Last year I wrote a FanHouse post about a man who died running the Chicago Marathon. No one left any comments.
On Saturday I wrote a FanHouse post about a horse who died running the Kentucky Derby. The comments have poured in, more than 400 and counting.
There are so many differences -- the man who died chose to run and the horse didn't, the Derby was on national television and the Marathon wasn't, and so on -- that maybe I shouldn't even mention the two cases together. And yet there's something about the juxtaposition of those two posts that I find it a little distasteful.
I've been thinking a lot about the reaction to the shocking death of Eight Belles on the track in Louisville, and about my own feelings toward the sport of horse racing, a sport I enjoy watching but also a sport that often harms the horses themselves. I think the sport ought to make changes, such as banning whips, but I can't get as worked up about the sport as a lot of those 400-plus commenters do.
And I think the very passions on display are part of the reason for that: I have a feeling that a lot of people who would be receptive to a message of reform in horse racing end up getting turned off by what seems like excessive rage against the sport. And the result is that those who want to abolish horse racing and those who insist there's nothing wrong with it at all drown out the reasonable people in the middle.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
They are racing horses too young. A horse's legs, knees, ankles, etc. are not fully developed until they are well over 2 years old. No one should even get on(put their weight)on a horse younger than 2 years old. The racing people know this but are willing to take the risk .... its all about the money.
As long as the minimum age to race is raised to three years old and they replace dirt tracks with man made surfaces, the horses should do better.
Is it your job to write about obscure sports that JUST BECAUSE you write them, they end up on the front page?
MMA, Boxing, now horse racing. It's sadder that you're featured on Fanhouse constantly promoting these "sports", which all feature brutality. Weird.
Look yourself in the mirror, Michael. This is no different than MMA with the brutality level. People and horses die because it's such a brutal "sport". I don't call for the outlawing of either, but the glorification and promotion of both on Fanhouse by you especially has to stop.
I have been involved with racehorses my entire life.
it is true, we race them way way to young. Their bones are not developed. Horses die everyday on the tracks around the country either in races or practice. The ones that are not fast enough get slaughtered ALIVE! down in Mexico. There is so much money in this sport it is all hush hush what really goes on. The public is selfish in turning a blind eye for 25 yrs for the sake of entertainment. It is a great sport when done responsibly. WE also need to shut the borders to exporting animals.
MDS -
That's probably a fair assessment, but I think what the pro-horse crowd sees is guys like Rhoden and you to an extent coming in and telling them how they should feel about their sport and everything's that wrong with them.
It'd be like someone coming in and lecturing you about the perceived evils and ills of MMA or boxing or football.
Is there something inherently wrong with horse racing? No more than there's something wrong with baseball or the NFL - all have their problems.
Is it tragic when a horse has to be put down? Of course it is, and to say "Well, it's part of the game," is awfully crass, but to an extent true.
The reason horses get put down is not because of some cruel desire on the part of owners/trainers/breeders/jockeys/horse enthusiasts, its because a severe leg injury - which can be sustained in the field as easily as on the track - is often terminal. In thoroughbreds there's just not enough muscle and blood vessel tissue to stimulate and promote healing, which added to the fact those limbs need to be load-bearing, makes effective surgical or medical repair impossible.
Death of a Derby Winner
1986 Kentucky Derby Winner Ferdinand Believed to Have Been Slaughtered in Japan
Lexington, Kentucky, July 21, 2003 In an exclusive report in the July 26th issue of The Blood-Horse magazine, the Thoroughbred industry¹s premiere weekly news and information magazine, 1986 Kentucky Derby-winning horse Ferdinand is reported to have been apparently slaughtered in Japan. Upon retiring from racing, Ferdinand originally stood at stud in Kentucky but was later exported to Japan.
The following news item published on bloodhorse.com summarizes Barbara Bayer¹s exclusive feature in The Blood-Horse magazine:
Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner who went on to capture the following year's Horse of the Year title with a dramatic victory over 1987 Derby hero Alysheba in the Breeders' Cup Classic, is dead. The Blood-Horse has learned the big chestnut son of Nijinsky II died sometime in 2002, most likely in a slaughterhouse in Japan, where his career at stud was unsuccessful.
Reporter Barbara Bayer, as detailed in an exclusive story in the July 26 issue of The Blood-Horse, attempted to learn of Ferdinand's whereabouts after a member of the Howard Keck family that owned and bred the horse inquired about having him returned to the United States, where he began his career at stud in 1989. As a racehorse, Ferdinand won eight of 29 starts and earned $3,777,978, retiring as what was then the fifth leading money winner of all time. His victory in the Kentucky Derby gave trainer Charlie Whittingham his first success in that classic, and it was the final career Derby win for jockey Bill Shoemaker.
There is always room for improvement in the sport of horse racing, but I love it. The horses bred to run love it. They are of proud spirit and have a competitive nature that other horses don't have. PETA should take a hard look at dog racing. The dogs are abused and thrown out like garbage when they are no longer useful.
i think it is disgusting at best what happened to eight bells saturday.anybody with the knowledge of the horse should know better than to race a baby who is not fully developed.it is appauling what some people will do for money and the lives that are affected.ive been in the horse buisness my whole life and this is truely animal abuse at best.with the money they made they could have at least tried to rehab her and fix the mistake they knowlingly made.when is it going to be enough?
People have choices, animals do not. Whenever we mix animals and money lots of money. Animals loose everytime.
"but I can't get as worked up about the sport as a lot of those 400-plus commenters do"
then do us a favor and don't write about it. let someone who does actually give a crap post the article.
There is more to being a blogger than reposting the same story on the dozen or so webpages you are assosciated with. unfortunately, MDS's writing is usually just that: a repost of something he got from another blog with maybe a line or two of substance.
The Kentucky Derby is a big deal for television and the beautiful people attending this event. The marathon runner who died didn't get publicity because the Chicago Marathon is not an event attended by the beautiful people and the rich and famous.
Michael,
it seems as if your recent posts are causing more harm than good. don't worry, i will not continue to read. i am not defending PETA here, but they do a lot of amazing things for this world we seem to think is ours...good luck on your next write up.