Belmont

[Aerows]

Revolutionary

[Autumn]

1. That's a damn good looking horse.

[Aerows]

5. Amazing

Great looking horse.

[malaise]

2. Nah

Unlimited Budget

[Aerows]

12. Wish the filly would have won

but Palace Malice kicked some major ass.

[malaise]

3. Palace Malice

[Aerows]

4. Kicked ass!

[malaise]

6. Sure did

[Aerows]

10. He ran so fast, there weren't even

any horses getting mud in their faces from his hooves. He kicked ass.

[Aerows]

7. All of them were gorgeous

But the Malice ended the situation soundly.

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. If I were a racehorse, I'd ALWAYS run up front.

You get too dirty running in the middle or back of the pack.

[Aerows]

9. Malice was so soundly in front

There weren't any other horses to get mud from his hooves.

[Aerows]

11. I'm waiting for someone to blame it on Obama

LOL

[Aerows]

13. Genuine Risk

I cheered her on every time I could

[leftyladyfrommo]

14. Did any horses collapse and die this year?

I can't watch those races. Too dangerous for the horse.

[Aerows]

15. My word

No.

Where in the hell are you watching horses being raced? Multi-Million dollar athletes that can have other multi-million dollar athletic children, and you think they will be ridden to death?

[leftyladyfrommo]

16. Some really beautiful horses have died.

Their legs break down.

Eight Bells had to be euthanized on the track.

I can't remember his name but one of the horses broke his leg. His owners tried to save him, spent a million dollars. And he had to be euthanized anyway after months of trying to pull him through.

Just go out and look up race horse deaths - many many horses die each year.

An average of 24 horses die each week at racetracks. Most of the time their legs break down.

[Aerows]

17. Yes, this is known

It is a tragedy. They also do this because this is what they are born to do.

They will do it in the field in plain view, or they will do it, period. Nothing and no one will stop a horse from running. Good will, good wishes and blind faith doesn't stop one that is plain good at running it's ass off. All you can do is either take care of it, or let it run itself off of a cliff.

I'm probably the wrong person to ask about this. Ask riderinthestorm or someone equally qualified.

[leftyladyfrommo]

18. Horses race because we make them.

It's not some glorius thing. We like to bet on the races. We cause their deaths.

We are responsible. And hundreds of horses die each year on racetracks because we like to watch them for our entertainment.

Don't sugar coat it. It's ugly.

[Aerows]

20. Horses run

because they are designed to do so, like gazelles. They aren't cows. Just to clarify that, but I also don't shy away from the fact that horses die at racetracks.

I guess we can find something else to ride, like moose. yes, they've been ridden for centuries. It is a symbiotic relationship between man and horse (or moose). Should we race them? You've got me there, but to deny that there is a relationship between our kind is to buy into the PETA party line that we can have no relationship at all.

And that's bullshit. We've always had a relationship with animals. Humanity doesn't exist in a bubble, and animals aren't exploited so much as they are in a working partnership with us on many levels. Chickens in a coop and dogs that keep them safe to lay eggs. Cows that provide milk, and a human that built a barn and more dogs to keep them safe. Cats that keep the area clear of mice and rats and their droppings. On and on.

[chimpymustgo]

19. I do not watch horse racing any more. It's cruel and inhumane and should be banned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/us/death-and-disarray-at-americas-racetracks.html?pagewanted=all

Mangled Horses, Maimed Jockeys
The new economics of horse racing are making an always-dangerous game even more so, as lax oversight puts animal and rider at risk.
Jakob Schiller for The New York Times

-edit-

On average, 24 horses die each week at racetracks across America. Many are inexpensive horses racing with little regulatory protection in pursuit of bigger and bigger prizes. These deaths often go unexamined, the bodies shipped to rendering plants and landfills rather than to pathologists who might have discovered why the horses broke down.

In 2008, after a Kentucky Derby horse, Eight Belles, broke two ankles on national television and was euthanized, Congress extracted promises from the racing industry to make its sport safer. While safety measures like bans on anabolic steroids have been enacted, assessing their impact has been difficult because many tracks do not keep accurate accident figures or will not release them.

But an investigation by The New York Times has found that industry practices continue to put animal and rider at risk. A computer analysis of data from more than 150,000 races, along with injury reports, drug test results and interviews, shows an industry still mired in a culture of drugs and lax regulation and a fatal breakdown rate that remains far worse than in most of the world.

If anything, the new economics of racing are making an always-dangerous game even more so. Faced with a steep loss of customers, racetracks have increasingly added casino gambling to their operations, resulting in higher purses but also providing an incentive for trainers to race unfit horses. At Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, the number of dead and injured horses has risen sharply since a casino opened there late last year.

Mr. Martin’s injury occurred in a state with the worst safety record for racetracks, a place where most trainers who illegally pump sore horses full of painkillers to mask injury — and then race them — are neither fined nor suspended and owners of those drugged horses usually keep their winnings.

The failure of regulators to stop that cheating is reflected in the numbers. Since 2009, records show, trainers at United States tracks have been caught illegally drugging horses 3,800 times, a figure that vastly understates the problem because only a small percentage of horses are actually tested.

-edit-

[Aerows]

22. Horses are going to die anyway

from running related injuries. Thought I would point that out.

[Auntie Bush]

23. After reading that Times article I will never go to a race again for fear of what

I might witness ...even though I live near the Saratoga Race Track. I just couldn't stand seeing a horse being injured or euthanized.

[Aerows]

21. Won't say

what I would like to say. This is a frustrating example of how you can't make a thread without 20 people piling on. I think I could fix it by ceasing to ever create threads.

But where is the fun in that?

[pinboy3niner]

24. The Malice from the Palace had the brew that is true