Do you consider horse racing "animal cruelty"?

Horse racing is a sport which has it's dark side, just as ALL activities involving animals do. The use of the whips is a MINOR issue, when compared with the larger cruelties and abuses which exist in the racing world, if you ask me. There's a REASON WHY we keep seeing the senseless, totally PREVENTABLE TRAGEDIES on our nation's racetracks each year- and it is simply this: these horses are BABIES who SHOULDN'T have even been RIDDEN yet, or started under saddle, MUCH LESS be on the racetrack doing what people are demanding of them. The average racehorse today is started under saddle and in race training when the animal is only 15 months old, which would be the equivalent of asking a 6 year old human child to carry a hundred pound weight on his or her back and run long distances every day. We would NEVER, as a society, demand that our children do such a thing, because it would KILL them, but we HAVE NO compunction whatever about demanding this of a young horse, who CAN'T SAY NO, and CAN'T talk balk or argue with us. Most horses race for the first time at age 2, and although the distances are short, there is tremendous PRESSURE on the breeders and owners of such animals to get them to win as early as possible and as often as possible, so that the owners and breeders can recoup the enormous COSTS involved in producing these horses in the first place.

Right now, as I write this, it can cost upwards of a MILLION or more dollars just to BREED a Thoroughbred foal, and that's BEFORE the foal is even BORN !! Stud fees alone can run up to a half million dollars for top sires like AP Indy and the recently pensioned Storm Cat ( Big Brown, last year's Derby and Preakness winner, has a stud fee of 65,000 dollars a pop this spring, and he's only in his first year at stud- an unproven sire) and that's JUST THE STUD FEE. Nothing else is included- none of the other numerous expenses involved in supporting a mare while she's pregnant or caring for the foal once it's born. THOSE costs can run into the hundreds of thousands of DOLLARS, and this money must be spent BEFORE a young horse ever gets old enough to be trained or raced. When breeders and owners have to make this kind of investment before their product ( the young horse) even becomes viable, then there is ENORMOUS pressure on them to recoup the expense and show a profit as soon as possible- and this in turn LEADS to the abusive, cruel practices which have become so common in the sport of racing today. Racing is more than a sport- it's also a MULTI-BILLION dollar BUSINESS, one which employs MILLIONS of people both nationally and globally. Horses race at age 2 because they must race that young- if they didn't, their breeders and the owners of the farms where the animals were born couldn't turn a profit, much less provide jobs and incomes for their employees. Ditto for 3 year old racing- it's as much a matter of necessity as it is of vanity and the pursuit of glory and fame. Racing is about more than just the owners, trainers, and jockeys you see at the track and on the TV news. There are tens of thousands of other people working behind the scenes which no one ever hears anything about, and these people are VITAL to the survival and growth of the sport and the industry. That's what a lot of the animal rights groups like PETA and HSUS can't or don't understand, and the reason why PETA's efforts to get racing banned and to force sanctions on Eight Belles's trainer and jockey after the Derby tragedy last year ended in failure. Simply attacking those who were the most visible did NOTHING to solve the deeper, underlying problems associated with racing. What happened last May was not Jones's or the jockey's fault- it was due to other forces which were beyond their control.

So do I consider racing to be cruel? Up to a point, yes, I do. But I also recognize that little by little, efforts ARE in fact being made to reform it. Real change ALWAYS comes slowly to a sport and business like this, because it involves more than just appearances. The WHOLE CULTURE of the sport needs to change, and with the right kind of pressures and publicity, it will. Yes, there are going to be more accidents and tragic breakdowns on the tracks- that's a given. But eventually, I predict that sooner or later, someone will come forward and say enough is enough, and it's at that point that we will finally start to see some positive changes, such as an outright ban on 2 year old racing, and perhaps, a raising of the overall racing ages to 4 and 5.This would give these horses a chance to grow up and become physically mature before they raced, and help to save THOUSANDS of equine lives.These changes would also make racing less dangerous for the riders of these animals, who right now are risking DEATH or serious injury every time they get on a horse.Some lessons must be learned and repeated many times,though, before they finally sink in and become part of peoples' consciousness, and that hasn't happened as yet. But slowly, people at the top of the sport are starting to "get it", and we are beginning to hear and see calls for change. These people aren't blind, and they aren't stupid- and eventually, they are going to get tired of the constant stream of carnage and horse deaths, not to mention the negative publicity which results from them, and demand an end to it all.

There once was a time in racing's history, decades ago, when people actually loved and CARED ABOUT the horses they were racing. Seabiscuit's owners took this to the extreme, and made a cow horse out of him during his later years, and there were other owners who did much the same thing with their horses. Such a relationship is unheard of now, or nearly so, although the relationship Barbaro's owners had with him could be considered an exception. We in the sport of racing need to bring this time BACK to the forefront of the sport- and if and when this ever happens, the cruelties associated with racing will end for good, because it will no longer be socially acceptable to treat horses inhumanely. That time hasn't come yet either, but it's on the horizon, I think. This is my take on this.....

