Elephant in the Room

I have a love hate relationship with horse racing. As I sat and watched Big Brown and Eight Belles come down the stretch, I couldn't help but start to cry. To me the thunder of hooves and the sound of breathing as they round the last turn incites goosebumps. I am overcome with emotion and this sense of pride that I know and love these animals. They blaze down that homestretch, glorious athletes. I almost hold my breath as they cross the finish line. This is how I feel watching every race, the Kentucky Derby is no different for me than watching a $500 claimer at Portland Meadows. I grew up on racetracks as most of my readers know, so I have seen the good and the bad. On Saturday, I was cheering for 8 Belles. I wanted her to show up the boys. As I watched her come down the stretch, I knew Big Brown had it, but I was so proud of her. That is when the tears of joy started, minutes later they were tears of sadness. We all know what happened. This sport needs to change. We have horses running too young, we have trainers pumping any and every kind of drug into these horses, we have a broken test barn policy, we have minimal fines for huge infractions, we have sanctioned starvation of jockeys, we have inhumane gate practices, we have no mandatory vet checks before racing, we have uninsured jockeys who refuse medical treatment because that can't afford it, and the list goes on. The sport could be good again. I really believe that. I know for many, they don't agree that horses "like" to race. I believe that they do. A horse knows when it wins on the track and a horse knows when it has been beat. You can see it. They know they are athletes. The Racing Commission needs to make it a drug free sport. Currently test barn results come back after a week and if there is a positive test...trainers pay a wimpy fine that doesn't effect the mutuals for the outcome of the race. It needs to be a HUGE fine and possible racing license revocation. If a horse can't pass a vet check, it doesn't run. If a horse breaks down on the track...HUGE fines for the trainer and owner who put it in the race. If the commission tackles the drug problem and changes maidens to at least 3 years, ideally 4 instead of almost 2, we would see major progress. This week I read an article equating horse racing to dog fighting. I understand the analogy. The savageness comes from human greed and suffering for our entertainment. For horses, death is not assured but the possibility these race horses end up on a table in Europe is quite high. This can be a good sport, but right now it is as ugly as dog fighting. Please write the racing commission, email, complain, have dialogue. Make your voices heard. I am tired of staying silent.

Drugged Up

There is no doubt Curlin is an amazing horse. He won the Preakness last Saturday by a nose over Street Sense, the Kentucky Derby winner. Prior to his defeat in the Kentucky Derby, he ran three races and won them all by a combined 28 lengths. In other words, he smoked them.
The sad fact in all this, Curlin is trained by Steve Asmussen who has a history of drugging his horses. He has had 22 failed drug tests on his horses and 21 of those failed tests were on horses that finished in the money. On one of the failed tests, the horse had 750 times the allowable amount of a undisclosed substance. Asmussen claims that he had no knowledge of the drugging and thinks other trainers have conspired against him to take him down. I think this is very unlikely because most of his peers are guilty of the same offenses. Everyone in the industry knows the penalties for drugging horses are small fines and very rarely a short suspension. The Louisiana Racing Commission suspended Asmussen for 6 months in 2006. Trainers mix up drug cocktails called "milkshakes," containing sodium bicarbonate, water, and sugar. This delays the fatigue factor in racehorses. They add some steroids, maybe a little cocaine, and a little Lasix. These horses run and don't feel pain, and jack-ass trainers like Steve Asmussen continue reaping positive media attention and praise for their success. The American race industry sucks. There is no regulation. Each state determines their own rules and we are the only country in the world that drugs horses to this extent. In most countries, if trainers are caught drugging horses, they are banned from the sport. In a week, the test results will come back for Curlin and some other Preakness horses. We, the public, will never know who tests "positive." The test barn will discuss results with track officals and the trainers, Asmussen will pay his $500 fine and smile as he goes to cash in his million dollar purse. It is just one of many dirty little secrets. When are we going to let our amazing thoroughbreds run on natural ability not drug induced frenzies?

Canterbury Park

My dad trains and races quarter horses in the Midwest. For the most part, he hits Canterbury Park in Minnesota, Prairie Meadows in Iowa, the Woodlands in Kansas and various tracks in Oklahoma. He has his first race of the season this Friday. For as much as we have had our differences, I am still proud of him and rooting him to do well. Looks like he is running a 3 year old gelding named "Holiday Heart," ridden by Keith Davis in the one hole going off at 7/2. Throughout his season, I will chart how he does and post pictures and comments about the racing industry, because there is just so much to talk about! I will be travelling back to Minnesota in two weeks, and I plan to spend plenty of time on the back stretch of Canterbury Park.