Does anyone else think this stuff about "banning horse racing" should stop?

Question

Seriously. Eight Belles wasn't treated cruelly, or abused. Her death was an accident. It was a tradgic death, and she did not deserve it, but horse racing itself isn't a cruel sport. People keep posting comments on how "horse racing is so terrible" and how "we need to do something to help". If they really wanted to help, why don't they like go raise money and donate? I don't really get their point either. Thoroughbreds like to run, and they need horse racing to keep their breed alive.

And then they think we who are for horse racing are ignorant and don't care for horses. Just because we like horse racing doesn't mean that we don't love horses just as much as the rest of you.

I think people should just stop bashing horse racing and give it up. there is no way they will be able to stop it either. The racing industry is huge.

Answer 1

Ban horse racing? Hm. I think the world would be better off if we banned poverty, hunger, crime, war, unemployment, disease, hate, bigotry, greed, pollution, corruption, intolerance...

Answer 2

The owner's greed clouded his ablity to read Eight Belles papers correctly..."does that say 4 years or 3 years old? I can't read the number"   Oddly enough, he had no issues  seeing the  numerical prize at the finish line, down to the penny.  How dare you guys say "accidents happen". This was preventable. Absolutely preventable. And that makes this incident overwhelmingly cruel.

Answer 3

I agree it was a total freak accident. i just think they should raise the age to like 3-4 because 18 months to 2 years old is too young!

Answer 4

These people are so freaking lame! If a patient dies, should we ban hospitals?

Answer 5

Yes -- and clearly a great many of these "questions" being posted are from an organized little clique of animal-rights idiots who are totally ignorant of the subject.

Thoroughbreds and Arabs are as close to the "original" wild horses as we can get, and the only reason they have survived this long is because their speed and accelleration is useful for people.  All the rest of the horse breeds -- drafts, quarterhorses, war horses -- were man-made FROM the original breeds for specific purposes.  Since they didn't need the incredible speed to escape from wolves or big cats, they were bred for strength and durability, which is the unavoidable trade-off for speed.

If not for racing, Arabs & Thoroughbreds would have gone extinct or been modified -- as has happened to the Three-day Event thoroughbreds -- and we would only see these magnificent, "original" animals in zoos or a few private herds, like buffalo.

Ban racing, and the most "original" of horses will disappear, instead of being scientifically bred and trained to become even better.

The law of unintended consequences always applies, and amateurs should at least make an attempt to do a bit of research before running off at the mouth.

Answer 6

People stopped wearing fur coats in public and PETA needed another "scapegoat" issue for which to anger honest, intelligent Americans.....

PETA is another group that consists of liberal leftist extremists..... They splash "red paint" symbolizing blood on people that wear leather or fur clothing..... They hold "die-ins" and practice civil disobedience when protesting stuff like "dead cockroaches", "circus animal behavior" or "bird habitats" are threatened.....

I feel sorry for the horse, but considering they cannot be easily "repaired" or fitted with prostetics like humans when broken limbs occur, freak accidents such as this and the one that occurred to Barbero are unfortunate, but PETA always has to point fingers and blame others when accidents do happen and the trainers/jockeys don't hurt their animals on purpose.

The world would be a better place if PETA and Greenpeace just concentrates on preserving the wildlife of the world and not wasting their time on issues that don't have to do with animal abuse.

Answer 7

Amen!!!!

Answer 8

Horse racing needs to be CHANGED and modified to make it more humane and safer for everyone involved, NOT BANNED OUTRIGHT or OUTLAWED. However, with that said, I recognize that changes will come only slowly. Right now, the economics of racing and of breeding Thoroughbreds don't make much sense- and unfortunately, they are behind many if not most of the fatalities we have all seen in recent years on our nation's tracks.

