As all four of my long-term readers know, I'm batshit insane very fond of thoroughbred horse racing. I had been eagerly anticipating last Saturday's Kentucky Derby for weeks. The Mister and I had to attend the funeral of a friend's grandmother earlier that day, and I'm not ashamed to say (although I totally should be) that as the funeral crossed the one hour mark with no end in sight I started getting antsy and checking the time, wishing that Mamaw hadn't had so many grandchildren determined to memorialize her. Eventually we were able to pay our respects, spend a few minutes with our friend, and then beat it back home to catch the race. My husband even informed me that I should have enough time to fix a tasty cocktail before post time, which was just a sweet, sweet bonus.
Everyone knows how the race turned out. And now the righteous indignation and pearl-clutching begins. The number of people who are suddenly experts on all things equestrian is truly staggering! And now PETA has leapt into the fray, and, oh PETA.
Let me just put a few things in perspective here before I'm branded an animal hating murderer:
1. I was, and still am, sickened by what happened on Saturday. As soon as I saw Eight Belles lying on the track I knew what was coming and I left the house and stayed outside until I knew the coverage would be over. When my husband came outside and told me that she had two broken ankles and was euthanized on the track I thought I was going to vomit. The only thing that kept me from doing so was the thought of wasting the delicious cocktail that I'd already consumed. (Oh not really... shut up.)
2. I've been a defender of PETA for as long as I can remember. I've disliked many of their tactics and felt that too often they've crossed the line from animal advocates to maniacal douches that no one can take seriously, but it's hard for me to fault people whose purpose is to protect animals from abuse and exploitation. But now, as well-intentioned as they may be, they've gone from being occasionally reactionary and uninformed to full blown crackpots who need to stop, take a breath, and step away from the crazy.
3. I understand and appreciate the outrage people feel over this whole episode, and believe me, I'm right there with you. But some of the comments people have made about it make me wonder about their knowledge of horses in general, the sport in particular, and grasp of reality overall. Let's look at a few of the most asinine points being thrown out there:
Three year old horses shouldn't be allowed to race in the Kentucky Derby.
The Kentucky Derby is a race FOR three year old horses. That's kind of like saying 18-22 year old male NCAA football players aren't allowed to play in any NCAA football games. It is, by its very definition, what the race is. Without three year old racehorses, there IS no Kentucky Derby.
Now I understand that the crux of the argument here is that three year olds are too young to be racing at that level, but thoroughbreds start training and racing at age two when they are physically mature. This is physiologically the best thing for them with regard to muscular and skeletal development, at least according to the American Association of Equine Practitioners. That sounds like a rather selective organization, so I'll assume that they know what they're talking about.
One thing that many people are very correct about is the lack of mental/emotional maturity in three year old horses. That's one of the reasons the Derby (and all the Triple Crown races) are so unpredictable; horses that young are spazzes. This is not unlike their mammalian cousins of the human variety. Teenagers aren't known for their well-reasoned, responsible, steady behavior. They are moody, not always apt to listen to or follow instructions, and often behave in ways that defy logic. How else can we explain the success of High School Musical? Anyway, this leads us into our next point:
Horses are relentlessly beaten and whipped by jockeys to make them run faster.
Oof. Oh, where to begin?
I guess no one other than the horse can say if the whip is painful, but it's essentially universally accepted that it's not. Horses have very thick skin and the whips are pretty flimsy. I'll grant you the word "whip" connotes something extremely unpleasant, and I kind of bristle when I hear people refer to whipping a horse, but from what I've been able to ascertain in a lifetime of following the sport (as well as being married to someone who used to own racehorses), it amounts to little more than a "thump" to you and me.
Jockeys use the whip for a variety of reasons, and each horse is different. Some horses don't respond to it at all (which is another reason I believe that it doesn't hurt them -- animals react in some way if they're being hurt), some might tend to run faster (although this often seems to be more of a Pavlovian response brought about through their training rather than a I'm-getting-the-shit-whipped-out-of-me-I've-gotta-run kind of thing), but more often than not it's used as a way to get their attention. A jockey might use it to prompt a horse to change leads if he didn't do it on his own, to let the horse know that it's time to "open it up" and run on all cylinders (for lack of a better term), to help with navigation, or to get the horse's attention back on the race if he gets distracted. Some horses wear blinkers because they tend to look more at what's going on around them rather than what's going on in front of them. Some horses don't like blinkers but still need a gentle "Hey, pay attention to what's going on up here" and that's where the whip comes in.
