Canasia Sports

Another Horse-Racing Horror There is no reason why a race of one-and-a-quarter miles should be a death sentence for a horse, as it was on Saturday for the 3-year-old filly, Eight Belles. She was euthanized after breaking both front ankles immediately after coming in second in the Kentucky Derby.  The racing industry has claimed, as it always does after such a horrifying incident, that racing young thoroughbreds isn’t all that dangerous to their well-being. But the nature of racing and breeding has changed over the years. Good horses, whose careers often begin and end before their bones are fully mature, are racing less often than they used to, which means they only need enough endurance to last a few races. That makes it all the easier to breed for the lightness of build — and the fragility — that Eight Belles showed. There are, of course, owners and trainers who love thoroughbreds for themselves and for their ability to perform on the racetrack, which is a reasonable test of sound breeding. But the real race increasingly seems to be to capitalize on a horse’s success — to move a horse through its career as quickly as possible. The sums involved are immense, so much so that the horses seem more like financial vehicles than animals with an existence of their own. The life of the money comes to seem just as important as the life of the horse. How beautiful a galloping thoroughbred can be —  everyone who watched the Derby can attest. But we also got to witness just how narrow the margin is between beauty and tragedy. It is exactly as narrow — and only as sure — as the bones in a horse’s legs. The first rule of racing must be the welfare of these horses. Nothing else is acceptable

Another Horse-Racing Horror There is no reason why a race of one-and-a-quarter miles should be a death sentence for a horse, as it was on Saturday for the 3-year-old filly, Eight Belles. She was euthanized after breaking both front ankles immediately after coming in second in the Kentucky Derby. The racing industry has claimed, as it always does after such a horrifying incident, that racing young thoroughbreds isn't all that dangerous to their well-being. But the nature of racing and breeding has changed over the years. Good horses, whose careers often begin and end before their bones are fully mature, are racing less often than they used to, which means they only need enough endurance to last a few races. That makes it all the easier to breed for the lightness of build - and the fragility - that Eight Belles showed. There are, of course, owners and trainers who love thoroughbreds for themselves and for their ability to perform on the racetrack, which is a reasonable test of sound breeding. But the real race increasingly seems to be to capitalize on a horse's success - to move a horse through its career as quickly as possible. The sums involved are immense, so much so that the horses seem more like financial vehicles than animals with an existence of their own. The life of the money comes to seem just as important as the life of the horse. How beautiful a galloping thoroughbred can be -  everyone who watched the Derby can attest. But we also got to witness just how narrow the margin is between beauty and tragedy. It is exactly as narrow - and only as sure - as the bones in a horse's legs. The first rule of racing must be the welfare of these horses. Nothing else is acceptable IMO, the *money* is far more important that the life of the horse.  As with other *breeding issues* such as those concerning fighting dogs, these horses are now bred for speed at the expense of their health and longevity.  I'm all for banning horse racing. td- I'm going to risk getting flamed, but I think that people are reacting unrealistically and emotionally to what happened at the Derby. It was tragic, unfortunate, unexpected and happened despite efforts to keep this horse sound and healthy. People involved in breeding, raising, selling, racing and training horses usually love their horses and do the best they can for them. The idea that there is some conspiracy to breed fragile-boned animals that can then be run to death is asinine if only because there is no money to be made that way. Why would Barbaro's owners have spent millions to save him if they hadn't loved him? Even if he had lived, there was an excellent chance he wouldn't have been able to stand at stud, so he'd have done nothing to generate more income at that point. The fact is, accidents happen, and what happened was a tragic accident. Does anyone here really think that Eight Belles' owners or trainer would have run her knowing she was unsound? The track vet who had no vested interest in the filly would have scratched her himself if he'd thought that was the case. There are a variety of safeguards in place to protect these horses from unscrupulous handlers, and while the lower end of the game is more likely to have abuses, there's no reason to call for the end of the sport just because of this. Horses are not routinely murdered for sport as this editorial would have you believe. And Eight Belles was *not* a small, light horse- she was a 17 hand big girl. Marianna

Another Horse-Racing Horror There is no reason why a race of one-and-a-quarter miles should be a death sentence for a horse, as it was on Saturday for the 3-year-old filly, Eight Belles. She was euthanized after breaking both front ankles immediately after coming in second in the Kentucky Derby. The racing industry has claimed, as it always does after such a horrifying incident, that racing young thoroughbreds isn't all that dangerous to their well-being. But the nature of racing and breeding has changed over the years. Good horses, whose careers often begin and end before their bones are fully mature, are racing less often than they used to, which means they only need enough endurance to last a few races. That makes it all the easier to breed for the lightness of build - and the fragility - that Eight Belles showed. There are, of course, owners and trainers who love thoroughbreds for themselves and for their ability to perform on the racetrack, which is a reasonable test of sound breeding. But the real race increasingly seems to be to capitalize on a horse's success - to move a horse through its career as quickly as possible. The sums involved are immense, so much so that the horses seem more like financial vehicles than animals with an existence of their own. The life of the money comes to seem just as important as the life of the horse. How beautiful a galloping thoroughbred can be - everyone who watched the Derby can attest. But we also got to witness just how narrow the margin is between beauty and tragedy. It is exactly as narrow - and only as sure - as the bones in a horse's legs. The first rule of racing must be the welfare of these horses. Nothing else is acceptable IMO, the *money* is far more important that the life of the horse. As with other *breeding issues* such as those concerning fighting dogs, these horses are now bred for speed at the expense of their health and longevity. I'm all for banning horse racing. td- I'm going to risk getting flamed, but I think that people are reacting unrealistically and emotionally to what happened at the Derby. It was tragic, unfortunate, unexpected and happened despite efforts to keep this horse sound and healthy. People involved in breeding, raising, selling, racing and training horses usually love their horses and do the best they can for them. The idea that there is some conspiracy to breed fragile-boned animals that can then be run to death is asinine if only because there is no money to be made that way. Why would Barbaro's owners have spent millions to save him if they hadn't loved him? Even if he had lived, there was an excellent chance he wouldn't have been able to stand at stud, so he'd have done nothing to generate more income at that point. The fact is, accidents happen, and what happened was a tragic accident. Does anyone here really think that Eight Belles' owners or trainer would have run her knowing she was unsound? The track vet who had no vested interest in the filly would have scratched her himself if he'd thought that was the case. There are a variety of safeguards in place to protect these horses from unscrupulous handlers, and while the lower end of the game is more likely to have abuses, there's no reason to call for the end of the sport just because of this. Horses are not routinely murdered for sport as this editorial would have you believe. And Eight Belles was *not* a small, light horse- she was a 17 hand big girl. Marianna

Even if he had lived, there was an excellent chance he wouldn't have been able to stand at stud, so he'd have done nothing to generate more income at that point. your conclusion about his virility is inaccurate a horse doesn't have to 'stand' at stud to reproduce his bloodline