Do you think horse racing is cruel?

Question

In light of what happened at the Kentucky Derby with 8 belles, I question why an animal should die for entertainment ....

Answer 1

That was two horses with broken legs in two days,and only for rich people to make more money.

Answer 2

It is cruel and should be against the law like dog fighting. It was so sad to think this beautiful filly died for "entertainment".  Barbaro last year and now 8 Belles.  It is disgusting.

Answer 3

I cried when I saw the outcome of the race and this beautiful animal being put down for our entertainment. This is rediculous...didnt we learn anything two years ago when we went through almost the exact same thing! I hate that I am never surprised by our ability to be cruel and have show so little regard for the gorgeous animals in our lives. Rest in Peace 8 belles.

Answer 4

IMO, yes.  

Many horses get injured or die while racing.  Look at Barbaro and Ruffian, great horses who died because of a racing injury.  These are just 2 of the many horses that have been injured or killed because of horse racing - think of the countless others who died, the ones who weren't great racers or famous.  Most horses are raced as fillies or colts, when their bones haven't fully developed, and their bodies aren't ready to run at high speeds over long distances.  A study on injuries at racetracks said that 1 horse in every 22 races suffered an injury that prevented him/her from finishing a race; another study estimates that 800 racing thoroughbreds die every year in North America because of injuries from racing.

Though the trainers and jockeys may care about the horses, most owners see them as investments and a way to make money.  Joseph Dirico, the owner of a filly who had a heart attack and died during a race at Pimlico, said, “I guess that’s part of the game.”  The general manager of Virginia’s Colonial Downs, where five horses died within eight days and six died the year before, said, “We're upset when it happens, but it's just part of the racing game."  Although some injuries are serious and can't be treated, many horses who could have been treated are euthanized so the owner won't have to pay vet fees.  

The horses are given drugs, some illegal, to make them run faster or hide the pain.  Some horses who have health problems are simply given pain killers before a race.  The horse Be My Royal, who won a race while limping, was suspected of having been given morphine.  They’re all given Lasix, which controls bleeding in the lungs; phenylbutazone, an anti-inflammatory; and cortiscosteroids, which is for pain and inflammation.  Labs can't detect all the illegal drugs.

Most of the horses aren't retired to pasture.  The owners don't want to keep a horse that won't make them money.  The only horses that are kept are winners, for breeding; otherwise they're sold to slaughterhouses.  Ferdinand, a Kentucky Derby winner, and Exceller, a horse who made it into the National Racing Museum’s Hall of Fame, were both sold to slaughterhouses.  Although there are no horse slaughterhouses in the U.S., there are still some in Mexico, Canada, Japan, and other countries that kill thousands of horses every year.  One study found that of 1,348 horses sent to slaughter, 58 had been racehorses.

Racing isn't a natural thing horses do.  Yes, they gallop, but if you watch horses in a pasture, they certainly do not race.  They're forced to do it, running around the track at speeds of over 30 mph, often for over a mile.

The horses travel to different countries and states all the time.  They're kept in small, cramped trailers for hours at a time.  They often can't develope relationships with other people or horses because of how much they're moved around.

I think that there's really nothing good about horse racing.  Most people who are interested in it are just gambling to make money, not people who genuinely love and care about horses.  I only watch show jumping, dressage, cross country, etc., which are sports where horses are rarely injured.

Answer 5

This "sport" sickens me.  When I saw the winners celebrating when a beautiful horse who had been prostituted for their profit had just been killed, I wished so hard for another animal to kick them in the head.  People suck.   We think we're superior to other living things - we don't hold a candle to them.

Answer 6

I am sickened by this! I LOVE horses and watching the Derby is always so "fancy". This tragedy shows the real cruelty of this "sport" and having the winners smile and laugh as a horse is being killed right there on the track was HORRIBLE! I am ashamed of myself and feel anger towards the whole industry! Animals dying for human entertainment, and financial gain is BARBARICK. I will never watch another race again!

Answer 7

I agree with all of you that it's cruel.  I guess right after Eight Belles was euthanized everybody went to party for the night and celebrate derby weekend.  Now that REALLY sickens me.  I feel the same way about horse racing as I do the circus...(except Cirque de Soleil, which doesn't use animals...just people.  All these animals are forced to do things unnatural for human entertainment and then just "disposed of".  What a SHAME people still use animals for stuff like this.  It's 2008 and with all the video games, internet and everything why do humans still need to use animals in cruel ways to be entertained.

Answer 8

Yes i espically think that horse racing is cruel because were just doing it for human entertainment. I mean think about the horses being forces to run over like 30mph. And poor 8 bells she broke both her front ankles and the only reason that this happened was because she was forced to race. If there was no horse racing this would of never happened.

Answer 9

Animals do what they are trained to do by their owners. When it comes to pain they go and go until they can't anymore because it's what they are taught and it's what makes their owners happy, ignoring how they feel untill they know or feel they have made the owner proud. Horse racing just like dog fighting should be against the law!! People go to those things to bet....god d**n....you need money that bad get a J O B!! Don't put an animals life on the line for your sick version of entertainment just to make a few bucks!!