I don’t like the Kentucky Derby … but of course, I’ll watch
By Gina Spadafori
May 2, 2008
Update, post race: In memory of Eight Belles.
Tomorrow is when the only horse race most Americans know or care about is run. I’ll watch it, but to me the Kentucky Derby represents a lot of what I don’t like about horse racing. Getting to the Derby requires getting young horses into training fast and pushing them hard. Breeding for the Derby requires using those lines that produce precocious horses, those who show great promise early and mostly flame out.
It’s all about the quick fame and early return.
The small percentage of successful 3-year-olds retire to the breeding shed instead of racing as grown-ups and letting the fans follow them. Their less-fortunate compatriots keep running in ever-cheaper claiming races, moving from barn to barn until every last bit of value is squeezed from them. Some of the lucky ones end up as someone’s riding horse; the rest either die on the track or … end up on a foreign dinner plate.
Drugs (for the horses) and gambling (for the fans) keep the whole merry-go-round spinning.
Can you see why I’m such a tormented horse-racing fan?
The sport is troubled financially. Why? Part of the answer may be the emphasis on the one “big race” that a horse can run in but once. I think it’s also hard for many people to spend a day at the track for “fun,” considering that it’s not at all uncommon to witness the catastrophic injury of one of the horses (with the death coming soon after, either behind a screen or after the horse has been vanned off the track). People decades ago understood a more practical relationship to animals and accepted such things more easily, I think, because they weren’t as removed as most of us are now from working or food animals, and also because a higher percentage of people hunted and accepted the death of animals in a way few of us do now. Or maybe it’s the gambling: Some think the proliferation of easier forms of gambling — such as slot machines in Indian casinos — has done the most to kill horse-racing, which requires some work if you’re trying to win bets. (I’m not a gambler.)
The old tracks are dying: Bay Meadows, where Seabiscuit raced, will close May 11, likely for good. Pimlico in Baltimore might be long gone if it weren’t the home of the middle jewel of the triple crown, the Preakness Stakes. Other tracks are trying to survive by becoming “racinos” — destination venues where people mostly ignore the horses while pulling those slot machine handles.
I refuse to watch “cheap claimers” — horses who are in races where their value is set; my limit (purely arbitrary on my part) is $50,000. A horse running for less value than that is running for his life, and I just can’t watch, especially since these horses break down with gut-wrenching regularity, and believe me, they don’t get the Barbaro treatment afterward. I watch the better classes of horses at the higher classes of track — older horses running in stakes races, mostly.
Most people in horse-racing love horses … you’d have to, because it’s a rough life for not much money for the majority of folks. Jockeys may have it the worst : Race-riding is more dangerous than any other sport, and unlike other professional athletes such as in baseball, football, etc., jockeys don’t have a guaranteed baseline income or health insurance. While the top jockeys are famous and rich (although it’s still incredibly dangerous work, at any level), most jockeys ride iffy horses on crappy tracks, ruining their health keeping their weight down and while riding with injuries.
So why do I watch at all? Uhhhhh ….
I love horse-racing at its best. I love the beauty of the horses, the stretch run, the heart and the athleticism of the competitors. I love how jockeys can keep time in their heads to the fifth of a second and have the courage to push three-quarters of a ton of moving muscle through a hole in wall of other horses so small I wouldn’t walk through it even if other the horses were statues. (A hole that can open and close in less time than it took me to type the previous sentence, with a decision made at 40 mph while balanced on your toes.) I love following the bloodlines (since you can’t much follow the star horses, retired as most are so early). I love watching early-morning works on the track and getting to be on the backstretch at dawn, and I love a day of really good racing with top horses, trainers and riders, like my annual weekend at Del Mar every August. (Next summer, I swear, it’s Saratoga.)
But you’ll not find me at the Kentucky Derby. Not in the beer-swilling spring-break atmosphere of the infield, nor among the celebs and millionaires in the posh seats.
No thanks. I just don’t like this race.
Still, it was with no small measure of sadness that I read of the death of 32-year-old Terlingua, a daughter of Secretariat who is best known as giving birth to the most dominant modern racing sire, Storm Cat (whose stud fee until fairly recently was a half-million bucks.) The speedy, precocious Terlingua’s grandkids, great-grandkids and more have proven to be what every owner and trainer wants: Youngsters who win at 2 and give their owners a shot at a blanket of roses on the first Saturday in May.
Maybe with her most famous offspring now in the twilight of his years, the sport will change again, for the betterment of the horses, the jockeys and the fans. And the Derby will no longer be the only day most people care about horse racing.
***
Some horse-racing links for the Derby Day:
RockandRacehorses.com: I know Sarah K. Andrew through Flickr, and I immediately recognized that she has talent far beyond what most of us can even dream of. Sarah loves racing and loves horses, and that shows in every one of her pictures, so gorgeous that we immediately signed her up as the lead photographer for our upcoming “The Ultimate Horse Lover,” coming out in the fall. I always give myself a little reward for finishing a book project, and I’ve already decided on this year’s: I want a matted, framed and autographed print for my office by Sarah K. Andrew.