As for Eight Belles being relentlessly beaten? Uh, no. There are already strict rules in place regarding when and how often the whip can be used, so it's not like some jockey can just go apeshit and start indiscriminately whipping the hell out a horse. The whip has specific purposes, and nowhere on that list of purposes is "beat the hell out of it to make it run faster." While it's true that some horses do run faster after the whip is used, again, bear in mind that that's a training thing. It's not unusual to see a jockey standing in the stirrups and pulling on the reins to slow a horse down in the earlier stages of a race. Timing is important and many horses are trained not to run at full speed until given the command to do so. For craps sake, don't confuse a jockey maintaining control of a horse's natural tactical speed with just beating it to make it go faster.
This jockey should be banned from horse racing.
Ok. If Gabriel Saez, Eight Belle's jockey, continued to run her knowing that she was injured, I agree with this 100%. In fact, I believe a beatdown is in order. I will find the miserable SOB and kick him in the crotch until HE needs to be euthanized. Who's with me? I'll even drive and we can take turns in the crotch-kicking!
That being said, there is absolutely no indication that he knew anything was wrong. In fact, probably nothing was wrong. The horse didn't collapse until well after the race was over. From everything I've read the consensus appears to be that her injuries were sustained after the jockey pulled her up to stop her from running after the race. It sounds like her bones were fragile and couldn't handle the stress of going from one extreme to the other. Tragic? Absolutely. The jockey's fault? I seriously doubt it.
Whipping should be banned from horse racing.
Again, if whips were used only to beat a horse about the hindquarters until they ran as fast as they could due to the pain of the whip I'd agree 100%. But let's look at a couple of key points from above: Horses -- especially young horses -- are fractious and easily distracted. Jockeys have to use whips to keep horses from drifting off course and running into the rail or into other horses. So if there were no whips we could see horses colliding with the side of the racetrack and causing multiple horse pileups. Yeah, that sounds like a much better alternative, PETA. Thanks for your input. Now STFU.
Honestly, I'm completely torn up about what happened to that filly on Saturday. But putting blame where it doesn't belong or insisting on ridiculous changes based on uninformed, kneejerk reactions isn't the answer either. I think Eight Belles was the victim of an unfortunate trend in thoroughbred racing that's developed over the past several years, and that's the overwhelming emphasis on speed. Obviously racehorses have always needed to be fast. Watching some animals loll around a racetrack at a leisurely gallop doesn't make for a particular compelling sport. But until relatively recently a horse's racing career lasted for several years, meaning that the horses had to be durable as well as fast. But most of the money to be had in racing is not in the races themselves but in the subsequent breeding rights. Now horses who experience great success on the track are raced for a couple years, or just long enough to secure substantial breeding value, and then put to stud. Durability isn't much of a factor since their racing careers are so short. When solidity and strength aren't important any more they're bred out of future generations, and then you have a poor horse like Eight Belle whose bones just aren't strong enough.
I don't know what all the answers are, but I firmly believe that in order to prevent something like this from happening again we need to look toward the owners and the breeders to make longevity and overall soundness as important as the other qualities. But when someone is investing millions of dollars into a single horse they want to see a return on their investment, and speed, not strong bones, is what brings in the heavy coins. It's not right, and invariably that greed, in my opinion, cost Eight Belles her life, but it's the way it is and most of us don't have the kind of money needed to change it. Hopefully the people who are involved in the sport because they love it and the animals who participate in it will step up and make the necessary changes, and those who only care about how much money they can earn at the expense of an innocent animal will face the fury of my Feet of Steel in their crotches.
In the meantime, because it can't be said enough: PETA? Shut the fuck up.
Everyone knows how the race turned out. And now the righteous indignation and pearl-clutching begins. The number of people who are suddenly experts on all things equestrian is truly staggering! And now PETA has leapt into the fray, and, oh PETA.
