Horse Racing Problems Affecting Equestrian Sports at Large?

[Miss_Motivation]

(Originally posted in Racing, then I moved topic to Off Course… maybe a better fit here for discussion?)

As we know, horse racing has suffered much bad/sad publicity of late- certainly some of it deserved, and perhaps some of it a pile-on of the old news adage: if it bleeds, it leads the news.

My question for much more knowledgeable folks than me is: I have always believed that horse racing to some degree subsidizes and supports non-racing equestrian sports. From agricultural/tax advantages for (all) horse breeding, to support for growing horse feed, scholarship funding for equine veterinarians and research, demand for horse equipment used on the track helping create economies of scale for all equine sports, popular race horses reminding adults and showing children how magnificent horses are…

…what is the relationship between horse racing being active and healthy, and any shadow effect that the racing business may cast upon recreational (ie, non-racing) equestrian activities?

If wagering on horse races continues to decline, and tracks and racing in general continue their downward trends, and heroic horses go uncelebrated by a cautious press (Today’s Seabiscuit, anyone? Secretariat?) what effect might those trend-lines have on the rest of the equestrian marketplace?

Does bad racing PR paint all equestrian sports with the same broad brush of perceived animal abuse? We hold our breath when the Derby is run, hoping they all get home safe- does that mindset trickle down to parents wanting their kids to play tennis (substitute cheer/sail/golf/even football…) instead of ride?

I’ve been pondering this, with an overlay today of learning that our small, insular, allegedly equestrian-centric community has 275 kids that just signed up for soccer, compared to 15 kids in our Pony Club.

Bottom line: is racing a bellwether for riding, too?

[Bogey2]

I have had a LOT of people ask me about what happened at the race track last wee because I have horses. I was honest with them about my perspective…There is a lot of drugging, the horses have been bred to have less bone and hoof over the years and they are started before they are fully developed. In no way am I ever going to defend racing 3 yr. olds.
So yes, a lot of people who mostly see the news about race horses think we all are not doing right by the horse.

[Bluey]

@Bogey2

I have had a LOT of people ask me about what happened at the race track last wee because I have horses. I was honest with them about my perspective…There is a lot of drugging, the horses have been bred to have less bone and hoof over the years and they are started before they are fully developed. In no way am I ever going to defend racing 3 yr. olds.
So yes, a lot of people who mostly see the news about race horses think we all are not doing right by the horse.

You are aware that the bolded is not really so, as per way too many studies that show growing into a sport as a body matures, horses also, is the best way to be best and most accomplished and stay sound performing in that task?
This was one of those earlyer reports on this, there have been many more since:

Early Exercise and Career Length in Thoroughbred Racehorses – The Horse

As much as any we do can be judged and improved, we are best served by using real facts, not hearsay, if defending or running it down.

[Bogey2]

These are not the same horses we say in the 70’s. Say what you want about it Bluey but there are more broken down TB’s out there than any other breed. You can’t give them away. Why its that?

[LCDR]

I doubt that there are many people in the population of non-riders who are aware of the recent race horse deaths. And as far as youth choosing soccer over Pony Club, a combination of peer pressure and financial constraints certainly drive that selection.

[Jealoushe]

Not true. I had two co workers ask me about them and they are entirely not horsey.

I personally am extremely worried about the look of equestrian sports.

It only took ONE bad incident for modern pentathlon to be completely changed.

Don’t think it can’t happen to the rest of us.

[LCDR]

I do not think that two co-workers asking you about race horses prove me a liar.

That is a pretty big jump for you to take.

[Jealoushe]

I never called you a liar lol

It proves that non horsey people did take note. Someone else above posted a similar incident. People are taking notice.

[sascha]

@LCDR

I doubt that there are many people in the population of non-riders who are aware of the recent race horse deaths

Well anyone who reads/listens to the news in Canada has a clue.

Mage wins Kentucky Derby overshadowed by 7 horse deaths at Churchill Downs |...

Kentucky Derby taking place under shadow of 4 horse deaths, trainer suspension...

There are more, those were just the first 2 that came up when I googled CBC Churchill horse deaths.

We need to stop burying our heads in the sand and telling ourselves that all horse sport lives in a bubble out of the public eye.

[MorganMaresVT]

@LCDR

I doubt that there are many people in the population of non-riders who are aware of the recent race horse deaths.

The headline about 7 dead horses has been posted extensively by US media outlets ranging from NPR to the NYTimes to the 3 major broadcast networks to the local news. Read the comments on any of those media pages. “Disgusting,” “barbaric,” “disgraceful,” “outdated” are just a few of the themes. Because the “social contract to operate” concept doesn’t seem to be widely discussed in the US, even among riders, it seems easy to think people aren’t paying attention. But I think US based horse owners should be more tuned in to these discussions. Loss of trails and open space, combined with perception of horse sports as barbaric is something we should all be worried about. The general public really doesn’t care if a horse dies racing, eventing, or getting lost in the wilderness by a long rider- they don’t like to see horses dying “for our pleasure and enjoyment.”

