Watching the Kentucky Derby With Mixed Feelings

I find it funny that my non-horse friends think I know about horse racing, just because I’ve had horses and I ride. I am not sure I could clearly articulate what a trifecta is and I know very little about what kind of training goes into making a truly great race horse that could win the Kentucky Derby. But I have been known to dispense this kind of “advice”:

“If a horse doesn’t want to load into the starting gate that is a good sign. Once it opens he’ll probably blast out of there and have a good lead,” I told my friend Ellie about a year ago when we were spending a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Santa Anita in my stomping grounds of Arcadia, California.

“Also, I’ve heard that you don’t want to pick a horse that’s all sweaty and worked up before even making it to the starting gate. The theory is that he probably has expended so much energy being tense and dancing around prior to the race that he will start out a little tired.”

I don’t even know where I heard those race tips and I certainly can’t verify if they’re true or old wives’ tales. That day I think I placed a total of two or three $2 bets and won about $40. I am content to stop there. And when I have gone to pick up my crazy winnings, it’s always with mixed feelings. I don’t want to advocate a gambling lifestyle and be part of a system that is based on a gambling lifestyle.

For me it’s not an issue or addiction, but I have heard stories of people who have gotten sucked into playing the ponies to their detriment. And it’s cost them dearly. In the form of both relational and personal asset destruction. That’s not the only thing that nags at me as I biennially go to the track or watch a race on TV. There are a few other things I don’t know what to make of.

In 2008 I was watching the Kentucky Derby home alone in my apartment. My roommate was gone and I remember the gorgeous gray filly Eight Belles cross the finish line second and then fall down. As you know, she had to be put down. I didn’t know her or anyone affiliated with her but it was just heartbreaking. All I could think is literally that she ran her heart out. Surely she galloped part of that race in pain until she couldn’t go anymore. I cried, by myself home alone in the apartment. It seemed so wrong. Not necessarily that she was being asked to run, because that’s what Thoroughbreds are meant to do just as Goldens are meant to retrieve. Wrong that the very thing she was meant to do killed her.

The other thing I can’t get over is the sheer number of Thoroughbreds bred each year. I saw an infographic which I can’t find now, but I believe the number is around 38,000 foals born every year. That’s a lot of horses. Only a small percentage will reach the highest echelon of elite racing like the Derby. Where do all those non-contenders go? Fortunately many of them become riding companions and start up a second career. And I know of one who’s become a painter (Click here to see more on Metro Meteor). And there are scores of ex-racehorse adoption organizations throughout the country that do an excellent job facilitating this. However, I believe the supply of available horses exceeds the demand of the riding population in the States. I don’t even want to go down the path of the horse slaughter issue in this post. Too depressing.

My question is: do we really need that many horses born per year? Would there be fewer horses in horse rescues today if that number in the 30+thousands were reduced? I went to a pound last fall with my friend to pick out a dog. It was a memorable experience. Not in a happy way. Too many pitbulls and Chihuahuas. Are some horse breeders making too much “product?”

Also, I finally got around to watching the controversial PETA video this week. It was highly disturbing. Even if only 10% of what is in the video is what has actually happened on the track with that particular trainer, it’s enough to show the ugliness of what is going on in the supposed Sport of Kings.

I don’t want to view this trainer as representative of how ALL trainers conduct themselves, treat horses, treat their employees. It would be like thinking all NFL players are dogfighters or all MLB players are on steroids. However, I do wonder if the owner of the Clippers basketball team got banned for life over wrong remarks (racist), why can’t people who are knowingly and intentionally physically hurting multiple animals get some sort of punishment or ban too? Or at least sidelined while an investigation is conducted?

Perhaps the answers to these questions are out there but I just haven’t read enough or talked to enough people. I’m just a teacher who’s a horse lover with limited time and ability to change a system. My horse DC came from Kentucky. He would never have been any kind of race material. But he was my best friend for 16 years. If there weren’t 30+thousand foals born every year maybe he wouldn’t have existed.

These are some of the reasons why I love/hate the Kentucky Derby. It is two minutes of awesome and uncomfortable.

This year especially, I know that I will be pulling for all of the horses and praying they run safely and that their owners and trainers are lavishing the best possible care on them.  I also hope that the almighty dollar and fame will take a back seat to the welfare of these noble equines born to run.

For further reading, here are some articles I’ve looked at recently. Please feel free to add links in the comments section below if there are related ones you’ve encountered. What are your views on horse racing?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20140429/kentucky-derby-tuesday/

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