Let me just put a few things in perspective here before I'm branded an animal hating murderer:
1. I was, and still am, sickened by what happened on Saturday. As soon as I saw Eight Belles lying on the track I knew what was coming and I left the house and stayed outside until I knew the coverage would be over. When my husband came outside and told me that she had two broken ankles and was euthanized on the track I thought I was going to vomit. The only thing that kept me from doing so was the thought of wasting the delicious cocktail that I'd already consumed. (Oh not really... shut up.)
2. I've been a defender of PETA for as long as I can remember. I've disliked many of their tactics and felt that too often they've crossed the line from animal advocates to maniacal douches that no one can take seriously, but it's hard for me to fault people whose purpose is to protect animals from abuse and exploitation. But now, as well-intentioned as they may be, they've gone from being occasionally reactionary and uninformed to full blown crackpots who need to stop, take a breath, and step away from the crazy.
3. I understand and appreciate the outrage people feel over this whole episode, and believe me, I'm right there with you. But some of the comments people have made about it make me wonder about their knowledge of horses in general, the sport in particular, and grasp of reality overall. Let's look at a few of the most asinine points being thrown out there:
Three year old horses shouldn't be allowed to race in the Kentucky Derby.
The Kentucky Derby is a race FOR three year old horses. That's kind of like saying 18-22 year old male NCAA football players aren't allowed to play in any NCAA football games. It is, by its very definition, what the race is. Without three year old racehorses, there IS no Kentucky Derby.
Now I understand that the crux of the argument here is that three year olds are too young to be racing at that level, but thoroughbreds start training and racing at age two when they are physically mature. This is physiologically the best thing for them with regard to muscular and skeletal development, at least according to the American Association of Equine Practitioners. That sounds like a rather selective organization, so I'll assume that they know what they're talking about.
One thing that many people are very correct about is the lack of mental/emotional maturity in three year old horses. That's one of the reasons the Derby (and all the Triple Crown races) are so unpredictable; horses that young are spazzes. This is not unlike their mammalian cousins of the human variety. Teenagers aren't known for their well-reasoned, responsible, steady behavior. They are moody, not always apt to listen to or follow instructions, and often behave in ways that defy logic. How else can we explain the success of High School Musical? Anyway, this leads us into our next point:
Horses are relentlessly beaten and whipped by jockeys to make them run faster.
Oof. Oh, where to begin?
I guess no one other than the horse can say if the whip is painful, but it's essentially universally accepted that it's not. Horses have very thick skin and the whips are pretty flimsy. I'll grant you the word "whip" connotes something extremely unpleasant, and I kind of bristle when I hear people refer to whipping a horse, but from what I've been able to ascertain in a lifetime of following the sport (as well as being married to someone who used to own racehorses), it amounts to little more than a "thump" to you and me.
Jockeys use the whip for a variety of reasons, and each horse is different. Some horses don't respond to it at all (which is another reason I believe that it doesn't hurt them -- animals react in some way if they're being hurt), some might tend to run faster (although this often seems to be more of a Pavlovian response brought about through their training rather than a I'm-getting-the-shit-whipped-out-of-me-I've-gotta-run kind of thing), but more often than not it's used as a way to get their attention. A jockey might use it to prompt a horse to change leads if he didn't do it on his own, to let the horse know that it's time to "open it up" and run on all cylinders (for lack of a better term), to help with navigation, or to get the horse's attention back on the race if he gets distracted. Some horses wear blinkers because they tend to look more at what's going on around them rather than what's going on in front of them. Some horses don't like blinkers but still need a gentle "Hey, pay attention to what's going on up here" and that's where the whip comes in.
As for Eight Belles being relentlessly beaten? Uh, no. There are already strict rules in place regarding when and how often the whip can be used, so it's not like some jockey can just go apeshit and start indiscriminately whipping the hell out a horse. The whip has specific purposes, and nowhere on that list of purposes is "beat the hell out of it to make it run faster." While it's true that some horses do run faster after the whip is used, again, bear in mind that that's a training thing. It's not unusual to see a jockey standing in the stirrups and pulling on the reins to slow a horse down in the earlier stages of a race. Timing is important and many horses are trained not to run at full speed until given the command to do so. For craps sake, don't confuse a jockey maintaining control of a horse's natural tactical speed with just beating it to make it go faster.
This jockey should be banned from horse racing.
