Monday, May 05, 2008
Horse racing must change
Horse racing must change or it must go.
This weekend another Kentucky Derby, another disaster, ending in the death of an innocent animal. Two years ago it was Barbaro, yesterday it was the filly Eight Belles. Despite the fact, that the animal cruelty pimps at NBC didn't show it, Eight Belles shattered both her ankles and was writhing agony when she was put down on the race track immediately after the race. NBC didn't want to upset viewers. (Lest they not watch next year, and advertising revenues decline.)
The Clarion is not going to issue a blanket call to ban horse racing, but it is certainly an issue that has to be given some serious thought. It does seem quite apparent that the use of the whip in horse racing must be immediately banned. Eight Belles jockey, Gabriel Saez, was whipping her all the way to the finish trying to urge her on. This is standard operating procedure in thoroughbred horse racing. Standard operating procedure also accepts the tragic fact that a horse dies 2 out of every 1,000 starts races on dirt tracks. The twenty animals in the Kentucky Derby have all started at least three times in their young, three year old lives, most have started more than that. It is just a matter of time. Eight Belles had started nine races before the Kentucky Derby earning her owners in excess of $300,000.
Where there is more frequent death the answer seems obvious. There is little debate in America about whether cock fighting or dog fighting should be banned. Fifty years ago it wasn't that clear cut. Public morality changes with the times. 500 years ago burning live cats for public spectacle and entertainment was not uncommon. Surely, we won't be racing horses to their deaths 500 years from now. And if we can't or don't want to move to an immediate ban of horse racing, it is at least time to ban the whip.
Nobody should be whipping horses to run faster for their (or our) entertainment, aggrandizement, and of course, ultimately their wallets. It is cruel and Americans should not stand for it.
Labels: Pop Culture, sports
Comments:
Here Here! I had always felt slightly dubious about horseracing, but after Barbaro's heart stopping injury last year (even before he ended up passing away) I decided I could no longer watch horseracing. I just couldn't support what seemed to me unabashed cruelty. I was never gladder of that decision than after word of what happened at this year's derby came to me secondhand.
So sad, right?
Here's what the Humane Society's president had to say...I really liked their take...
"This industry has not had a rigorous critic to set it in the straight and narrow, and major problems have grown and festered. It's time for the thoroughbred industry to deal with its problems, and if it does not, animal advocates may well decide they can no longer continue to give the industry a free pass.
Here are some of the historic problems: Drugging of injured horses to keep them running, which makes vulnerable horses more susceptible to breakdowns. Racing horses too young. Because the marquee events feature 3-year-olds, these horses must start racing at the tender age of 2 years, and that's well before their skeletal systems are sturdy enough to endure the pounding from the rigors of the race track. And third, racing horses on track surfaces that are not forgiving -- with American tracks favoring dirt surfaces over grass or synthetics.
And then there are the problems coming to light more than ever -- problems related to breeding. Breeding too many horses, and waiting for someone else to clean up the problem. And breeding them for body characteristics that make these animals vulnerable to breakdowns, especially those spindly legs on top of these stout torsos."
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Here's what the Humane Society's president had to say...I really liked their take...
"This industry has not had a rigorous critic to set it in the straight and narrow, and major problems have grown and festered. It's time for the thoroughbred industry to deal with its problems, and if it does not, animal advocates may well decide they can no longer continue to give the industry a free pass.
Here are some of the historic problems: Drugging of injured horses to keep them running, which makes vulnerable horses more susceptible to breakdowns. Racing horses too young. Because the marquee events feature 3-year-olds, these horses must start racing at the tender age of 2 years, and that's well before their skeletal systems are sturdy enough to endure the pounding from the rigors of the race track. And third, racing horses on track surfaces that are not forgiving -- with American tracks favoring dirt surfaces over grass or synthetics.
And then there are the problems coming to light more than ever -- problems related to breeding. Breeding too many horses, and waiting for someone else to clean up the problem. And breeding them for body characteristics that make these animals vulnerable to breakdowns, especially those spindly legs on top of these stout torsos."
