Racehorse Soapbox

I'll admit it...I have been just about a life-long Thoroughbred race fan. I love the stats, the bloodline research, the training aspects, and, of course, the beautiful equine athletes. In recent years, however, I have become somewhat ambivilent about the "Sport of Kings".

I will never forget the Breeder's Cup Distaff race in 1990 where a mare named Go For Wand fell, went down, flipped over, got up, and tried to finish the race while her broken leg clung to her by a thin flap of skin. And who can forget Barbaro, the amazing colt who broke his hind leg while running in the 2006 Preakness Stakes, only to succumb to complications from laminitis months later?

I was reminded of how fragile a young Thoroughbred racehorse's life is this past Saturday when the three year old filly, Eight Belles (pictured above), ran the race of her life, placing second in the Kentucky Derby (and beating 18 colts in the process), only to shatter both front ankles after crossing the wire. She could not be saved.

In watching the post-race interviews, it seems everyone has an opinion. Was the footing off? Was the filly unsound? What role did bloodlines play? (Eight Belles' sire, Unbridled's Song is notorious for fathering highly unsound foals)

Not once, however, have I heard questions about running such young stock in hardcore races. I have yet to hear anyone question the training techniques of big-time trainers, who start their horses under saddle at 18 months old. Could it be that the footing cannot be blamed? Could it be that putting such stress on such young legs could be a factor? These horses are beefed up with feed and steroids, exercised into firm muscle, and trained hard. All on legs that will not be done growing until that horse is five (or more) years old. It is not surprising to me that horses go down on the track all of the time. We just get to see the big name horses in the media.

The ironic part of all of this is, if a young horse breaks down on the track and can be saved, is often retired to the breeding shed, to be bred and to pass on conformation faults to hundreds of babies. It's the horses who start their careers as older colts and fillies and race until they are ten (or older) who are the sound ones - the ones who should be passing their stamina and soundness on to future generations.

I'll get off my soapbox now, but not before addressing Eight Belles' trainer's comment on the Today Show this morning. Mr. Larry Jones defended his sport by stating that horses have a bigger risk of hurting themselves in the pasture than they do on the racetrack. This may be true, but I see a major difference in a horse hurting himself while running, bucking, and playing versus being whipped across the finish line after running his (or her) heart out for over a mile against 19 other horses on ankles just a few inches in diameter.