Nicanor blog: Nicanor is the full brother to Derby winner Barbaro, who … well, you know what happened. Like his brother, Nicanor was named after one of the hounds in a picture owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who owned Barbaro and have high hopes for their Nicanor. Michael Matz, whose life story is so incredible you couldn’t make it up (he was a world-class show jumper and also survived a plane crash that killed more than 100 people, pulling three children out of the wreckage with him), will again take on the training of a handsome son of Dynaformer. According to the blog, Nicanor shiped on Wednesday for the Matz training complex in Pennsylvania. Will Nicanor be as good a horse as his brother? Who knows? On Saturday, though, Matz will be hoping for a Derby win with Visionaire.
Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance: A whole lot of people with a whole lot of opinions, some entertaining, some good and a few both entertaining and good. Also: The New York Times’ racing blog, The Rail.
Still love a good horse race. It seems that every “sport” is deteriorating as time goes on. Pathetic. But in a society where dog fighting is still accepted, what can one expect?
My father was also a lover of horse racing. Used to go most weekends to the tracks in the New York City area. Horses were evidently treated much better in those days - never an injury or death for all the years he went.
I’ll watch the Derby - love the pomp and circumstance - and see if I can pick the winner. Seems I had read about the time that Smarty Jones was in Triple Crown contention that horse racing was experiencing some resurgence. Must have been short-lived.
Comment by Carol — May 2, 2008 @ 11:24 am
It was “The Seabiscuit Effect,” and it has passed.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 2, 2008 @ 11:40 am
Not a fan of racing but I am fond of horses - just wondering: Does anyone even try to go ‘au naturale’ (minimal drugs, letting them grow up naturally, etc.) with their racehorses or is that just like totally ridiculous?
Comment by slt — May 2, 2008 @ 12:37 pm
Uh, Gina, I think whoever took that pic had their revenge! I did a double take until I figured out you didn’t have rasta bed head, it was a tree behind you that looked like hair!
Comment by CathyA — May 3, 2008 @ 4:41 am
It was very windy!
Yeah, not a good pic of me, but … that’s Edgar Prado! :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 3, 2008 @ 4:46 am
Oh! I wasn’t making fun Gina! Perhaps it was a true pix of how electrified you were standing there!
Since I don’t follow racing any more Edgar Prado doesn’t mean much to me, BUT I can think of how thrilled I would have been to stand next to Willie Shoemaker or Eddie Arcaro! Just to show you how out of date I am!
Comment by CathyA — May 3, 2008 @ 6:01 am
Oh, no…
Eight Belles just went down at the end of the race.
Here’s hoping this isn’t another Barbaro…
Comment by LauraL — May 3, 2008 @ 3:22 pm
Okay, that’s it. After 30 some years of loving it, I’m done with racing.
The second place winner, Eight Belles, just broke both ankles and was immediately euthanized.
I love racing, and I love purebreds. But this is no way to celebrate either.
Comment by LauraL — May 3, 2008 @ 3:25 pm
I’m shaking as I write this and can barely see through my tears. Scared the heck out of my pets as I sat screaming at the television. Another year and another round of horses dying all for the greed of humans for the almighty dollar. It’s time to call a stop to these horse races that break their bones and cause aneurysms. Why can’t horses be bred for their beauty alone. They could be shown, yes, on a track, but similar to the dog shows. Not run until they must be euthanized as what just happened with the filly, Eight Belles. I’m just sick, sick, sick over the ending of such a beautiful horse. Completely unnecessary. It’s as cruel to me as breeding pit bulls for fighting. Greed of humans. When we this species ever, ever learn to honor the Lord’s creatures.
Can’t stop crying.
Comment by VJ — May 3, 2008 @ 3:37 pm
RIP Eight Belles.
Can you imagine watching a World Series game just praying at the start that all the athletes make it through alive? And yet, that’s what I do every time I watch a race. How many others just won’t watch any more?
I know I will still follow racing (so far), but … I feel like throwing up right now.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 3, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
Sadly, it’s always about what’s best for the Money, never about what’s best for the horse, or the dog.
Comment by Deb — May 3, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
I don’t know, I think this is my last Kentucky Derby. I can’t stop crying.
Comment by Christie Keith — May 3, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
What can we do to get the message out that this barbaric sport must either change or stop? Still can’t stop crying.
Comment by VJ — May 3, 2008 @ 4:21 pm
I couldn’t watch the race, and now I’m glad that I didn’t. Too many horses pay way too big of a price, and for what? I love watching horses running across a pasture just for the love of running. I hate watching horses running around a track to make money and build a reputation for humans. What a tragedy! Godspeed beautiful girl. You deserved so much better than this. Just makes me angry and a bit sick to my stomach.
Comment by catmom5 — May 3, 2008 @ 4:30 pm
Watching horses ridden to death has never been a major entertainment for me and that is, alas, what the Derby has become. But then I refuse to watch the Disney type “cute animals abandoned who survive against all odds” movies, either.
