For The Love Of Horses---The Kentucky Derby-good or Bad...?

                                                                  SPOILER

                                                 Sorry..."borrowed" web pictures...

I lived in Flushing Queens until I was 6 years old.  Since I was 5 years old I was horse crazy.   As a child I crawled on the floor with a scarf in the back of my pants pretending it was a tail.  At 6 we moved to a community just inside the Nassau Co border and there was not a horse to be seen.  (unless you had money and lived on the North Shore of LI)

When I was 11 years I discovered the sports section showed lots of horse pictures, especially around big race dates.  The Kentucky derby being the big one..the start of the Triple Crown of Races.



As I got older I studied horses themselves.....I drew them..studied encyclopedias, took every book out of the library I could take out.  By 14 and 15 I was picking winners...not out of "luck or lucky numbers"...because I was learning the pedigrees, and how they did on previous races...of course I didn't bet on them and no one I knew did either.....and I wouldn't today, but it was fun watching....who doesn't like a good match race (which I am sure is what they are aiming for....that next great match race)

.....Those years were amazing horses...  Silky Sullivan, Tim Tam, Secretariat, Northern Dancer, Seattle Slew....amazing horses...I also studied the horses themselves......Phar Lap, Sea Biscuit..the older ones and the new....for instance....it was rumored that Northern Danced had a temper.  And so did (does) his offspring....and Secretariat was a sweet heart.  As was Big Red....the greatest of all....Man 'O War.. I studied all the old greats....and looked for where the new young ones might match (in pedigree or statistics..ahh the innocence of youth) ......I studied the history of the TB where the breed came from...which lead to the Arabian..and eventually other breeds....I tell you I was horse crazy and since TB racing was the ONLY place I could hear about a horse (of the day) that's where I learned.

 

My "studies" took me to other areas too...feeding...training..

Training....there ya go... They start training these horses at about 1 1/2 years old.  One and a half YEARS old...BABIES!!  Their legs are not yet developed....their knees haven't closed yet...their feet (inside the hooves) are delicate and not yet "adult" strength...THEN they slap metal shoes on them....with NAILS...and feed them high octane feed....ever get one of those days where you have so much nervous energy you can't sit still..imagine that in a TB....that's what they aim for.

Yes Yes they are bred for speed..they are bred to want to run..and then do..from birth (that doesn't mean their legs are ready to bare weight and race carrying it)   And owners and trainer might say of course they care for the horse... and let me tell you....owners and trainers DO care for them....of course they do...and a good many of them DO Love horses....and especially (for them) the TB...but under it, if they are kept healthy and nurtured they might make them LOTS of money...what happens to a TB when they aren't making money? or break down?

I myself was at Belmont race track at a Breakfast At Belmont, with our family, when a horse shattered it's leg during a workout, right in front of the stands....of course he was put down...immediately..right there.....it shattered...it flopped around (the leg) like a floppy stuffed animal...The jockey held him up lest he fall and they couldn't get him on a truck...the bad news was, we had brought our young son's that morning, for an early morning breakfast...watching the horses work out, and playing in the beautiful play ground....(it IS a beautiful park like place) can you imagine?  A play ground....so parents can bring their young children while they "play" the races...anything to attract people!! 

The GOOD news was it just so happened they had to go to the bathroom, so they and my husband were not present...other children were though....and we were right on the rail, so it happened right in front of our eyes........women were crying, children were asking why and what happened....I found myself answering the questions of a little girl next to me, while holding back my shock and sadness because I knew what just happened......I pitied the young woman who at the time was giving the tour and had to explain what just happened...and she did...like it was nothing...

I am sorry....it is only my opinion.....yes, the horses are definitely cared for, but generally as money makers....that is what they were bred for....many many are put down for minor injuries...or because they aren't breeding what is wanted.

There are 35,000 Thoroughbreds born every year...how many are alive today?  (only 20 made it to qualify for the Kentucky Derby and not even that amount raced today, because one or more were taken out of the race at the last minute due to illness or injury, and at least one in the race was rushed off the the stable to have a leg x-rayed )

In other parts of the world, they start them at far older ages....even 4 and 5 years old....(and some here do the same..they miss out of the 3 year old races here, including the Triple Crown, but live longer more productive years....) and get a good 10 years of racing out them....simply because their bones are ready.  Here they are started as I said, at about 1 1/2 for racing at 2..they last maybe 4 years ..some are extra strong and last a good more years but the majority are only for 4 or 5 years at best.  I don't know about you but that doesn't spell "love of the horse" to me!  (a horses knees don't close until they are 3 - 4 years old. Anyone who knows anything about anatomy, even human, knows the knees are one place they look to verify age)

The Kentucky Derby (and Triple Crown) is a tradition....a test of strength, and stamina, and speed...but today, except for those IN the TB racing industry, it does not have the same meaning....today for many not generally knowledgeable, or in the industry, it is an excuse for a smaller Marti Gras type party and fancy clothes..and special drinks and food...why do we need an excuse for a party!  And why does it have to be "no holds barred"?  A romantic dream of the next great horse, that will make a movie horse story...and they can say they were there when...sadly not all TB's end life as a happy ending...

I still Love the horse..and I still watch the Kentucky Derby on TV every year, as I have since I was 11...I have never missed one yet...waiting for that next great horse..or a great Triple Crown winner.....not supporting it (monetarily)  and pretending the Industry isn't what it is...

I do not support the TB Racing industry, in any way (or Quarter Horse Racing Industry).  And I know there ARE trainers and owners in it for the horse..hoping they might have the next Secretariat....but I pity the horse that doesn't make the grade...

Hey, I was greeted by Bob Baffert once (he is a trainer), over the back fence....my neighbor's father was a big TB trainer for a long time in CA...(he came to visit and waved over the fence as I tended my horse) ...Cool..I always root for his horses...

There is nothing like the grace and beauty of the TB running through a field...free..like the Arabian he came from...but once again..man has interfered for his own pleasure and gain...

http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2010/10/secretariat-horse-racing.html

So, I am torn....between the Love of the horse...and an Industry that isn't always there for the benefit of the horse..but the benefit of man...







See you later,
Janie