Hi Black lashes, Thoroughbreds love to run, that is what they have always been known for and what they are bred for. My uncle was a trainer in Md. years ago and he always had strick rules about the use of the whip. He always taught that the whip was to get the attention of the horse, and would not tolerate misuse of it. Today, there are also rules regarding use of the whip, and jockey's are suspended and fined if caught misusing the whip. Horses have thicker skin than we humans and I am not going to say that the whip doesn't hurt them, and it is one aspect of horse racing that I personally wish they would do away with. Other than the whip, I do not think that racing horses is cruel. The sport has been around for hundreds of years. If it were a cruel sport, some organization would have put an end to it by now. Injuries occur in every sport, and it is very unfortunate, but it does happen. Just yesterday at Churchill Downs, a horse dumped his rider and went flying down the track. The sirens sounded to signal a loose horse as it always does. The horse collided with another horse on the track, and the filly had to be euthanized. It is so sad that this kind of thing happens, but it was an accident and I don't think anybody could have prevented it. The bottom line is, in general if racing is done properly, I do not think it is cruel.

Yes, IMHO it is cruel. As the others have said they are worked too young, kept in their stalls and at the end of their "useful" life then it's curtains or if they are really luck they might find a home but most won't. There are too many horses being bred and once they have finished racing then they are usually not much use for anything other than breeding or as a light hack or companion. There will never be enough homes for all the retired racehorses, it's shocking that people are allowed to breed as many as they like all in the name of "sport". As for the "sport" itself, well some might say that it's only as cruel as showjumping or getting a horse to do anything. I disagree, in an arena, if my horse didn't want to jump something then she would refuse it, on a racetrack - she would be keeping up with the herd and doing whatever it takes not to get left behind. The whips are used excessively on animals that in my opinion are already running scared. In all areas of competition you will find horses that are treated badly as unfortunately there are some very evil people out there I find the whole racing thing very distasteful! It is indeed all about rich people and money and not about any genuine love of the most nobel creature on the planet.

Horse racing is a controversial topic.

The horses are young and immature when they start being raced and many "break-down" and end up being slaughtered. There are good trainers and bad trainers. Some horses are abused and/or neglected.

I love to watch thoroughbreds race. Yes, jockeys do hit the horses sometimes with a crop. Does it hurt the horse? Probably -- the horse is meant to notice it. A horse shouldn't be whipped so hard that welts are raised.

If all the horses had a vote, they'd probably vote to be turned out to pasture every day with their friends to run and jump and play and eat. They probably wouldn't vote in favour of being ridden and driven. But they don't have a vote and do what us humans require them to do. And for the most part, horses are very willing to try their best for their human keepers.

I believe most of the breed love to race its what they are bred for. I do think they start to soon and make them run to long now. I don't like how they are being bred for small lighter bones to help the animal go faster when common sense says to much pressure will destroy them. I like the old day TB thicker boned with more muscle now that was a good looking horse. But for the whip they say it doesn't hurt so I tried it out. I took a whip and smacked myself 5 good times on the hand....it hurts. For you out there that says it doesn't you are wrong. I didn't even hit with nearly the force they riders do. Let a friend hit you in the same place over and over again see how it feels. Oh yeah tough and thicker hides....it still hurts. There is a reason we don't like to be switched as children so why hit the horse.

But cruelty is not just the racing industry. The Jumping arena has it too. This is a rule on one arena which I liked.

"We recognize that it might be necessary to 'remind' one's horse that his job is to jump. To avoid charges of cruelty to a horse, a good rule of thumb is not to 'remind' your horse more than three times."

This is a rule at a great arena...so how many of you out there have reminded your horse more than 3 times? That to the professionals is considered cruelty.

In some aspects yes, i think it is cruel. But its a very debatable subject.

The major problem is that the horses are only 2 or 3 when they are being raced. You see a lot of injures on the track because the horse's legs and other important developmental tissues have not been fully developed yet.

As for the care of the horse it totally depends, some are treated like absolute gold, others like total crap.

So i would have to say it is, in my opinion.

I'm not against horse racing, but I am against racing horses younger than 4 years old. They start them when there still baby's and they break down.

i dont really like how they could get hurt so easily..but it's a very popular sport...oh and to the above posterrr...its not the racing that causes bad manners..its that generaly most racing horses are forced to stay in stalls for long periods of time and are fed excessive amounts of food to make them have high energy to run...this causes them to be nonstop like crazy..so it doesnt help when the people come and smack them with crow bars..(i know an OTTB who got his teeth smacked out by a groom in his racing days.) i dont agree with the horses being started so early lives..and the joint problems may be helped with joint supplements..hope i helped..its not so bad if the horses are well cared for and on proper diets..and loved!

I do not think so, horses love to run and the faster they run the happier they are! Lots of race horses love the competition and like to be doted over in the winner circle. Though not all horses love to run, it is not cruel on them unless the jockeys or the trainers are purposefully being cruel to them.

Not really. A horse is a big animal and a riding crop does not hurt. I do think they push them to hard, but this is their job. A thoroughbred was bred for racing. Do you think a jumper, is animal cruelty, a show horse of any kind? A barrel horse, a cattle horse? We all use crops or spurs, and we all train and have disciplines. I have and train horses and dogs, and you must teach them all. I do agree that they push young horses too much, but as far a racing no.