Sports – Big Brown won the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby, overcoming and a field of 19 other horses to etch his name in the history books with a five-length victory.
Though I'm a sort of fan and I know the history of the horse races, it seems that too many times they end up with one or more dead horses. Is it worth it in the end? Just asking.
Apparently so since people have raced horses for as long as they've ridden them and aren't going to stop now.
There's no horse carnage going on. The vast majority of races have no injuries and fewer still ones requiring horses killed.
It does seem likt they die regularly in the big races of late. I love horses, hate to see them in pain.
slate - name one besides Barbaro - more jockeys get hurt - it is a dangerous profession.
A big one that comes to mind is that of the great filly, Ruffian, who died during a match race against the Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure. Aside from the publicity generated by well known horse deaths, there are usually a fair number of horse deaths in racing every year: in one year the following numbers of horse deaths occurred: Tufway Park 24 in 2004, Keeneland 7 in 2005, Woodbine 5 in 2005, Hollywood Park 7 in 2005, Arlington Park 22 in 2006, DelMar 19 in 2006. I am a horse racing fan and have witnessed several deaths throughout the years. Sometimes they'll cart the horses away to be euthanized and sometimes they do the deed right on the track behind sheets to prevent the audience from actually witnessing the killing. http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/14/spor...
lkrdgeva - Thanks for citing some actual figures - too often statements are made here with no validity. Further research shows that in 1990 at the Belmont Sprint Stakes there were 4 casualties on that day alone.
Some of the problem of injuries are due to the fact that horses are raced at a very young age & through breeding their legs have become thinner as a means to increase their speed.
It is sort of sad when an animal has to be put down but these horses love to run and although peope will say that they are pushed by people this isn't 100 percent true. A neighbor of mine had a thoroughbred in a pasture right next to my yard, every morning when I left this horse would run to the corner of the pasture and race me down the full half mile of the quarter. I commented to the owner that at times I worried that the horse would fall in a gopher hole or a mole run but the owner said that horse was meant to run and it was part of his life to race , this horse had raced on a track and some days when I took it real slow down the road the horse would still run as hard as he could and then turn and meet me coming back.
The reason I told this story is because there will be those who say that this is cruelty to animals but these sort of things happen to animals in the wild as well, and when it does they suffer a very painfull death.
rancher
I'm so sorry the neg should have been a pos. Your story about the thoroughbred is great.
These horses are bred to run and some of them love to run and that's what makes a horse race. Some like the filly, Ruffian, have the heart to run but are not really sound enough to race, Ruffian had a crooked front leg. When a 1200 pound animal like a horse runs it place extreme weight on it's legs, especially the front legs. When a horse switches leads it caused even more stress and if there is a fault in confirmation many times the horse will break it's ankles.
I was watching the race between Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure and saw her break her leg. You could see it snap when she changed her lead and she just crumpled. It really is sad when one of the beautiful courageous creatures has to be put down.
No, it's not cruelty these horses were born to run.
Consider that Secretariat won the race in 1:59:4 which would have put him approximately 14 lengths ahead of Big Brown. Of course, this is a comparison of raw times and not of racing conditions but it does give a sense of how super Secretariat was.
Secretariat was a perfect horse in every way. After all these years his speed records for the Triple Crown still hold at Kentucky Downs and Belmont. Big Red is still being used to teach equine confirmation in horsemanship classes all over the nation.
I would love to see Big Brown win the next two. I'm always ready for another great horse to show up.
Regardless how one looks at horse racing, it is a type of entertainment that benefits gamblers, NOT the horses. Perhaps, we ought to take a serious analysis at horse racing, dog racing, dolphins and other zoo & circus animals. Is it a form of abuse to display these beautiful creatures for our own selfish pleasues?
Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby, however, Eight Belles died 'trying' to please her rider and owner!!!
Big Brown Wins 134th Kentucky Derby
To all the Pompous wealthy Idiots in Kentucky, this race is a Major Social Disgrace. All the leading Jockey's agree, 20 plus horses in any race is a disaster ready to Happen, however the social mint Julup crowed doesn't care about the horses, it's all about prestige.
How many Great Horses have to Die for their selfish enjoyment?
Limit the Kentucky Derby to a 14 Horse field...
May God Bless 8 Bells, she didn't have to Die for their selfish cause....
What a Bunch of Wealthy PIGS....
Rarely does anyone in Ky even own any of the horses that run in the Ky Derby! Horses are brought from all over the world to run in the Ky Derby.
I knew you were an idiot, but i had no idea you thought that because the Ky Derby was in Ky, all the horses came from or were owned by people in Ky. By virtue of that thought, i guess all the horses that run at Pimlico, are owned by wealthy pompous idiots in Maryland, and all the horses that run in the Belmont Stakes, are owned by wealthy pompous New Yorkers..... E freaking GAD!
Don't believe everything you think Hobe!
Once again this shows the abject irresponsibility of the horse racing organization. Any race which puts enough stress on an animal, which by all indications prior to the race had no physical risk factors, to cause a fatal injury or death by any cause, is then inherently unsafe for the animals. This not an uncommon result of this kind of competition.
I would, at least add the following as mandatory rules for the entire race industry: 1) The owner of a horse who has a horse put down as a result of injuries sustained in racing competition, will not be eligible to collect any insurance on that horse, and 2) that owner will not be permitted to race any horse he/she owns for a period not less than 5 years.
No animal's life should ever be on the block for something as trivial as this kind of money motivated racing competition. If you want true competition, there a plenty of equestrian events that better test the ability of the animals and riders than this simplistic sprint competition.
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Sad about the filly. Broke both ankles and had to be put down.