet to delve into how much of the investment many owners recoup thanks to insurance, thus making disposal of the animals much more efficient than trying to save one from injury.
Allow me to add this portion of an article from "The New York Sun" for your consideration.
Because “thoroughbreds are bred for flashy speed and to look good in the sales ring … the animal itself has become more fragile” and that “to keep the horses going,” they’re all given Lasix (which controls bleeding in the lungs), phenylbutazone (an anti-inflammatory), and cortiscosteroids (for pain and inflammation). Those drugs, although legal, can also mask pain or make a horse run faster. Labs cannot detect all the illegal drugs out there, of which there “could be thousands,” says the executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. Morphine, which can keep a horse from feeling any pain from an injury, was suspected in the case of Be My Royal, who won a race while limping. One trainer was suspended for using an Ecstasy-type drug in five horses, and another has been kicked off racetracks for using clenbuterol and, in one case, for having the leg of a euthanized horse cut off “for research.” A New York veterinarian and a trainer faced felony charges when the body of a missing racehorse turned up at a farm and authorities determined that her death had been caused by the injection of a “performance-enhancing drug.”
“There are trainers pumping horses full of illegal drugs every day,” says a former Churchill Downs public relations director. “With so much money on the line, people will do anything to make their horses run faster.”
And to your point regarding a "profound level of ignorance", I will only allow my 20+ years covering sports, including many a Triple Crown event and local races at NY, South Florida, and California tracks to speak for itself.
I trust this will assist you in separating this baby from the bath water. Best, Ed.
5 months ago
I wonder why the SPCA dosnt do something about horse racing. Its a cruel sport that starts these young animals training and running races at the age of two when their bodies have not yet finished growing. No wonder they fall apart on the track. Money,money,money is that why nothing has been done to help these animals, I think so!
Debra Lee Bennett
5 months ago
Ed, I do not deny, a I said, that there are bad actors in this game that need to be weeded out. Just because you have covered racing for 20 years doesn't mean you know a lot about horses. Not singling you out, but most reporters covering horse racing (who only show up on the big days) don't know squat about them. I spent 2 years of my life as a reporter and covered Keeneland, The Derby, the Breeders' Cup. I am no stranger to the backstretch. I have worked with horses all my life, and, in fact work for a breeding farm in Kentucky. I plan the matings for the mares, and always plan them with a balance for speed and soundness, encourage people many times NOT to breed certain horses at all because of physical faults and soundness issues. I personaly want all horses to run drug free - though I can make far more allowances for lasix than I can bute or cortico-steroid use. I want the claiming game changed so that people cannot use those races to "dump" horses that are past their usefullness as racehorses. As in, if you put a claim in on a horse, and it fatally breaks down during the race, that is now your dead horse. If a horse is claimed but fails to finish a race, that claim should be null and void. That alone would chase off a lot of n'er do wells right off the bat. Mostly, people who don't have the jack to be in the game and properly care for their animals, owners and trainers alike, need to stay the hell out of it. Too many people jump in when they have the money to buy one, whether to breed or race, without considering the cost of maintaining the animal. I spend a lot of time educating people on that note as well. But just because some people are abusing the system and their horses doesn't mean all of them are. We do not need to treat those isolated, headline grabbing incidents as epidemics. And I certainly can't say Mr. Porter or Mr. Jones fall into the bad actor category. And again, I say, if anyone's sitting their munching on a Big Mac or any other non-organically raised animal, you've got no business calling out the horse industry for "abusing" animals. Ladies, if you're wearing nail-polish, the hardener is made from horse hooves, if you are on PREMARIN the drug is made from urine collected from stall bound, deydrated pregnant mares. You can read it right there in the name - PREgnant MARe uRINe. Football and baseball fans, the object that makes your sport go round is made from animal hide. My point is, before everyone gets on a high horse to indict the sport, go look in your fridge, in your closet, in your medicine cabinet and see how you are abusing animals with the products you buy and eat. Spend an afternoon on the backstretch, spend an afternoon at a stockyard and get to me on that.
