Jane Allin,
Tuesdays
Horse
May 2018
Horse racing is a cruel, predatory business. You bet, they die.
The Kentucky Derby this Saturday marks the tenth anniversary of the catastrophic breakdown of Eight Belles. Racing with the boys, she crossed the wire 4 ¾ lengths behind Big Brown finishing second – the first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby — only to collapse with two shattered ankles and was euthanized on the track.
The Kentucky Derby this Saturday marks the tenth anniversary of the
catastrophic breakdown of Eight Belles. Racing with the boys, she crossed
the wire 4 ¾ lengths behind Big Brown finishing second – the first filly
since 1999 to run in the Derby — only to collapse with two shattered ankles
and was euthanized on the track.
Memories of Barbaro’s anguishing ordeal, fresh in the minds of racing fans
and the death of another horse on Kentucky Oaks day, cast a pall over North
America’s most celebrated racing event and raised questions about the safety
of horse racing.
Immediately, the racing industry responded with the notion that more uniform
regulations regarding equine health standards and drug use should be a top
priority.
Ten long years and what has improved? Nothing.
Year after year, the industry holds conference after conference claiming
that they are moving towards improved safety standards. Sadly, the efforts
of the few that do care and want change, are lost to the greed of the rest.
These innocent souls are sacrificed to casino profits, graded races and when
they fail, relegated to claiming races and the slaughterhouse. It is
estimated that 20% of slaughtered horses in North America are thoroughbreds
— some picked up by the meat man at the track by unscrupulous trainers and
owners after a bad race, without a hope of finding a home. Disposed as
garbage. Just throw-away items.
In fact, it seems the opposite to what the racing industry claims has
happened.
The transparency, if there ever was any, is gone.
The doping continues, the trainers and veterinarians are one step ahead of
the newest drug testing, the records available about trainer infractions are
incomplete where serious penalties are hidden from the public, statistics
only report deaths if a horse dies during a race, and horses, despite what
the industry claims, continue to die in record numbers, all hidden from the
public’s view.
All of this is a cover up, blatant lies, to attempt to convince everyone
that the industry is above board.
Horse racing is a cruel, predatory business. You bet, they die.