I LOVE to watch her run.
There’s nothing that takes my breath away quite like the sight of my 9-year-old mare, Glory Girl, stretched out long, running her heart out across the pasture with such force and grace. It stops me in my tracks every time. After all, to run — that’s what she was made to do.
But these days I’ve learned to avoid the television on the three Saturdays in May when horses like her are in the races of their life, reaching for a chance at the famed Triple Crown.
Certainly, the events are magnificent to watch. From the pomp and circumstance to the unbridled beauty of the thoroughbreds doing what they do best, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes are unrivaled in their ability to capture our attention.
Unfortunately, no amount of grandeur can make up for horrific endings like we saw last weekend at the Derby — and sad to say, like we’ve almost come to expect.
There was something very upsetting, even maddening, about seeing the 3-year-old filly, Eight Belles, do her job, evidently too well for her own good. While first place finisher Big Brown was draped with roses, just down the track the No. 2 horse was euthanized on the spot after collapsing with broken ankles just past the finish line.
Something has to change.
It is not fair to the animals, or the viewers, for that matter, to continue to see these animals pushed and pushed and pushed. Certainly, Thoroughbreds are fast. They are strong. And they are built to run. But they are not machines that can be easily fixed and replaced. They are fragile animals, who have limits.
I know. We’ve owned horses on and off since I was a child. And in recent years some of my most heartbreaking days (and nights) have been spent dealing with a sick or injured horse. From unexplained neurological disorders that even the most hopeful veterinarian, or all the care, coddling and love in the world couldn’t cure, to digestive problems and accidents that left my mare all but paralyzed, I know first hand how breakable these seemingly powerful animals really are.
The horse-racing industry needs a wake-up call. And this time, one that makes a lasting difference. The critics reared their heads when Barbaro shattered his leg during the 2006 Preakness Stakes. And that wasn’t the first or last time we’ve seen it happen. But time passes and not much ever seems to change.
There’s plenty of blame to go around: the Thoroughbred breeding industry that is more interested in speed than soundness; the owners, who are in too big of a hurry to win fame and fortune; trainers, who ask too much too soon of their horses; patrons, who bet; the racing commissions, who fail to set appropriate standards on race and track conditions; and the veterinarians, who provide and administer drugs so horses can race when maybe they shouldn’t.
Is it possible to turn such an entrenched industry around? I certainly hope so. If not, I’m afraid its friends will increasingly be few.
The fact is, horse racing should be watched and loved because to see these horses perform how nature intended is indeed spectacular. There’s no other animal on Earth quite as magnificent. But when we mess with that, and try to make it something it’s not supposed to be, things go wrong and the beauty and mystique vanishes.
We already have a place to race machines: NASCAR. And on those tracks breakdowns aren’t quite so permanent.
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