5 months ago
what about cows they are slaughtered more than horses and you guys are arguing about one horse killed in a kentucky derby and we wouldn't be arguing if she wasn't killed in the kentucky derby either
5 months ago
Beth, your experience does provide insight into what happens at the breeding shed and at claim races. I'm sure these would be useful subjects of discussion, especially with respect to neglectful owners without enough money to feed or care for their horses. However, this revelation also shows that you have much to lose from any ramping down of the horse racing industry, putting you in a conflict of interest position in this debate. In addition, I am continually amused at people who claim that folks who hold an opposing position on a subject must be uneducated hypocrites (i.e, "don't know squat", etc.). Questioning the education or sanity of your opponent hurts your argument. Unfortunately for all of us who have strong feelings on various subjects, there will always be someone smarter who disagrees with us. By the way, I think the First Amendment provides freedom of speech even for omnivorous animal lovers ;). No nail polish, Big Macs, PREMARIN, or horsehide for me - but even if I partook of these forbidden fruits, I would get an opinion anyway.
from 5 months ago
Actually Deb, as much as I love the sport, I can always go do something else. I am not an owner or trainer, and while the business does pay my bills, I am not getting rich off of it. In fact, most people in the business are not rich and aren't getting rich off of it. I do not own any horses right now, I can't afford them, and rarely gamble on them, for the same reason. Conflict of interest is quite irrelevant. That's like saying I don't have a right to an opinion defending something I happen to know a lot about against ill-informed opinions of people who don't. I work in the business and have seen some of its ugly side, and it does have one. And as I do love horses, if I felt like, overall, the sport was rank with miscreants I would walk away from it. As I said in an earlier post, those few don't mean we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I did not mean to imply that anyone who doesn't know anything about horses has no right to an opinion. As a former journalist and an American, the First Amendment is sacred to me. But a horse breaking down in a race does not immediately mean that the horse was being abused, was on illegal medication or shouldn't have been run to begin with. The fact of "A" does not necessarily mean that "B" is what caused it. She could have done the same thing galloping across a field.
from 5 months ago
Hi Beth. Of course, you get an opinion regardless of your connections to the subject. Being closely tied to the industry is both good and bad in this debate. It is good because you have first hand knowledge about some issues that others may guess about. Your arguments would be much stronger if they stuck to your primary source information rather than criticizing the other side's qualifications. The flip side of the close connection is that people have a hard time being objective about the business that pays their wages. As a scientist I have to look hard at whether the source of information is reliable. Very likely you are a truthful person since you didn't hide your connections, but the conflict of interest is a source of doubt. Whenever great emotion is involved, the truth suffers. This is why medical studies funded by drug companies are scientifically questionable. On the other topic, I am not particularly concerned that Eight Belles was drugged, beaten, overmatched by males in this race, etc. Probably these issues didn't apply in her case. I am worried that a sport where the participants are coerced to perform and which has a death rate of 1.5 - 2 per 1000 races is unjustified as entertainment. Few humans (well, perhaps astronauts) would gladly perform daily tasks given that risk factor (far worse odds than fighter jet pilots in combat, etc.). Most of us only face that kind of odds going under general anesthesia (and then only because we must to fight even worse odds from disease or injury). Yet, we are led to believe that these fillies and colts are treated as royalty. In ancient Rome, gladiators and charioteers lived like today's rock stars or NFL "heroes", but were coerced (as slaves) to undergo risky competitions. It would be a positive step for our society to move beyond this type of business. Again, I love to see the horses run, but I want them to be as safe as they can be before, during, and after their careers. The current industry sees them as a commodity, so, unless that changes, I won't be supporting horse racing further. The worse exploitation of animals in other industries is a different (although worthy) topic, so it is just a bait-and-switch tactic to bring those issues to the table in this debate (as is the hoary saw, "babies are starving in Africa/civilians bombed in Iraq/ozone layer disappearing, and all these people can talk about is a horse" ;) ).
