More reaction to the Eight Belles death
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
In today’s Times, the newspaper’s editorial board chimes in on the debate over the death of Eight Belles, questioning whether the techniques used in breeding the horses for racing could be improved:
No one knows how many fatal (horse) racing injuries occur nationwide, which is troubling all by itself. How can the horse racing industry control the problem without a firm count and an analysis of what the circumstances were in each case?
The editorial suggests:
For all the anthropomorphic talk about racehorses being ‘family’ and ‘valiantly’ striving to win or overcome injuries, the horses have no choice in this multibillion-dollar industry. The racing world would be smart to put a higher priority on reining in horse injuries and deaths, before public outrage leads to calls for more draconian controls.
In today’s Sports section, Times’ columnist and former Sports editor Bill Dwyre reflects on the realities of horse racing, for better or worse:
What’s wrong with thoroughbred breeding that so many great ones break down? Barbaro did so two years ago in the Preakness, then George Washington in last year’s Breeders’ Cup. And who can forget, no matter the passage of time, the agony of Ruffian and Go For Wand, limbs dangling grotesquely?Should fillies be allowed to race against colts? Is there a gender-related physical flaw?
Dwyre continues:
There is no question that racehorses will always break down. One thousand pounds supported by toothpicks is a recipe for disaster.
-- Francisco Vara-Orta