Horse Racing had a heart as big as the horses did, once upon a time, that time is not now and I am glad I no longer watch.
Sad for so many reasons.
For so many horses.
Comment by Duaneisadork — May 3, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
If the TB racing industry wants to attract people back to the track, without subsidies attached to the Farm Bill that’s up before Congress, it needs a major overhaul. Blogs like The Fugly Horse can only do so much, since there are so many issues in the world of horses apparently where we humans continually step in manure.
The world of horse ownership is as rife with problems as that of dogs with it’s equivalent of BYBs, commercial breeders and the like. Anyway, I don’t know when growth plates are set in TBs, but I suspect it’s not at age two, when colts and fillies are started in competitive racing, or done by age 3.
Mature horses should only be racing distances of a mile or more, not 3 year olds IMHO. You can see Eight Belles start to lose speed, although her drive kept her going, as her front legs disintegrated under her and Big Brown goes on to his 5 length “victory”. I don’t think I shall watch another race again. This was such a waste. Such a tribute to Mammon!
Comment by Deb — May 3, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
Maybe now Churchill Downs and other tracks will decide saving lives is worth more than tradition.
Synthetic racing surfaces seem to help reduce fatal injuries. (Although it certainly does not end them, and I was told by a trainer at Del Mar last year that synthetic tracks seem to shift the kind of injuries, with soft-tissue injuries gaining.)
Are synthetic surfaces a step in the right direction? Is it time for dirt tracks to go? Should we ban the racing and hard training of 2-year-olds to give these youngsters time to mature? Move the Triple Crown races and all their lead-ins to 4-year-olds?
Here’s what the Fugly Horse blog has to say on today’s tragedy. I hadn’t ever seen this blog before it was mentioned here in the comments. Great stuff.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 3, 2008 @ 5:01 pm
After today, I don’t think I can bear to watch another horse race. I didn’t for a long time after the 1990 Breeder’s Cup, and it seems like, since I began again, every race it’s been a 50-50 chance a horse will be badly injured. And every time, I remember Go for Wand, trying to run on bone.
So many ghosts on the tracks. Now another, and such a beautiful filly. I can’t take this any more, it’s too damned painful.
Comment by Eucritta — May 3, 2008 @ 5:24 pm
The problem seems to me (an outsider) that it’s not just risking injury and an end to the racing careers of the horses - it’s risking the animals’ lives. To what end?
Comment by slt — May 3, 2008 @ 5:27 pm
FuglyHorse is awesome. And she has a Blog in place to deal with dog poop, but I haven’t had the nerve to post anything.
I don’t know when growth plates set on TBs. I suspect they aren’t set by age 3. I suspect a mile race for a 3 year old is not a sound practice. i suspect when the trainer says to the jockey ” Make her give her all, do what you need to do” and when she’s slowing in pain because her legs are hurting, but her gameness is keeping her going, and you as the rider aren’t listening to her cues, that something is very, very wrong with the Industry that fosters and embraces this behavior, leading to the unnecessary death of a fine TB. I hope her jockey, trainer and owners go to bed tonight, and for many, many, many nights knowing they wantonly killed this filly.
Comment by Deb — May 3, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
Shame on you Larry Jones (trainer) and Rick Porter (owner) of Eight Belles! You are sick MURDERERS!!! I also blame the 150,000 spectators for her death, too. For if we are to stop this inhumane business, people need to stop attending these greed gatherings!
Comment by Jill — May 3, 2008 @ 7:35 pm
The entire TB industry is motivated only by greed and money, not by love of animals. Many of the horse farms would not exist if they were not tax shelters for other income. Eight Belles is only one example of the tragic price animals pay as a result. The only way to return honor to this industry is to take the profit out of it.
Comment by Mary — May 3, 2008 @ 7:52 pm
As if I weren’t sick enough…to see Big Brown’s posse celebrating brought me to near vomiting. No apparent saddness for Eight Belles. Money, money, money! Just money making property IMO.
Comment by June — May 3, 2008 @ 11:20 pm
I’m a native Louisvillian and after I grew up and realized that these horses are facing death every time they race like this I absolutely cringe until it is over, just hoping against hope that they will all be OK. So yesterday, after breathing a premature sigh of relief, we learned that all was NOT OK. For our amusement and greed another life had been taken. When will this end? I have never attended the Derby, so I cannot say that I can boycott it with my dollars. But others can and hopefully will. Stay at home from now on. Let the greed machine earn its dollars some other way.
Comment by Bart Johnson — May 4, 2008 @ 7:47 am
After Barbaro I stopped watching horse racing. I followed his story every day and let myself hope that he would recover enough to be a happy stud.
Comment by Lilly and Lucy's mom — May 4, 2008 @ 3:33 pm
Thanks Gina :^)
Comment by Sarah K. Andrew — May 5, 2008 @ 8:57 am