5 months ago
Hi Ed I really enjoyed your article it is a shame that now comments have turned into the slaughter/ anti-slaughter debate. What I would like to know is why recently every Breeder's Cup and major stakes race (Derby, Preakness, Belmont, etc.) end up with horses with catastrophic injuries. I have attended many Breeder's Cup races I remember watching the French horse Arcanques at Santa Anita win at 130 to 1 odds back in 1983. No injuries at all. Is it that there is a lack of oversight going on or just really greedy trainers and owners are making poorer decisions in the last couple of years? Also what role does the new poly surface play in all this?
I have owned horses all of my life and am involved with horse rescue (over the winter we rescued two more that will turn into great children's ponies). I have shown hunter/jumpers, three day eventing and dressage I have to say that over the past twenty years I have seen many many abuses in all sports at all levels. Remember when jumper trainers used to use electric prods to make horses jump clean? And I watched a respected German dressage trainer "teach" a horse to do one tempe changes with a lunge whip in each hand...
There are no easy answers perhaps updated regulations in racing (like restricting maiden races to 4 year olds and eliminating racing for 3 year olds and younger) and other regs could help. Please remember that there are so many horse owners in all disciplines who compete and truly love and take care of their equine partners. Thanks.
5 months ago
Bravo to Ed, Elaine, Catherine, Gail, Deb, MJ, Patricia, Laurie, Julie, Thomas. You all demonstrate the intelligent compassion that applies the Golden Rule to all of our earthly "neigh"bors, not just to two-footed ones.
Since this subject was brought up, it deserves a reply: Yes, I've taken the slide down the slippery slope that Wendy is worried about. I became a vegetarian, then a vegan, about six years ago, when I learned about the slaughter of horses and, eventually, about the way all animals are slaughtered. The more I read about all aspects of the "owner"-human/"owned"-animal relationship, the more I realized that civilization must evolve -- and is evolving, if glacially -- beyond that kind of exploitive, ultimately destructive-to-all-beings mentality.
I also realized that it's natural for humans to want to do right by animals, and unnatural to want to "use" them for our gain (money, power, prestige, food). Unfortunately, most of us involuntarily let our natural affinity for animals depart from us at some point during our childhood. More accurately, we're gradually pulled away from that affinity by deceitful propaganda foisted on us by those who make money from breeding, trading, racing, betting on, experimenting on, killing, wearing and eating animals. Our already desensitized parents, teachers and preachers unwittingly aid the mercenary propagandists by smothering our tender affection for our creature "cousins."
Some of us have "awakened" from the hypnotic, desensitized state we were in. We've gladly returned to our roots -- our innate "childlike" love for animals. This pure kind of love seeks to protect animals, both domesticated and wild, from all forms of human harm. We see through the faulty predatory-prey theory as it applies to man. We've realized that it's counterproductive, not to mention cruel, to try to dominate animals, as if they ARE our property (in spiritual reality, they're not, and our human laws will keep evolving until they reflect that reality). We've realized that man isn't here to compete against animals, but to learn to peacefully share the planet with them.
Back to Ed's blog: I'm grateful to Thoroughbred trainer Gail for having the moral courage to conclude -- and publicly declare -- that the business that she once loved, that rewarded her both monetarily and emotionally over the years, has become a greedy horse-eating machine that deserves to be put to death.
Eight Belles, your life goes on, because the stuff you are made of -- LOVE -- never dies. The same holds true for every other animal who has been the pawn of human selfishness. May those who are responsible, either directly or indirectly, for your premature exit from earth, "snap" out of their self-justifying, self-righteousness, self-absorbed trance, and learn to love with a heart as good and pure as the heart of a racehorse.
P.S. to Beth: I do not wear nailpolish. I do not take Premarin (or any drugs, prescription, OTC, or illegal -- ever). I no longer buy leather or wool or silk or any other product made with the "help" of animals. People "unlearn" hypocrisy by degrees, though. Same way they learned it in the first place....
