Cross Breeds

Does anyone else hate horse race tracks as much as me?

i've always depised that sport...but have you heard the news of the horse who injured itself and had to be euthanized. i saw pictures of the horses leg after the race...it looked like it snapped in half or something, im not sure. i had to change the channel cause i couldnt bear to watch it. i freaking hate the guy riding the horse..he worked it way too hard. i'm so upset over this and i wanna smack that horse jockey and have horses trample all over him... sorry..i'm very passionate when it comes to animals, especially horses cause i grew up raising them

Public Comments

1. Accidents happen....I prefer harness racing myself.
2. yes it's disgusting and not worth this risk. terrible jockey should be sued and owners.
3. People get irrational about horses. To be honest, I really don't see why we don't approve of putting them down for meat since there are way to many ill-breed horses around--thanks to people who fancied themselves "breeders" when the economy was good and they didn't have to worry about the fact that they were only producing mongrels.
4. It was in no way, shape or form the jockeys fault. First off, after seeing the video, Eight Belles was not injured until after the race, which means the jockey would have been trying to stop her at the time, not urge her to go faster. Unfortunately she had a mis-step. It happens. It's a tragedy, and to be euthanized was her only option, an injury in the excess of hers is generally not something a vet can save.
5. I do I think its animal cruelty. if there was a petition I would sign it right then and there.I too grew up my parents boarded horses.
6. I love horse racing. They break a leg, they get shot. All part and parcel of the sport. As for the jockey, he's got a job to do, as do you (maybe). I bet he's not sitting at his computer telling people he wants to smack you coz of the job that you do. And while we're on it, he's a jockey, that's why he's there racing...you're not. You grew up with them. Get over it. As you said, change the channel if you don't like it and be done with it. If you hate it so much you should be happy the horse is dead - at least it's better off than being "worked too hard" (it's what race horses train for - to be pushed. I say Patrick Johnson is pushed too hard, but he's a runner, he's trained for it). And finally, horses are not cars. Horses running at that speed need space to stop. I'm sure they didn't mean to trample the other horse.
7. Don't blame the jockey ... he was hired to do a job, and he did his job. I didn't see any indication that his riding is what caused the injury to the horse. From what I know of jockeys, they truly love horses, and I'm sure he's beating himself up terribly over the incident. The sad fact is ... injury and death are an integral part of horse racing. It happens more often than we hear about. Yesterday, it happened on an international stage. That's the only reason we all know about it. If this had happened in an undercard race, at a no-name racetrack, we would never have heard of it. There are few things in the world more beautiful than a Thoroughbred running, but at what price? Eight Belles paid with her life. Hopefully, this will be a long-overdue wakeup call to the racing industry to take a closer look at safety standards. I'm pretty sick about the whole thing, too ... I don't honestly think I'll ever be able to enjoy watching another horse race.