Comment Mining: The Final Furlong

Is horse racing inherently good, or a form of animal cruelty?

Barbaric or no? You decide.

In the current issue of The Mag, Seth Wickersham delves into the world of horse euthanization, and what happens when a horse needs to be put down after a race injury. The article has triggered serious debate among readers about whether horse racing is a sport with the best interests of the animals in mind, or, on the other end, a form sheer cruelty. Add your thoughts in the comments section. Here's a look at what's been said already.

Horse Racing Should Be Banned

- espnguy81:
Born to run? Or born to run with a little 100 pound guy on their back? There's a difference there. And you're right, it is sad and inevitable that they'll get injured and be put down from that racing..but who cares right?! All for the greater good of gambling and entertainment.

- DarkHelmet1976:
Horses may choose to frolic in a field, byut the running that we see in racing is far different from the running of a horse in the wild, or even a horse on a farm. Horses are not designed to run with a human on its back, and I doubt they enjoy being kicked and whipped when they run at their own pace. Most importantly, horses are being selectively bred so aggresively that their anatomy is changing with time. They are becoming more muscled, and their legs are becoming skinnier. Extra mass on narrowed supports is a disaster waiting to happen, and the fact that it's being done willfully is beyond cruel.

- PyroSlash69:
Horse racing has pretty much always been more of a social affair and about gambling. $4.5 billion in 1973, would be worth about $22.5 billion today, since inflation has increased about five fold. Yes, most viewers probably do care about the horses and the race, but let's not pretend that horse racing was never about the gambling.

- Pennuvp:
I didn't want to ask these questions, but I feel like I must because I don't fully understand the sport. How exactly is this different than what goes on in back alleys with pitbulls? The similarities to me seem way too parallel. Horse lovers say that horses, "love to run"; but that does beg a good question, "Why DO the jockeys carry whips?" If you look at the history of pitbulls, they were bred to fight bulls. Should we then say that pitbulls, "love to fight"? What then is the difference between a thoroughbred owner who puts his horse through rigorous training to race and a pitbull owner who puts his dog through serious training to fight? According to the logic presented, both situations enable an animal to do "what they love to do" even better, right?

Horse Racing Is Misunderstood

- jlt421:
Anyone who thinks Horse Racing is barbaric or cruel to the horses is just wrong. They are born to run... and cared for like family by their owners, who give them the finest care and training money can buy. It's inevitable when they are running so fast with a 100 pound guy on their back for some of them to get injured and have to be put down.

- ihawk002:
One can easily tell that most of you anti-racing people have probably never set foot in a barn at the track or have even met the trainers or owners. You probably see the big hotshots on TV with loads of money, nice suits, and slicked back hair. The reality is a lot of owners are just like you. They don't make millions, and if you've ever owned a small stable of horses, you will quickly realize they're not in it for the BIG $$$$ like you so ignorantly assume. A lot them go to the barn and visit the horses multiple times a week, their just like pets for them. I gaurantee you these horses live a better life than those animals holed up in inner city homes, neglected and abused. You go live in your little world where every dog and cat out there live great lives. Reality is you would be very humbled to realize the number of homes they don't.

- SeattleKW:
Just to clarify, whips are mainly used to keep a horse focused. The other horses, noise from the stands and many other factors easily distract a horse and the whip is used so the jockey can regain the horse's focus. If you watch races, there are many times that the whip is flicked by the horse's eye just to get their attention and the horse is never hit. And in all the years I've gone to races, I've never seen a horse led off the track bleeding from the use of a whip.

- slvrblltday:
All the anti-racing arguments here would apply to all equine competition. Many more horse die percentage-wise in Eventing and it's an Olympic sport! Should we ban it too? A kid died last week when a baseball hit him in the face, freak accident, should we ban it? Show jumping is a lot harder on a horse's legs and many horses are injured, should be ban it? Horses die in fields and paddocks and stalls, easily, all the time - ask any horse person. Horses get legs caught, they run into fences, they get cast in their stalls. Part of living is dying, people.

Racing is more closely regulated and scrutinized than any other equine sport out there. They spend more resources on promoting safety and integrity than many other sports out there, period.

[Ed.'s note: Some of these comments have been shortened for context]

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