The Yonkers Times recently published an article on how to bet the Belmont Stakes; the article had nary a word on the treatment of the horses. So, I wrote this LTE in response.
Also: Friday, Kentucky Sports Radio ran a piece on the mess that is Maryland Racing. From poor decisions, to cost overruns, to (in large part because of Churchill Downs acquiring the intellectual-property rights) the tenuous state of a Maryland-based Preakness itself, the article is a good read. The stand out for me, however, is this quote from Maryland State Treasurer Dereck Davis:
“I get the history of horse racing, but at some point, you know, we have to get it to sink or swim. … We can’t keep pouring massive amounts of dollars into this industry [about $95M in annual state subsidies], just for the third weekend in May.”
Exactly, Mr. Davis, exactly.
Patrick, your letter is perfectly written! Thank you.
Name me any other “sport” that continues to hobble along on financial life support? And a “sport” that is not only unable to pay for itself, but kills off thousands of its enslaved “athletes” with absolutely zero moral or legal ramifications. If football or baseball boasted the same dismal financial outlook and the plummeting fan base, or matched the sheer number of sacrificed participants- albeit willing ones, unlike the racing industry – would they be allowed to continue, justified solely by a small percentage of parasitic moral degenerates unwilling to let go of what paltry power they exercise over sentient beings, sentient, intelligent beings that are abused and tortured in the most horrendous ways and then discarded, all under the guise of tradition and sport?
Though the racing industry refuses to acknowledge it, The Sport of Kings is dead. Long Live the King.
Let this morally depraved industry sink! Horseracing is Animal Cruelty. What is equally important is that laws regarding Animal Cruelty need to be enforced!
Diehard criminals will continue to abuse horses as they do dogs and other animals.
It is beyond sickening that this cruel gambling venue is allowed to abuse, neglect, drug, abandon, and kill horses as if that’s something that is okay as long as some rich people are not only using the horses as racing and breeding slaves but also using them as a tax write-off. Some of the richest people are responsible for so much injustice in this world.
Infusing money into the wagering handle at racetracks that are definitely sinking seems to be a way to get a press release that this so-called sport might have a chance after all.
It is vile to the core to abuse and kill horses routinely and to attempt to deceive the taxpaying public and the legislators to keep this so-called sport going with public funds instead of arresting these diehard criminals and putting them in jail for their various and heinous crimes.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
Just as we are justified in asking why corporations get tax breaks from communities, counties, and states for locating in certain areas, or expanding existing locations, were justified in asking why racing gets aide of any kind, whether it’s tax breaks or grants or low interest loans from the government.
Any other industry that knowingly abuses animals would never get these breaks-in fact, police forces would create task forces of personnel with specific knowledge, they’d have undercover officers gaining evidence, they’d have informants telling them who is involved.
Why is horse racing so different than dog fighting? Certain breeds of dogs are used in fighting, they’re trained to kill. They’re often kept penned, or on short leashes, not allowed to run, to socialize with other dogs ( although this could be impossible as no doubt they’d start doing what they’re trained to do, and fight each other).
Horses are trained to race, before they are physically mature enough to do so. Abuse.
They’re kept pent up in stalls that afford them only enough room to turn around in and lie down. Abuse. They’re not allowed to socialize with other horses, despite, like dogs, being social animals who thrive in groups. Abuse. They’re given hormones to make them unnaturally muscled, given pain medication to mask pain from over stressed bones, joints, and muscles that are too immature to handle racing. Abuse.
Yet, our tax dollars are going to add slots and tables to racetracks, to attract more people. Our taxes are going to renovate tracks that have structurally and architecturally seen better days.
If my tax dollars are going to go to a track, I’d rather see job training for the people who work there , so they can get out of this industry that abuses horses and people, the horses with physical and emotional abuse, the people with low wages, few if any benefits, and dead end jobs.
Certain breeds of horses are
Horse racing supporters invoke “tradition,” “history,” and economic impact, but those arguments are hard to sustain when attendance declines, tracks close, horses continue to suffer catastrophic injuries, and younger generations increasingly reject the industry altogether. At some point, sentimentality cannot substitute for viability.
The figure mentioned, roughly $95 million annually, is striking when compared with competing public priorities like schools, infrastructure, healthcare, parks, and public safety. Citizens are justified in questioning why so much public money continues flowing into a private gambling and entertainment industry that repeatedly claims it is on the brink of collapse without state assistance. Public tolerance for equine deaths is eroding. Davis’s “sink or swim” comment reflects a political willingness to question assumptions that once went largely unchallenged. Good!