5 months ago
How could this be animal cruelty? If you think its because its dangerous and they may have to be euthenized, there is a risk for these type of things in everything. You want to make this sport illegal because of the dangers and risks? Maybe we should ban crossing the streeet too. The only horses that make it to the track and do well are the ones who love it and try as hard as they can. This is a business for the breeders and owners of the animals. If the animals did not like it, then they would not run as hard as they do. These horses are treated extremely well with love and care. They fed,and treated well and are truly loved. They run because its in their blood and they would not run if they didn't like it. This is the first horse that has died in the Kentucky Derby and it was not because of the humans.
R.I.P. Eight Belles. You were a strong, brave filly who tried with all your heart. Whoever said you had no chance with all of the colts was wrong. You did a great job. I can see you running around the track in heaven right now with Barbaro. <3 xox
5 months ago
Beth, if horse products are outlawed there will substitutes. You can guarantee it because of our free and competitive markets. Plus shouldn't you recuse yourself in this debate because you're profiting from race horses? How can you NOT be for perpetuating this "sport?" You're talking about drugging horses with lasix (just as Ed mentioned) like the horse is taking aspirin and mating horses like so many puppy mills out there. Come on. You're too deep in it to be impartial to how horses should best be treated. All I know is Eight Belles is dead like so many horses every year and you're in the thick of it. You've drank the Kool-aid and just don't know it.
from 5 months ago
Thomas - I get paid an hourly wage to work in th business, as most who work in it do. I should recuse myself from a debate on a topic I know a lot about? Should all the Animal Rights people recuse themselves because they have an agenda, as well? Anyway, I am not profiting from this game at all. I work in it, I am not an owner or trainer and rarely gamble, because I cannot afford it. I don't drink anyone's Kool-Aid, not even my own. Ed likes to toss around that 55 horses were injured (not killed, injured) at Del Mar during a very aberrant stage a couple of years back. But he doesn't state how many horses were actually raced in those 2 seasons, which would have been at least 1500-2000, which means less than 1%. But they were dropping like flies, according to Ed. Where breeding them is concerned, we are breeding far fewer thoroughbreds than we were 20 years ago, when the average foal crop was around 50,000. Now they run about 35,000-40,000. In the meantime, despite the fact that on-track attendance is down, the actual demand for racing product has gone up, due to the availability of simulcast wagering. Horses can hurt by running, period, with or without us on their backs, whether they run out of a gate at a track or not. You know we lost two colts in the last 8 months here at the farm. One was kicked so hard by a mare it shattered his shoulder. We had to put him down. Another was kicked so hard by his own mother, it just the right spot, it ruptured his spleen and he died. Both incidents reflect perfectly normal behavior in horses. Mares kick at foals that are not their own and mares kick at their own foal to discipline them. That's just life being a horse.
"
"You're too deep in it to be impartial to how horses should best be treated." Okay, so tell me, Thomas, what do you when a horse is colicking? And no you can't cheat and Google it.
from 5 months ago
Thomas - I get paid an hourly wage to work in th business, as most who work in it do. I should recuse myself from a debate on a topic I know a lot about? Should all the Animal Rights people recuse themselves because they have an agenda, as well? Anyway, I am not profiting from this game at all. I work in it, I am not an owner or trainer and rarely gamble, because I cannot afford it. I don't drink anyone's Kool-Aid, not even my own. Ed likes to toss around that 55 horses were injured (not killed, injured) at Del Mar during a very aberrant stage a couple of years back. But he doesn't state how many horses were actually raced in those 2 seasons, which would have been at least 1500-2000, which means less than 1%. But they were dropping like flies, according to Ed. Where breeding them is concerned, we are breeding far fewer thoroughbreds than we were 20 years ago, when the average foal crop was around 50,000. Now they run about 35,000-40,000. In the meantime, despite the fact that on-track attendance is down, the actual demand for racing product has gone up, due to the availability of simulcast wagering. Horses can hurt by running, period, with or without us on their backs, whether they run out of a gate at a track or not. You know we lost two colts in the last 8 months here at the farm. One was kicked so hard by a mare it shattered his shoulder. We had to put him down. Another was kicked so hard by his own mother, it just the right spot, it ruptured his spleen and he died. Both incidents reflect perfectly normal behavior in horses. Mares kick at foals that are not their own and mares kick at their own foal to discipline them. That's just life being a horse.
