EIGHT BELLES, and other race horses . Your opinion?

Racing is of now, a bad sport. The sad thing is it could be changed to be a great sport and less horses would be killed, but with so many regulations and people to get by before changing rules nobody is willing to try to change the rules to make it the safe sport we want it to be.

The horses love reacing. I don't know about you, but I've been to a race track for the morning workouts and the horses and pulling at the bits to get out there and run. The enjoy it. The problem starts when we have to whip the horses in the race, the horses should be running because they enjoy it and want to win because there competitive. And some horses are competitive enough to just run and win with out a whip.

I believe it should also be regular training for horses to spend atleast the first year of there lives in pasture. That would let them grow and develop, instead of being ridden right away. For training in the first year they could be taken for short hand walks everyday, without and maybe with a saddle. That would start them used to a saddle, but also let them grow.

Still, something needs to change about racing.

I was very upset when this whole incident happened with Eight Belles. I don't think many people took it seriously or felt as bad because the passing of Barbaro is still fresh in a lot of our minds.

This whole thing could have been prevented. I also do not think that these horses should be trained to race at such an early age. Its almost like we are taking their childhood away from them and setting them up to be injured or have a horrible life when they get older. All of the horses that race when they are very young will develop severe joint and bone problems by the time that they are at least 10. What kind of life is that? You would never even think of getting on a horse's back when they are 2-3 years old in any other sport like jumping and dressage. Why does racing get away with it?

I also agree that whips should not be used. Some jockeys whip those horses so hard that they get welts on them.

Another thing that has come up in the news about this is PETA going after the trainer, owner, and jockey of Eight Belles. I think PETA should not get involved. Their claims are false. Why would the owner and trainer of Eight Belles put a jockey on her back in the most important horse race that didn't know anything? Any that all they wanted to do was to hurt her? Come on. These horses live the life of Riley when they are at the barn. Another thing that I heard that made me laugh was that Eight Belles should not have run because she was the only female in the entire race. Females should not race with the "big boys". She beat out 19 other horses and guess what? They all were geldings. So she showed them all.

Agree or disagree, this is my opinion of what I think of the entire situation that happened with Eight Belles and is still happening.

I agree, horses, especialy thouroughbreds are not fully developed at 2!! especialy to race!! crazy, thouroughbreds are fast yes but they are not very durable. yes i dont like the whips either, im not a big horse racing fan horses like to run but this isnt safe or healthy for anybody. The horses probably get loaded with enhancers and the jokeys have a weight limit. They could even make the distance shorter not matter how well traind the horse is it is going to get tired sooner or later.

I was watching an interview of a one of the horse owners and he said that he gets his horses from over seas becuase they train differently, they want muscle, and endurance, and correct comformation then they ask for speed. The horse isnt born then forced to run. This i agree with more then just throwing a horse on the track and asking so much from such a young underdeveloped, undertraind horse.

i think TBs should be raced and whips should be used - they are just an extension of the arm and some jockeys use the whips correct and some don't but that is up to the jockey just like there riding style and the trainer s that put them on the horses know that before hand. and horses get hurt every day in any sport whether 3-day eventing, roping, bucking, trail, and EIGHT BELLS SHOULD NOT be the only example for you question and opinions because what about the horses that went down the same day at different tracks or the ones that went down on the same just years past. and trainers/breeders/owners/jockeys know the risk, and take the risk.

and how many high school athletes get career ending injuries? they're not put down because they can speak and there body structure can take it.

"If you don't like the rules, don't play the game!"

I agree that it is sad that Eight Belles had to be put down. However, i believe that it is fine that thoroughbreds are trained to race at two years old. Horses are trained to do events at the age of two because they learn quicker when they are young. As far as whips go, the horses are not hit very hard, and they are not hurt by them. The whip is just a queuing agent, the horses are taught that when they feel the whip they should speed up. I do believe that the tracks could be safer, and I'm sure they will be when a way to do it is found.

Drop the crop issue and you'll get a lot more support and agreement. Do some research on how it's used in training. It may not be aesthetically appealing but it isn't horrendous.

I agree totally on the 2 yr old part, and WHEN more research is done about synthetic tracks, I'll make a more informed opinion about that.