Think about this in a logical, common sense way for a few minutes. At the present time, it can cost upwards of a MILLION or more dollars for owners and breeders to get a foal- and that money is spent BEFORE the baby is even BORN !!! Stud fees, mare care, vet bills, feed bills, board at the farms where most foals are born- these are all horrendously expensive things right now, and the costs are only going one direction- UP !! This simple fact is what's behind the tremendous pressure owners and breeders are under to start these baby horses under saddle and in training as soon as is humanly possible. These owners and breeders ( not all of whom are independently wealthy or heirs to vast family fortunes, might I add) need to have a way of recouping some of the enormous investments they make, or they couldn't stay in business themselves, much less turn a profit or provide jobs and incomes for their employees. The results of this pressure to recoup the costs of producing their product- the racehorse- are obvious. One of these is the overbreeding of foals- there are literally THOUSANDS of babies born each spring on the different farms across the country, but only an extremely small percentage of them ever make it big on the track. The great majority of the babies never even make it to the track at all- injuries, disease, and accidents all take their toll. Another result of this pressure has to do with what happens to the babies once they are weaned from their mothers. Most of the time, these foals will be overfed to get them ready for the sales ring, where they will be presented to buyers as yearlings. Overfeeding is hazardous to any horse, of any breed, but it is especially so in a young Thoroughbred, because the result is that the young horse will often grow too fast. Conditions which result from over fast growth, such as epiphysitis, often develop in these babies, making them very vulnerable to soundness problems and injuries when they finally start training. But unfortunately, the breeders and owners have no choice BUT to overfeed the babies if they want to show a profit in the sales barn or ring, because bloodstock agents and trainers will not buy babies which are underweight or underdeveloped. In a nutshell, fat sells- and the breeders know this. After the sale, however, the trainers of such babies often have to spend many months during that first year trying to get the excess sales fat off their youngsters so that the horses can race as 2 year olds the next spring or summer. Some of these horses can't stand up to that process-and a fair percentage of them break down during it. I think that this was a situation which was faced by Eight Belles' trainer at some point, because it was obvious to me that the filly had been overfed at some point when she was very young and grew too quickly as a result. There was a reason she was so tall and had the bone structure that she did- and this was a big part of it. Genetics also played a role as well- Eight Belles came from the Northern Dancer/Native Dancer line or family, which unfortunately is notorious for producing horses which have only a limited number of races in them before they break down and die. That line goes back to the famous horse Nearco, without whom there would have been no Ruffian, Bold Ruler, Secretariat, Barbaro, Go For Wand, or either of the last two Triple Crown winners, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. Many of the horses in this family had injuries which ended their careers prematurely- and they all have a stout body and superfine legs, because that's what Nearco, their ancestor had.

This overfeeding and overbreeding, combined with the young ages at which horses are raced, is the aspect of the breeding and racing industries which BADLY NEEDS to be changed. We need to start by raising the minimum age for racing to 4 for the baby races, and 5 for the graded stakes races like the Triple Crown series. This would give these young horses the chance to grow up and become mature before they raced, which in turn would save THOUSANDS of horses' lives. But the reform process shouldn't end there- that is only the first step. The next thing which has to be done is that efforts need to be made to get the enormous costs involved in breeding and training these young horses under control, and make the breeding business more affordable. That means that limits need to be set on things like stud fees ( which are so high they are utterly ridiculous right now) mare care fees, board fees, vet bills, and the like. We also need to reduce or eliminate the incentives that breeders and owners currently have to sell their babies as yearlings, before the horses have had a chance to mature and grow up. Raising the minimum racing ages will help achieve that end, because it will make selling the babies as yearling less profitable for the owners- and it will also force them to wait until the horses are older before starting them in training. An older, more mature horse is much less vulnerable to injuries than an overfed,fat, overdeveloped yearling would be, and it is much easier to judge an older horse's racing potential. Lastly, all of the major tracks in the country need to switch to Polytrack, at least for the time being, until we can get some of these other issues under control. Polytrack reduces injuries and helps save horses' lives- which in turn saves the owners and breeders money.

If we can get the economics of racing and breeding these horses, which incidentally are a beautiful breed, straightened out so that horses can race when they are more mature and able to take the stress, then I think we will soon see a reduction in the number of fatalities in major races. These accidents are ruining the sport's image and turning people off- there is no doubt of that. The industry is also coming under fire from groups like PETA and HSUS because of what are believed to be cruel practices. But the way to stop the tragedies is NOT to ban the sport- it's to work towards solving some of the more serious problems which exist in it. What I have suggested here will do that- but it's not going to happen easily or quickly. People need time to understand what the horses are telling us with their injuries and deaths- and they need time to recognize the connection between what happens on the track and what happens in the breeding shed and the sales ring or barn. When enough people make the mental connections about all these things, then we will start to see real reform and real changes happen. In the short term, however, I think there are going to be more accidents, and more public outrage, at least for a while.

