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- Racing to the Grave
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Racing to the Grave
04/03/2008 - By PETA Staff Horses are expendable commodities in the racing industry. Thoroughbreds are accidents waiting to happen: their legs are too long and fragile, they’re forced to run while still young and growing and injuries are often masked with drugs.
Horses are expendable commodities in the racing industry. Thoroughbreds are accidents waiting to happen: their legs are too long and fragile, they’re forced to run while still young and growing and injuries are often masked with drugs.
Horses begin training or are already racing before they are two years old, at an age when their bones are still developing and are ill-equipped to handle the pressures of running on a hard track at high speeds. Many racehorses are dosed with drugs like phenylbutazone (“Bute”) and cortisone to mask painful injuries and keep them on the track when they shouldn’t be racing, contributing to catastrophic breakdowns. Lasix is a legal drug that stops internal bleeding in the lungs while also masking the presence of other drugs in a horse’s system.
Horses who do not “make the grade” are not retired to grassy pastures. Tens of thousands of horses—including thoroughbreds—are sold for slaughter every year. Some of their flesh is used in dog and cat food, while “prime cuts” are sold for human consumption in Europe and Asia.
Forcing horses to run has lost most of its luster with the public. Attendance has plummeted at tracks all over North America. The governor of Maryland created a commission to recommend ways to save the state’s struggling racing industry. In 2005, the North Carolina General Assembly killed a bill that would have allowed racing in the state. The 110-year-old Fort Erie racetrack in Ontario slashed the number of race days for last year’s season from 104 to 84. Many tracks are shifting their focus to slot machines in order to remain in business.
PETA exposes the suffering of horses who are forced to race, so that people can make an informed choice about whether they want to support such cruelty. Animal friend Pamela Anderson made headlines when she announced that she would boycott the Kentucky Derby because she didn’t want to support cruelty to animals. We’ve also campaigned to get the Breeders’ Cup’s 2-year-old juvenile race, which is particularly harmful to young horses, canceled; many horses who have won that race have been forced to run injured or became “broken down” within the following year. Please call 1-800-RACE-CUP to voice your objections to this cruel event.
To learn more about the Horseracing Industry, PETA’s Factsheet is available at http://www.peta.org/factsheet/files/FactsheetDisplay.asp?ID=65.