Horse Racing Poll

[Dorvid Barnas]

VOTE!

[TL]

That poor Eight Belles.
Very sad.

[Beth]

I was just voicing my disgust at horse racing this morning after hearing about that poor horse. It's just terrible and sick, but because it's "the sport of kings" it's somehow okay, even with those who are otherwise animal lovers. Boo.

[Dorvid Barnas]

A vet friend of mine told me that, in Virginia, the laws on animal euthanization need to be changed because some horse farms "euthanize" healthy horses for not being fast enough. 

HATE PIT!

[<<<<<]

It's very hard to feel a positive opinion about what happened.

[gravy boat]

I like horse racing and I like going to the track a couple times a year but, from what I read last year after Barbaro, the high-stakes horses have been subject to such selective breeding that their "ankles" simply cannot support the muscular frame up to (that's a simplistic version of something more complicated that I read about a year ago). It seems to be getting worse.

[chrisfoll577]

i've also been to the track a few times with friends and although i think it's a fun guys' day out of drinking and gambling legally outdoors, i still recognize the brutality of it all.  it's amazing to watch the horses run so gracefully and swiftly and i do think to a great extent that the people involved have great affection for the animals... the bottom line is that the horses are being exploited and are commodities in a very expensive game.  track owners are installing a new synthetic surface and they say it should cut down injuries and fatalities like this, which is a positive step, but i'd also like to see breeders maybe dial it down a notch and breed for the animal's health, not just for speed and profit.

[Julie]

What happened? I hate the guy who made art by putting costumes on horses.

[Stan]

 Ugh. This provided the one horrifying moment during my niece's first communion party. Someone among my sister's in-laws set up a pool where you throw in five bucks and pick a horse. With money at stake, every adult was in the living room watching watching, swearing, etc. When the mare went down, there was an assortment of gasps and groans. That is, until my brother in law's mother yells out "Shoot it! Shoot it!". As many expressed their horror over this statement, she was incredulous- "What? It's what they do!".

 Thankfully, most of the children were outside playing

[TremblingEagle]

I find it insane people breed these horses into having all these genetic maladies
force them to perform until exhaustion or injury and then execute them regardless for expediency.

While Micheal Vick (rightly) goes to prison for breeding and torturing dogs for sport
the horse people are celebrated and on national TV for their good works.

 

[jed]

My first real job was at race track.  I got job as a bus boy at one of the fancy clubs at Ruidoso Downs, home to the richest Quarterhorse race in the world.  I quit one terrible week in which 1.) I found the rest of my co-workers snorting coke in the back room (I was 15 and it scared me); 2.) a horse fell and broke his leg, making me sad 3.) it was explained that I should get used to it because Quarterhorses break their legs all the time racing becasue they are so young, making me mad; and 3.) I found out what the fate of these horses was, making me really mad.

[Gilly]

While Micheal Vick (rightly) goes to prison for breeding and torturing dogs for sport
the horse people are celebrated and on national TV for their good works.

I agree with that. It's kind of amazing PETA doesn't go at the sport a little harder. I think it used to be a decent sport but it's turned into something very different. Although, not everyone involved is inhumane. I have two uncles that own race horses and they care about those horses more than anything else in the world other than their family. If something happened to them they'd be devastated. So, maybe there is a line where racing becomes something bigger and winning is the only goal. I think at local levels it's still about showcasing amazing animals and having fun for the most part.

[TremblingEagle]

While Micheal Vick (rightly) goes to prison for breeding and torturing dogs for sport
the horse people are celebrated and on national TV for their good works.

I agree with that. It's kind of amazing PETA doesn't go at the sport a little harder. I think it used to be a decent sport but it's turned into something very different. Although, not everyone involved is inhumane. I have two uncles that own race horses and they care about those horses more than anything else in the world other than their family. If something happened to them they'd be devastated. So, maybe there is a line where racing becomes something bigger and winning is the only goal. I think at local levels it's still about showcasing amazing animals and having fun for the most part.

Fair point.
Dog fighting is definitely higher up on the brutality scale than racing. In hindsight it seems like I'm saying they are on par.

I'm just not into any of it
I'm more into humans racing or fighting each other if they'd like, leave the animals be.