Kentucky Derby Horse Races to Death May 5, 2008

I heard about this over the weekend...I was almost in tears!! It's so sad what people do to horses and other animals they force to race, like greyhounds.

Don't the jockies know they look like fools on the horses?

Another PETA comment from an expert on horses! You need to check the facts on this issue. I can understand how ignorant you may be.

Just to put it out there, I am completely against horse racing. It never used to be this bad, but now more than ever horses are getting hurt and breaking down because the industry is so competitive and pushes them so hard. My only horse is an ex racehorse slaughterhouse rescue, Amber. I saved her when she was 3 years old, and 300 pounds underweight... and I was only 12, I had taken riding lessons for a while but was still concidered a green rider. Now, 4 years later, Amber and I jump 3 feet bareback (since I dont like saddles very much, even my synthetic, just cause they get in the way).

However, i think we have to concider some things here. Im heartbroken about Eight Belles, but before we go pointing fingers, I think we better get some proof that the trainer/jockey/owner were at fault. Yes, their filly broke down, and she was euthenized. Yes, this happens a lot. But im just not sure if it was the individuals fault. I think the main guilty party here is the entire racing industry, for both breeding such fragile horses in the first place and for starting them so young. Im very excited about peta calling for horses to turn 3 before they start serious training for the racetrack, and I think that will do a lot of good. However, these perticular people have followed the same policies as most of the other horse owners and trainers and jockeys out there. I dont think its fair to point fingers at perticular people for doing the same thing the rest of a group is doing unless we can get solid proof that they or any one of them knew she was lame before she broke down. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that the jockey would have known she was lame before she fell, and I think we need to wait for an atopsy and more infromation before making accusations.

The no whip policy may not be in the best intrest of the horses either; crops arent always cruel. Sometimes I carry a crop while riding, but I never hit the horse with it at all. The only reason I use one occasionally is to help with steering her, by blocking her shoulder or somthing; I rub her neck far harder than Id ever touch her with the crop. I can just see horses crashing into eachother and the rail if theres absolutely no crops allowed. I do think that much lighter crops without thin, painful ends could be beneficial. Currently the use of the crop in horse racing should be concidered cruel, and I resent it, however humane use of it or an alternative is necessary if horse racing is to continue.

Also, horse slaughter is near a close. All the slaughterhouses in the United States have been shut down, which may sound good but is actually pretty bad for the horses right now. Since the slaughterhouses have only been shut down due to state laws, the selling of horses for slaughter continues, and horses are now sold to Canada or Mexico for slaughter, which is almost always worse than what would have awaited them here in the United States, where it was more regulated. In Mexico, they often dont even use a captive bolt gun- instead, a dagger is repetedly stabbed into the horses neck until they sever the spinal cord. Longer transportation is also an issue. One of the major ways to prevent racehorses from going to slaughter is to stop slaughter!! We are on the verge of eliminating horse slaughter for good, and only need to pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which was nearly passed in 2006 but never came to the senate for a floor vote. Americas horses wont be safe until this is passed!!

Horse Racing is not like dogfighting at all. The horses don't fight eachother. Those horses get great treatment. You peta people have to realize accidents happen. It wasn't preventable. You can't do anything now. It's over. So you peta members should just get over it. I'm sure a few horses died yesterday along with that one. Are you going to go stop the local horsemen who shot his horse with a .22 when it's leg broke. Do it, see how far it gets you. Just grow up and stop whining. That's all i hear when I read peta stuff is whining.

Please visit the following link from the Lexington Herald Leader (Lexington KY newspaper). It is a guestbook to sign for Eight Belles.

http://www.legacy.com/Kentucky/GB/GuestbookEntry.aspx?&PersonID=108934559

THANK YOU : )

this is a cruel sport. my horse is an ex-racehorse and i am very blessed to have him in my life. what i would do without him i don't know. he is one of the lucky ones that didn't go to the slaughterhouse.
usually the horses that don't well on the track go to the slaughterhouse and he didn't do well. i am incredilby thankful that his old owners decided to not send him there. he is so sweet.
horse racing is just like dogfighting only it is legal.
the fact that they are raced at such a young age is one of the main reasons that they break down. their bones just can't handle the stress, and they are bred for long, slender legs that are not strong enough to handle the stress of racing on a hard dirt track.
the stress of the Triple Crown also just tires the poor animals out, and that is speaking very lightly.

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