Do you think that 2 and 3 is too young for a colt or filly to race because they aren't fully grown yet?

Question

Seems that there has been a lot of three year olds that broke down for example Ruffian and Eight Belles.

Answer 1

As I stated in my last response - and while obviously some people think this...this year's Kentucky Derby was the 133 year it has been ran.

And the age of the horses who ran it hasn't changed!

I know many people complain about this.  However, less than 100 years ago, horses were our major form of transportation.  They have been used for hundreds, of not thousands of years.

And I find it VERY HARD TO BELIEVE that throughout the centuries that each and every single horse was allowed to be 4 or more years old before they started doing anything.  I just can't see how that could be realistic the way things were then.  People often only HAD one horse!  Or they had two adults, and would breed them.  Can you see them holding onto that horse for 4 years before putting him/her into practical use?

Maybe I am wrong, but I just can't see this as being realistic.  

It wasn't all that long ago that horses, dogs and cats and any other species you can think of were thought of as "just animals".  Livestock.  

I think because AWARENESS has become more widespread, that education has come a long way, that people feel this way about these horses.  That they are run too early.  

Did so many people complain about this 20 years ago?  What about 35 years ago when Secretariat won the Triple Crown??  Were their protests and rants and raves about the age of the horses??  

Because the first horse who won the Triple Crown was 3 years old.  It's TRADITION!

I am not saying it shouldn't be changed.  Because with knowledge comes change in tradition.  

However, I also understand completely what TRADITION means!!!

So I don't know what the right answer is.  I just know it has been happening for more than a century.  And many people have jumped on the bandwagon just to have something to jump and scream about!!!  That is my take on lots of this...

Answer 2

Cindy B gives a great answer, thumbs up for her.

Also, everyone remembers great tragedy and with the news and media people tend to voice public outcry at things they don't understand.  Referring to Cindy B's answer older horses tend to break down more often so if they changed the racing of young horses to old horses there would be even more break downs.

It is very sad about what happens to a TB that breaks down, but most of the time it isn't because they aren't done growing, usually it is because of a "freak" accident, such as Eight Belles, she pulled up too quickly and there was nothing that could be done.  Barbaro took a wrong step and there was nothing that could be done to change his fate.  

Some people say that horses don't have a choice to race, they are forced to, but really if you compare young horses to young children, does a child have a choice to ride in a car, and the ratio of car accidents is pretty high so should we stop letting kids ride in cars?

The out cry of how humane the sport is just boggles the mind.  A race horse is treated like a prized champion from birth.  Some of the best race horses are bought and sold for millions of dollars and thousands of dollars goes into their training and upkeep.  They are feed the best grains, trained to become top performance athletes, striving to win.  The ratio of break downs on the track as catastropic as Eight Belles, Ruffian and Barbaro are blown out of proportion by the media.  Yes it is a tragedy but they were accidents pure accidents.  It wasn't because they were too young or not fully grown.

Think of the greats that had stunning careers and went on to stud or become broodmares, or even excel in another discipline such as dressage.  To name a few, Man O' War, War Admiral, Seabiscuit, War Emblem, Affirmed, Seattle Slew, Smarty Jones, Storm Cat, AP Indy, Northern Dancer, Secretariet, Citation, Afleet Alex, Cigar.

Answer 3

I agree. They are definetly raced too soon. And as for tradition, way back, people were allowed to get married as young as 12 or 13, and most of the time, young girls would be married to much older men. Think of the brideships that used to come over from France. That was tradition back then to send young girls from France to areas of Canada during the Gold Rush to be Wed to the miners, many of which were over 30. Now, that would be illeagel as should the racing of horses before they are old enough that their bones are fully devloped.

Answer 4

Seems like funny questions from a society that sends kids out to play soccer and tee ball at age 5.

Seems a bit of a double standard?

Answer 5

I didn't know the statistics on this until watching the round table discussions on Preakness day.  Both the NBC and ESPN vet said that racing as a 2 year old is better for a horse!  Horses who don't race as a 2 year old will have their careers cut short by lamenesses and injuries... racing as a 2 year old helps the horse to develop properly and it helps the horse to be sound and healthy for longer.

Of course, it must be an appropriate level of work for a 2 year old.  Overworking a young horse will certainly be detrimental.  However, not racing a young horse is like saying kids can't play sports and you only get to play once you get in high school.  Developmentally, that's wrong... you must start earlier to condition your body to make yourself into an athlete in order to compete at the top level when you enter college and the pros.

Some trainers will bulk up their horses and overwork them.  For 2 year old auctions, a lot of time they make yearlings bulk up and look like 2 year olds... that's not healthy for the horses.  We should make rules to regulate the type of training that you're allowed to do with yearlings... we should regulate trainers.  But we must not outlaw all 2 year old races.

Answer 6

Four-year-olds have the highest rate of catastrophic breakdowns according to Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, a world renowned equine orthopaedic surgeon.  Dr. McIlwraith also contends that there's no evidence that younger horses are injured more frequently than older racehorces.    

In a 2007 study of Thoroughbreds in Ontario, Canada there was no difference in catastrophic injuries in horses of different ages from 2-to-8 years-old.

You'll find a link to the article in which  Dr. McIlwraith addresses the age issue in my source list below.  You'll also find links to confirm his credentials.