The death of Eight Belles, after finishing second in this year’s Kentucky Derby, has put US Horse Racing in the limelight for all of the wrong reasons and there are fears that the sport may become the latest political football.
While there have been many groups around the world waiting for an incident like this to happen, where the sponsors and the winning owners “whooped it up” as Eight Belles was euthanized, it does show the cold side of racing, the winner takes all streak. However, it seems that many at the event were unaware that the champion thoroughbred was in trouble which is why the winning ceremony went ahead only yards from where the horse died.
It is easy to forget that while life can be cruelly cut short for these thoroughbred horses, they are treat like kings and queens while alive. The old saying that the horses are forced to race does not seem to tie up with the fact these massive beasts have a mind of their own. There is nothing worse than seeing a distressed horse euthanized but this is the harsh end of the sport.
Even though there have been many instances of horses suffering at the hands of owners and trainers, these numbers have reduced substantially over the years. Many are hoping that while changes will be made to reduce the future risk to horses, the sport will not become something of a political football in the US, used to score points off different factions of the population.
The death of Eight Belles, after finishing second in this year’s Kentucky Derby, has put US Horse Racing in the limelight for all of the wrong reasons and there are fears that the sport may become the latest political football.