Ok. If Gabriel Saez, Eight Belle's jockey, continued to run her knowing that she was injured, I agree with this 100%. In fact, I believe a beatdown is in order. I will find the miserable SOB and kick him in the crotch until HE needs to be euthanized. Who's with me? I'll even drive and we can take turns in the crotch-kicking!
That being said, there is absolutely no indication that he knew anything was wrong. In fact, probably nothing was wrong. The horse didn't collapse until well after the race was over. From everything I've read the consensus appears to be that her injuries were sustained after the jockey pulled her up to stop her from running after the race. It sounds like her bones were fragile and couldn't handle the stress of going from one extreme to the other. Tragic? Absolutely. The jockey's fault? I seriously doubt it.
Whipping should be banned from horse racing.
Again, if whips were used only to beat a horse about the hindquarters until they ran as fast as they could due to the pain of the whip I'd agree 100%. But let's look at a couple of key points from above: Horses -- especially young horses -- are fractious and easily distracted. Jockeys have to use whips to keep horses from drifting off course and running into the rail or into other horses. So if there were no whips we could see horses colliding with the side of the racetrack and causing multiple horse pileups. Yeah, that sounds like a much better alternative, PETA. Thanks for your input. Now STFU.
Honestly, I'm completely torn up about what happened to that filly on Saturday. But putting blame where it doesn't belong or insisting on ridiculous changes based on uninformed, kneejerk reactions isn't the answer either. I think Eight Belles was the victim of an unfortunate trend in thoroughbred racing that's developed over the past several years, and that's the overwhelming emphasis on speed. Obviously racehorses have always needed to be fast. Watching some animals loll around a racetrack at a leisurely gallop doesn't make for a particular compelling sport. But until relatively recently a horse's racing career lasted for several years, meaning that the horses had to be durable as well as fast. But most of the money to be had in racing is not in the races themselves but in the subsequent breeding rights. Now horses who experience great success on the track are raced for a couple years, or just long enough to secure substantial breeding value, and then put to stud. Durability isn't much of a factor since their racing careers are so short. When solidity and strength aren't important any more they're bred out of future generations, and then you have a poor horse like Eight Belle whose bones just aren't strong enough.
I don't know what all the answers are, but I firmly believe that in order to prevent something like this from happening again we need to look toward the owners and the breeders to make longevity and overall soundness as important as the other qualities. But when someone is investing millions of dollars into a single horse they want to see a return on their investment, and speed, not strong bones, is what brings in the heavy coins. It's not right, and invariably that greed, in my opinion, cost Eight Belles her life, but it's the way it is and most of us don't have the kind of money needed to change it. Hopefully the people who are involved in the sport because they love it and the animals who participate in it will step up and make the necessary changes, and those who only care about how much money they can earn at the expense of an innocent animal will face the fury of my Feet of Steel in their crotches.
In the meantime, because it can't be said enough: PETA? Shut the fuck up.
3 Comments:
AMEN !!! I'm from Maryland and we are still mourning the loss of Barbaro from his injury. I'm heartbroken at what occured at the Derby and can't bring myself to watch all that occured with the injury, but I totally agree with you on PETA- they have lost sight of what they should be standing for.
I agree that PETA does some great work, and that sometimes, their tactics turn off many would be supporters.
I own horses, and breed them, so i feel that I have some credibility when I say that your points were all solid, but the breeding practices DO need to be addressed. Over-breeding for performance can and does produce fragile animals, which shouldn't then be subjected to grueling training and racing. My opinion, of course.
Anon,
Aww, Barbaro. I was so hoping he'd pull through.
I'm with you on the Derby coverage. I haven't watched any of it. After the race was over and I saw her lying on the track I was done and I can't bring myself to watch any of it. And I probably never will.
mr. mack,
I agree with you completely, and I sincerely hope that some good can come out of this and breeding practices will be held up to some scrutiny. If PETA wanted to channel their effort and attention in that direction I'd be more than happy. It's just the Ban the jockey! And then ban this too! And hey, we don't like the looks of this so you need to get rid of that as well! that pisses me off. Obviously there's a problem but settle down, look at the facts, and then make an informed decision. They're acting like spoiled children right now and I hate to see all their potential good work negated by that bullshit.
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