One other thought- even if there were no more races at all, anywhere in the world, Thoroughbreds as a breed would not die out. They do not depend on racing for their survival- the great majority of horses which compete in other disciplines and sports outside of racing ( such as the Olympics) are either Thoroughbred or predomininantly of that blood, and Thoroughbreds are used as foundation stock for a long list of other breeds of horses, including Standardbreds, Quarter Horses ( I own an Appendix QH mare with 4 crosses to Three Bars, a TB stallion, in her pedigree, so I know what I am talking about) most of the Warmblood breeds ( TB crosses are very popular with breeders who want lighter riding horses) as well as the Morgan, Saddlebreds, and even the Tennessee Walking Horse. So the breed would have a future, even if racing were banned outright.

Answer 9

If people couldn't make money off thoroughbreds would the breed exist anyway.

Answer 10

I think the problem people have with it, is that Eight Belles was only 3.  She had an accident, yes, but it wasn't a freak accident.   If she hadn't been racing THAT track at THAT age, it probably wouldn't have happened.  I'd also be willing to lay a whammy of a wager on the fact that Eight Belles isn't the sole reason a lot of people have a problem with racing.  It just forced some to quit ignoring it.

I love children, but I'm not going to make them participate in a sport that may cause them to die.  If I had a horse, there's no way I would let him race in the Derby.  If I truly loved him.  

Horses may love running, but if they loved it so much, why don't they do it on their own (without whips or the fear of predators)?

Yeah, they probably do think you're ignorant.

Btw, I'd love to hear a more compelling argument than "horses love racing."

Answer 11

A horse that young should not be racing. This is ANIMAL CRUELTY. Stop the horse racing...Horses do not have a choice in this...Ridiculous

Answer 12

It's just a knee jerk reaction by people who have no idea.  It is a tragedy of course, but injuries happen in sports and there was nothing to be done, she would have never walked again and been in great pain the whole time.  Horse racing is the sport of Kings, those animals eat better and get treated better than you or I.  There is nothing more beautiful than one of those great athletes in full gallop.  If anyone wants to protest for animal rights, go picket a grocery store.

Answer 13

Firstly i believe you when i say you love horses. Personally im against horse racing because all the evidence points to it being cruel.

Eight belles, like many other horses, are trained and running races before their skeletal system is mature enough to cope with this. Whether or not this lead to her being injured, it's still not something that should happen, and the only reason it does is to make money. I believe this is cruel.

Just read this link: http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display...

im tired of typing out reasons to be honest as people only read what they want to read, so if you want to know why im against it, then you can read the link if you wish

Answer 14

You might also want to consider the fact that perhaps Eight Belles was breed to have weak ankles? The thoroughbred breed isn't as stout and strong as it was several years ago when Man O' War was running. During his time thoroughbreds were racing at 2 and 3 years old and were very strong. These animals today are being bred to have light bones and to run really really fast. Perhaps if owners and breeders were to revamp their breeding techniques maybe there will be fewer race track breakdowns.

Answer 15

Ohh I know!

I am really getting sick of all the people (who know NOTHING) about this sport are just saying all these bad things.

They clearly know nothing about it so why don't they just shut up!?! Or at least read up on it and find out that it is not a bad sport and sad, freak accidents happen!

Yes it is horribly sad about Eight Belles and I cried, but that's just sadly what is involved with horse racing.

Answer 16

I no People blow Horse racing Totally out of Proportion! Its a great sport. Every sport will have tragedy.  People just need to shut there mouth and leave it alone....most of them don't know SQUAT about horses anyway!!!

Answer 17

I AGREE!!! Stop bashing horse racing! I am not ignorant about this sport, I have followed it for almost 20 years, and I have seen my share of tragedies.  

If you hate racing so much, stop watching it and stop wasting your time bashing it.  If you want to help, donate money or time to help the hurt animals....or educate yourself before casting stones!

Answer 18

The TBs that don't make it are slaughtered for horse meat for humans abroad.  the killer auctions are where they are dumped.  the same is true about the jumpers, standard bred racing, they all come to the same end.  we don't hear about all the horses that go down at the tracks, it is very common. cruel yes, money maker yes. it is all about the money.

Answer 19

I think you should be put on a track with absolutely no concept of why you are there, then you should be whipped into terror in order to make you run as fast you possibly can, and then when you break both of your ankles, I think you should be put to death. Then you'll have a basis to formulate your opinion on the subject.