But, I don't think you can prevent ALL tragic breakdowns. The race was over. She misstepped. Did she have stress fractures going in to the race that nobody knew about? Should they be required to xray legs before competing? Would repeated xrays cause damage? What about impact absorbing padding or shoeing material? Any research on that?

There are lots of ideas out there, and with the breakdown of two famous horses at major events in recent history, the racing industry is going to be under scrutiny and many fans are going to expect changes. Let's hope for changes that are scientifically based on sound data, not just knee jerk reactions to satisfy a public with a painfully sort attention span, that would ultimately do no good.

My opinion? It is ridiculous to ask the same question over & over again.

Time to move on. What happened was sad, but it was an accident. There are horses out there of all ages that break down for no apparent reason. The animals was never abused, it was not started too young, it was not worked to the point of injury, it just broke down. Explain that one? Does the media jump all over those stories? No, they don't.

Perhaps the TB industry does bare looking into for several reasons, but blaming a fatal accident on the fact that she was 3 yrs. old means nothing. This is a standard in the industy & has been so for many years. Why all of the sudden do people show so much interest? How many of these people followed 8 Belles through her short career? How many people knew how much money she earned? How many people knew her bloodlines, who her trainer was, etc. etc. BEFORE this happened? If this had not been plastered all over the papers & news channels, would anyone have cared about this? No, they would not have. All of the hulabaloo is simply due to the news media & the fact that this was the Kentucky Derby & it was on television.

i'm not against racing, but ya, the horses should start training like at four not two. then they are more developed and would not suffer mayb as much from soundness issues. This would prevent such things. I also would kind of like the tracks to just be straight. Like not in a circle. often i've watch this prove to have advantages on other horses but not on some. If it were just straight, there would be no turns and everyone would have a fair shot.

This is your opinion and you are entitled your opinion. You want to show people that it is bad, then have some research to back it up.

There is research that has actually shown that horses started earlier in racing adapt better to racing and have less injuries.

If you are going to ban whips, are you going to do it to all disciplines? It is part of my riding to tap my horse once on the shoulder before the jump, to help get her head in gear, especially in cross country, after galloping across a field.

How are you going to make the tracks safer? Changing to new track material has changed the accident rate from an average of a bit over 2 in every 1000 starts to a bit over 1 in 1000 starts. That is a change from 0.2% to 0.1%.

So where are all these horrific accidents people speak of all over the US?

Racing in Europe is the same - as far as start age and accident rate - when I find the articles again, I will post them.

Quarter-horse rider... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! I too am sick of this. Eight Belles breakdown was a tragic and freak accident and nope could not have been prevented. It was just her time to go. She could have (and probably would have) done the same thing in a paddock playing or grazing. Horses despite their size are fragile creatures. After the Derby I answered SEVERAL questions about her breakdown and the sport of racing. I am a huge race fan and lover of TB's as I said yes it was very tragic and it was also a freak accident. I agree that the races should be started later but not neccisarily at 3 b/c then how would we know what horses show a strong chance for the derby? We can't bas eit on prep races of their 3 year old season alone b/c look at this years preps different horses won almost each one........ Whips are a neccesary evil to racing they don't just encourage the horse to run faster they are also used to help guide the horse. so no whips should not be banned. A lot of crap is being stirred up by PETA about SAEZ using the whip excessively and after she crossed the wire... He DID NOT. I know b/c I was at the derby, on turn two and witnessed and unfortunately videoed her breakdown and the resulting euthanasia. No where in the entire video footage I have of her galloping out and then collapsing is she being whipped. i could ramble on and on about this whole subject but I'm not going to. I feel that I have said my piece and like another poster said people REALLY REALLY REALLY need to delve more into the sport and the care and training of these horses before going off on it. Hell those horses are treated better than my 5 year old son! anyway in answer to your question NO it couldn't have been prevented, no whips should not be banned, no track surfaces shouldn't be limited to truf (I knwo thats not part of you ? but it's been an issue peta is trying to enforce) and yeah I 1/2 way agree the age should be pushed back onw hen they are started say June-August of their 2 year old year instead of Jan-April