"
"You're too deep in it to be impartial to how horses should best be treated." Okay, so tell me, Thomas, what do you when a horse is colicking? And no you can't cheat and Google it.
5 months ago
yes i totaaly agree with you brrl! it is true, the only horses that make it to the track are the ones that truly love it and have a heart in what they were born to do. what is this u may ask? well it is only 1 thing. RUN! so i thin k we should stop with all of the rude comments about stopping this sport because its a buisness just like hocky. take this for example. Joe Thorten can brake a bone, or get killed playing hockey, anybody can. and also for who ever reading this that rides horses and is thinking horse racing is bad then you should quit riding horses because this could happen at antime ypu were riding you horse so i would just leave it at that for now!
( i have true faith in you 8 Bells and i hope that you are doing well up there and hope that you do well. you no what they say the grass is greener on the other side and she is loved here and there! you will be missed) <3 xoxo :(
5 months ago
Barbaro and Eight Belles enjoying themselves in heaven, probably with Ferndinand and Ruffian too? Whatever it takes to make yourself feel better about this industry's continuing tragedies I suppose. OK I'll play along ... one thing's for sure: in horse heaven they're not getting whipped by jockeys running themselves to death in a silly race for people's entertainment. But why not since some of you here said TBs "enjoy" it so much on earth right?
Horse races are nothing like hockey games. Even if you can make a plausible argument that just as many hockey players die each year as TBs (which is untrue), you still have the fact that dead hockey players chose to play and TBs didn't. Big difference.
from 5 months ago
Ok think what you want, but you obviously have had nothing to do with horses or racing to think it is cruelty. did you watch the race? do the horses actually get whipped to death? i dont think so. the horses run because they like it and they want to. do you notice how the jockeys have to pull them up to stop them? this is because they are running at their own choice of spead. you can tell when a horse does not want to run because they have their own way of letting the rider know. they will buck rear, wont move, or take of to make the rider fall or hurt.
and sure it is entertainment for some people, but also a business, sport and people enjoy it. if you do not like the racing then why dont you just keep your rude comments and oppinions to yourself.
from 5 months ago
How are my comments rude and why should I keep my opinions to myself? Because I disagree with you? The fact remains that a good number of horses die every year for this industry and people should start asking questions. You're right it's a business and people enjoy it but at what cost? People enjoy dog fighting but we draw the line somewhere. I'm not saying horse racing is like dog fighting yet perhaps this is an activity that we need to start drawing lines as well. Why are you so against putting up precautions and stricter rules so the horses you claim you love so much are protected? Sorry that outsiders intrude in your "sport"; it may take outsiders and third party members to see what's really happening. Fish sometimes don't see water.
5 months ago
Jan makes a very good point in this discussion. Stay on point, people. This is not a debate about slaughter or anti-slaughter, and it is not meant to take on the vegan way of life. This is about a decaying sport that has fewer and fewer people every day paying attention. A sport that receives national attention a handful of times every year while the real issues at hand are glossed over or ignored completely.
And remember that out of chaos comes intelligent thought.
