Why Must Innocent Animals Die For Our Extreme Entertainment?

by Rita M.

Thousands who tuned in to watch the Kentucky Derby last week witnessed the last moments of life for a beautiful filly named Eight Belles.  She collapsed under her two broken ankles almost immediately after crossing the finish line just behind the winner Big Brown. While Big Brown’s owners and trainers celebrated their big win, Eight Belles lay on the track struggling to get to her feet.  Being a young thoroughbred trained and bred for speed, her instincts told her to keep moving, despite the incredible pain in which she must have been.   The Churchill Downs “Run For The Roses” claimed another victim when the vet euthanized Eight Belles right there on the track.  Her injuries were so severe they couldn’t possibly try to move her.

Eight Belles is one of many victims of the high-stakes horse-racing business.  Her demise had greater exposure than most however.  About half of the 40,000 thoroughbreds born in the US each year will actually race.  Most of them will change hands many times until finally they outlive their usefulness on the race track or as a genetic donor for the next generation of racers.  Many will end up in horse rescues or in the case of past Derby winners, slaughtered for pet food. 

Barbaro

The fatal injuries sustained by Eight Belles and 2006 Derby winner Barbaro are happening much more frequently because of breeding and training practices designed to maximize speed.  Race horses are selectively bred to produce an animal with large, muscular configurations supported by spindly legs. On top of the stress of this imbalance in their body shape, horses are heavily trained from a very young age.  They are expected to reach sustained speeds of 35-45 miles per hour during a race.  To push them to their physical and mental limits, a jockey will kick, whip and scream.  This is the “pampered” life of a thoroughbred for the first three years, even before their legs are fully developed. 
 

Eight Belles, foreground, in happier times.

For most breeders and trainers involved in the “Sport Of Kings” money is the bottom line.  Having a Derby winner means big bucks, not in the size of the purse winnings, but in the stud/breeding fees.  The fact that all 20 of this year’s Derby horses share a common lineage proves that.  It sad, but Eight Belles may be better off where she is now.  If she had lived, she would have been relegated to being pregnant for the rest of her existence to supply the next generation of Derby contenders.   Is this the best that we can do for these magnificent animals?

Those taking on the role of caring for the horses cast aside are buckling under the strain. Each week we hear of another horse rescue going under, for one reason or another.  You can help these rescues by adopting a horse in need.  You can also boycott horse racing and help to halt the cycle of greed.