Comments on: Triple Crown viewer boycott? Also … more on the Derby death of Eight Belles http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/ The Web blog of the Pet Connection, a pet-care feature syndicated internationally by Universal Press. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:22:31 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Julia A http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/comment-page-1/#comment-469630 Julia A Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:13:49 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=2458#comment-469630 Horse racing is operated unethically and so consumers/potential viewers must use their purchasing power to urge the racing industry to change current harmful practices (starting horses too young for profit, breeding fragile speed lines, ect) to more sustainable practices. Racing sponsors will be affected if enough previous consumers write in and tell them of their concerns and inform the companies that they will be boycotting their products as a result. This will cause the sponsors to pressure racing professionals for reform so that their sponsorship is not linked to an ethically unsound sport. Racing is full of big name sponsors, Visa for example, that pay millions yearly for a positive marketing image and so will take notice. Ultimately a boycott alone will not change racing practices, but it may raise awareness and lead the public and sponsors to begin to pressure the racing industry to change. Horse racing is operated unethically and so consumers/potential viewers must use their purchasing power to urge the racing industry to change current harmful practices (starting horses too young for profit, breeding fragile speed lines, ect) to more sustainable practices. Racing sponsors will be affected if enough previous consumers write in and tell them of their concerns and inform the companies that they will be boycotting their products as a result. This will cause the sponsors to pressure racing professionals for reform so that their sponsorship is not linked to an ethically unsound sport. Racing is full of big name sponsors, Visa for example, that pay millions yearly for a positive marketing image and so will take notice. Ultimately a boycott alone will not change racing practices, but it may raise awareness and lead the public and sponsors to begin to pressure the racing industry to change.

]]> By: Julia A http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/comment-page-1/#comment-469629 Julia A Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:13:16 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=2458#comment-469629 Undoubtedly many people within the racing industry are good people who care for their horses, but that does not change the fact that American racing has a high number of injuries and frequently decisions are made that sacrifice the horse’s health and welfare for profit. The high number of equine injuries in the racing industry along with public breakdowns in the Derby two years in a row are in fact evidence that the horse’s musculature and skeletal structure cannot handle such demands (fast on dirt) at the undeveloped age of two or three. Horses should be allowed to develop further before racing in order to decrease the incidence of such injuries. American horse racing boards should raise the minimum racing age for horses in order to protect the welfare of the horses. Undoubtedly many people within the racing industry are good people who care for their horses, but that does not change the fact that American racing has a high number of injuries and frequently decisions are made that sacrifice the horse’s health and welfare for profit. The high number of equine injuries in the racing industry along with public breakdowns in the Derby two years in a row are in fact evidence that the horse’s musculature and skeletal structure cannot handle such demands (fast on dirt) at the undeveloped age of two or three. Horses should be allowed to develop further before racing in order to decrease the incidence of such injuries. American horse racing boards should raise the minimum racing age for horses in order to protect the welfare of the horses.

]]> By: Gina Spadafori http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/comment-page-1/#comment-262356 Gina Spadafori Thu, 08 May 2008 13:25:54 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=2458#comment-262356 Done. Having worked in a newsroom for many years, I am very familiar with debates over what photos to show and how and where to show them. There's an argument that you have to see to understand, and that it's not right to hide the truth. It's just my opinion, but I came up on the losing side of many arguments, advocating for NOT using certain pictures, especially with regard to human tragedies, dead bodies after disasters, etc. (I still remember a couple of pictures from the Oklahoma City bombing that we at the Sacramento Bee did not use, and they would have made you ill.) Everything is available on the Internet now, but in the "old days" to see pictures like these you had to watch them come over the machines in the newsrooms. I'm not sure that's right, either, which is why I think a warning before clicking on a link is the right way to go. In the case of Eight Belles, I believe people who want to slap you in the face with that picture are trying to shock you into agreeing with their point of view. I saw that picture on day one, along with the overhead video of her breaking her legs and pitching her jockey forward into the hard dirt. I wanted to see, and I wanted to know and understand, not rely on what a third party with one agenda or another wants me to believe. I don't personally shy away from much of anything -- again, that's probably because of having been a reporter and an editor, and seeing <em>a lot</em> -- but I perhaps because words are what I do I believe that we should look at the issues and debate them, not use images to shock people into agreeing with us. The choice to see the worst should be <em>yours</em>. The debate continues. Done.

Having worked in a newsroom for many years, I am very familiar with debates over what photos to show and how and where to show them. There’s an argument that you have to see to understand, and that it’s not right to hide the truth. It’s just my opinion, but I came up on the losing side of many arguments, advocating for NOT using certain pictures, especially with regard to human tragedies, dead bodies after disasters, etc. (I still remember a couple of pictures from the Oklahoma City bombing that we at the Sacramento Bee did not use, and they would have made you ill.)

