As you know from this week’s post about our trip to Louisville, I love horses and the sport of horse racing. I love going to Louisville during the derby and watching the extensive race coverage. I love books about horses – Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley, Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand. And movies – Secretariat, Seabiscuit. I love going to Arlington Park in the summer. I grew up going to the races at Ruidoso Downs. And my namesake, Aunt Mollie, had a fondness for betting on the ponies.
I love the beautiful horses and silks and the grounds, and the speed and excitement.
But as animal lover and animal rights advocate, I’m very disturbed by the recent articles and interviews about rampant abuse in racing. I feel very conflicted about supporting this sport. I love horse racing for the reasons I stated, and I hate that it is being marred by these unscrupulous trainers and owners. I feel terrible for the horses and jockeys that are hurt by over-racing, over-medicating, and under-caring.
Walt Bogdanich and Joe Drape were on Fresh Air yesterday discussing the details of their investigation into horse racing in America. Here is their work in The New York Times.
My wife and I have show horses and even a stallion and a couple brood mares. We looked into thoroughbreds a few years ago with an eye to getting into racing, as there is a track just a few miles away from our house. After some research though, we decided that the sport is just too brutal. This was back before the slaughter ban, so it was even worse than it is now for the horses that weren’t runners. Now the breeding has become more selective, but the pain-blocking drugs are rampant and are destroying horses at an alarming rate. It’s sad, because the horses love to run and when done properly, it’s a great sport. Once again, it looks like a big infusion of money (from on-site casinos) has gunked up the works.