I grew up just outside of Saratoga, where even non-horse owners know quite a bit about racing and loved the track. I have family who were owners/trainers in both STB and TB racing in NY as well as in the Southwest. This year was the first in a long time that I couldn’t bring myself to watch the Derby because of all the deaths and trainer scandals leading up to Saturday. Enough already.

[Jealoushe]

This was a Twitter comment under a thread about Oliver Townend at Badminton.

People are looking for an excuse to riot over horse abuse.

[Texarkana]

As someone with one foot in the racing world and one foot in the show/pleasure world my whole life, I find it endlessly frustrating how the two circles think they are separate.

Show & pleasure horse people need racing. And racing needs the support of show and pleasure people. We should be on the same team.

I don’t think racing’s bad PR hurts other horse sports. But I do think other horse sports are going to take a HUGE blow when bad PR becomes the demise of racing.

Also, if/when the PETA-types take down racing, you know they won’t stop there.

[Texarkana]

@Bogey2

I have had a LOT of people ask me about what happened at the race track last wee because I have horses. I was honest with them about my perspective…There is a lot of drugging, the horses have been bred to have less bone and hoof over the years and they are started before they are fully developed. In no way am I ever going to defend racing 3 yr. olds.
So yes, a lot of people who mostly see the news about race horses think we all are not doing right by the horse.

I don’t mean to be a total asshole and call you out. But while you mean well, you are spreading misinformation.

“Drugging” is a loaded topic. Yes, there is drugging. But there are also a lot of people not drugging their horses. We can manage the pharmaceuticals if the industry would pull their heads out of their butts.

“the horses have been bred to have less bone and hoof over the years”

That statement is just flat out scientifically wrong.

“and they are started before they are fully developed. In no way am I ever going to defend racing 3 yr. olds.”

There is a scientific reason horses are started at the ages at which they are started.

910102000076.PDF

[rockonxox]

The Kentucky Derby is a BIG event that thousands if not millions of non horsey people watch. The horse deaths were all over the news. Honestly, you’d have to be living under a rock to not see one of the headlines. Everyone from NPR to CNN to the NYT and beyond has coverage.

Now, if you said most people who aren’t riders wouldn’t know about eventing deaths then, yeah, that is probably the case because that isn’t televised fully publicly anymore and the news articles don’t tend to be published on major outlets. Racing though? That is a sport that non-riders tend to watch.

[Renn_aissance]

@LCDR

I doubt that there are many people in the population of non-riders who are aware of the recent race horse deaths.

I have a couple of coworkers in Florida. Over the last week, they asked me about the tragic death of a young rider in a hunter show accident, which made their local news, and the deaths at Churchill Downs this weekend, which were in their local news, the New York Times, NPR…

Suffice it to say that those parents of young children have not been inspired to sign their kids up for riding lessons.

[CHT]

The local race track here is very much a family event. I think horse racing is one of the few ways horses are somewhat accessible to the general public. Rodeo perhaps as well. Both rodeo and horse racing have horrific accidents and deaths that are often televised to a general audience, and do face backlash as it is no longer considered acceptable to force animals to suffer for entertainment.

If these two disciplines cease to exist though, horses will be less accessible to the general public. If horse racing ends, then money for veterinary research will diminish and/or other disciplines will have to step up and finance the research and equipment.

I have no idea the solution, but I think over time, equestrian pursuits are going to diminish - it uses too many resources and isn’t in modern taste. The world is evolving, but equestrian pursuits seem stuck in their own “reality” that ignores these intolerances.

[furlong47]

@Jealoushe

It only took ONE bad incident for modern pentathlon to be completely changed.

There was a lot more over many years leading up to that incident. That was just the last straw. Look back on threads here from previous Olympics. I remember discussion as far back as Beijing 2008 about terrible riding and the need to change the sport, but I’m sure it was probably happening even before that.

[Jealoushe]

I’m very familiar with the sport, I wasn’t saying there wasn’t issues but there was only ONE showing that was the catalyst for the change. If that woman hadn’t made that scene, riding would still be in the sport.

[2bayboys]

@CHT

I have no idea the solution, but I think over time, equestrian pursuits are going to diminish - it uses too many resources and isn’t in modern taste. The world is evolving, but equestrian pursuits seem stuck in their own “reality” that ignores these intolerances.

I agree with this. And couple it with the rising cost and decreasing number of traditional riding school programs, I think my grandchildren will have a much different experience of horses than I did.

[jvanrens]

@sascha

There are more, those were just the first 2 that came up when I googled CBC Churchill horse deaths.

We need to stop burying our heads in the sand and telling ourselves that all horse sport lives in a bubble out of the public eye.

But you had to google to find them. The average Canadian is going to be more interested in how badly the Leafs are going to choke this year and if Edmonton can keep on going.

I usually have the news on in the morning, but haven’t caught anything on Global or CBC about the happenings in Kentucky.