5 months ago
Ed, I do not deny, a I said, that there are bad actors in this game that need to be weeded out. Just because you have covered racing for 20 years doesn't mean you know a lot about horses. Not singling you out, but most reporters covering horse racing (who only show up on the big days) don't know squat about them. I spent 2 years of my life as a reporter and covered Keeneland, The Derby, the Breeders' Cup. I am no stranger to the backstretch. I have worked with horses all my life, and, in fact work for a breeding farm in Kentucky. I plan the matings for the mares, and always plan them with a balance for speed and soundness, encourage people many times NOT to breed certain horses at all because of physical faults and soundness issues. I personaly want all horses to run drug free - though I can make far more allowances for lasix than I can bute or cortico-steroid use. I want the claiming game changed so that people cannot use those races to "dump" horses that are past their usefullness as racehorses. As in, if you put a claim in on a horse, and it fatally breaks down during the race, that is now your dead horse. If a horse is claimed but fails to finish a race, that claim should be null and void. That alone would chase off a lot of n'er do wells right off the bat. Mostly, people who don't have the jack to be in the game and properly care for their animals, owners and trainers alike, need to stay the hell out of it. Too many people jump in when they have the money to buy one, whether to breed or race, without considering the cost of maintaining the animal. I spend a lot of time educating people on that note as well. But just because some people are abusing the system and their horses doesn't mean all of them are. We do not need to treat those isolated, headline grabbing incidents as epidemics. And I certainly can't say Mr. Porter or Mr. Jones fall into the bad actor category. And again, I say, if anyone's sitting their munching on a Big Mac or any other non-organically raised animal, you've got no business calling out the horse industry for "abusing" animals. Ladies, if you're wearing nail-polish, the hardener is made from horse hooves, if you are on PREMARIN the drug is made from urine collected from stall bound, deydrated pregnant mares. You can read it right there in the name - PREgnant MARe uRINe. Football and baseball fans, the object that makes your sport go round is made from animal hide. My point is, before everyone gets on a high horse to indict the sport, go look in your fridge, in your closet, in your medicine cabinet and see how you are abusing animals with the products you buy and eat. Spend an afternoon on the backstretch, spend an afternoon at a stockyard and get to me on that.
5 months ago
"Beth, I fear you have missed the point. Certainly horses will run and suffer broken limbs as any animal, including human beings, may do in the course of any activity. However, the majority of those horses were not doing so for the profit and gambling value to man."
That is neither here nor there to the horse. The fact that people may gamble on them and owners and trainers may make money on them has nothing to do with a broken leg. And because of the very fact that yes, a lot money can be made on them (the exception, not the rule), the last thing we want to have happen is a breakdown, fatal or not. The vast majority of racehorses finish their careers intact, whether they breed on, go out to pasture or are retrained for some other use. If we had horses breaking down at every racetrack, every race, every day that would be one thing, but we don't. For the record, I work in the business at hourly wage level. I do not own any horses right now, nor do I make money buying and selling or racing them. I also rarely gamble on them, because I can't afford it. I don't have a personal profit motive in defending the sport. I can always go do something else for a living. I stay in it because I love it, I wish to improve the breed through my knowledge of pedigree and conformation, and want to help in whatever way I can make the sport and the future for the animals better. What happened to Eight Belles is awful and I have cried more than a few tears for her. But knee-jerk reactions about banning the sport is going to fall on my deaf ears from people who can't see the forest for the trees. If you are that passionate about it and really believe that what we are doing is cruel, then look at yourself and how your life uses and, in some cases, abuses animals. Everybody who has pleasure horses has to stop riding them. No more horses in police departments. No more canine units for police departments. No more zoos because you need horse meat to feed the big cats. No more cosmetics, no more medicines made from animal research or bi-products. No more animal products in the refrigerator. No more leather shoes, handbags or anything. No more fur anything, especially from China, where they beat animals senseless and often skin them alive. No more fast food. no more driving your car (you might hit a deer, squirrel, raccoon, stray dog). Eight Belles lived a good life. She was loved and well cared for. Something bad happened that brought a quick end to it, but she was not tortured to get there. A horse that is beaten into submission is not going to be good at anything, especialy racing.
from 5 months ago
Beth, indeed you have missed the point. The fact that people do gamble on them while owners and trainers make money on them is the exact point of this discussion.
To owners and trainers, horses are a business and nothing more. They are there to make a profit, either on the track that day or in the breeding sheds later in life. People do not gamble on losers, they gamble on the horses kept competitive by any means. The more they gamble, the more the tracks make. The more the tracks make, the more the owners and trainers make, and so on down this food chain.
This is anything but a knee jerk reaction, rather a growing cycle that shows no sign of abating. As more owners and breeders over breed the