Everything is available on the Internet now, but in the “old days” to see pictures like these you had to watch them come over the machines in the newsrooms. I’m not sure that’s right, either, which is why I think a warning before clicking on a link is the right way to go.

In the case of Eight Belles, I believe people who want to slap you in the face with that picture are trying to shock you into agreeing with their point of view. I saw that picture on day one, along with the overhead video of her breaking her legs and pitching her jockey forward into the hard dirt. I wanted to see, and I wanted to know and understand, not rely on what a third party with one agenda or another wants me to believe.

I don’t personally shy away from much of anything — again, that’s probably because of having been a reporter and an editor, and seeing a lot — but I perhaps because words are what I do I believe that we should look at the issues and debate them, not use images to shock people into agreeing with us. The choice to see the worst should be yours.

The debate continues.

]]> By: The OTHER Pat http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/comment-page-1/#comment-262344 The OTHER Pat Thu, 08 May 2008 13:11:01 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=2458#comment-262344 Can you insert a warning BEFORE P.L.'s post instead of after (as well as before the other post I tagged on another thread?) I clicked on - and saw - both before I knew. I've been trying to avoid images of Eight Belles (the images of Barbaro still haunt me) and I don't want anyone else getting "surprised" by clicking on links and finding these images there. Can you insert a warning BEFORE P.L.’s post instead of after (as well as before the other post I tagged on another thread?) I clicked on - and saw - both before I knew. I’ve been trying to avoid images of Eight Belles (the images of Barbaro still haunt me) and I don’t want anyone else getting “surprised” by clicking on links and finding these images there.

]]> By: Gina Spadafori http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/comment-page-1/#comment-262333 Gina Spadafori Thu, 08 May 2008 12:58:45 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=2458#comment-262333 Yikes ... and that's the picture I previously hid with a warning, too. Thanks, Pat. Yikes … and that’s the picture I previously hid with a warning, too.

Thanks, Pat.

]]> By: slt http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/comment-page-1/#comment-262329 slt Thu, 08 May 2008 12:55:29 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=2458#comment-262329 THANK YOU for that warning Pat. THANK YOU for that warning Pat.

]]> By: The OTHER Pat http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/comment-page-1/#comment-262328 The OTHER Pat Thu, 08 May 2008 12:53:57 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=2458#comment-262328 WARNING: The link above shows an image of Eight Belles going down. WARNING: The link above shows an image of Eight Belles going down.

]]> By: P.L. http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/comment-page-1/#comment-262148 P.L. Thu, 08 May 2008 07:42:28 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=2458#comment-262148 How about cutting the bull and facing reality? http://bleacherreport.com/articles/21227-Death-at-The-Kentucky-Derby-Eight-Belles-Tolls-for-Thoroughbred-Racing It cannot be reformed. There is nothing left but an dissipate illusion. [WARNING NOTE FROM GINA: THE LINK SHOWS A PICTURE OF EIGHT BELLES WITH HER INJURIES.] How about cutting the bull and facing reality?

http://bleacherreport.com/arti.....red-Racing

It cannot be reformed. There is nothing left but an dissipate illusion.

[WARNING NOTE FROM GINA: THE LINK SHOWS A PICTURE OF EIGHT BELLES WITH HER INJURIES.]

]]> By: Gina Spadafori http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/comment-page-1/#comment-261123 Gina Spadafori Tue, 06 May 2008 22:36:13 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=2458#comment-261123 Nandi, I know you're upset. We all are. But she did NOT die alone. There were people with her, talking to her and patting her. Her jockey stayed with her until the end. It may even be that her groom -- the person she knew best -- might have been one of the people in the picture that showed her at the end. Waiting for her trainer under the circumstances would have been cruel. She barely knew her owners from a fence post, so no point waiting for them. There was <em>nothing </em>that could have been done for her at that point, <em>every veterinarian in the world</em> would have agreed. The track veterinarian does not enjoy what he had to do, and if he could have avoided doing it, he would have. But he did was was best for <em>her</em>. Nandi, I know you’re upset. We all are. But she did NOT die alone. There were people with her, talking to her and patting her. Her jockey stayed with her until the end. It may even be that her groom — the person she knew best — might have been one of the people in the picture that showed her at the end.

Waiting for her trainer under the circumstances would have been cruel. She barely knew her owners from a fence post, so no point waiting for them. There was nothing that could have been done for her at that point, every veterinarian in the world would have agreed.

The track veterinarian does not enjoy what he had to do, and if he could have avoided doing it, he would have. But he did was was best for her.

]]> By: C.L.H. http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/05/03/jane-smiley-on-the-derby-death-of-eight-belles/comment-page-1/#comment-261108 C.L.H. Tue, 06 May 2008 22:20:14 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=2458#comment-261108 Actually, the best thing they could have done for Eight Belles was not to have raced her until she was four or five. Actually, the best thing they could have done for Eight Belles was not to have raced her until she was four or five.

]]>