Tragedy marred the running of yesterday’s Kentucky Derby, taking a bit away from the totally brilliant and dominating performance of the winner, Big Brown. I didn’t get a chance to see the race live, but I have watched numerous replays. I give Big Brown a very strong chance to become Thoroughbred Racing’s first Triple Crown winner in 30 years.

The tragic ending of the game filly, Eight Belles, a quarter of a mile past the finish line after finishing in second place, in the most freakish of accidents (she broke BOTH ankles at the same time as she galloped out), rails at the frailty of the thoroughbred horse. It should not be a condemnation of racing itself as has been bandied about in post race analysis. But, it points out, in my humble opinion, that the thoroughbred horses of today are bred AND trained for extreme early speed at the sacrifice of sturdiness and longevity.

The most telling fact I believe is that while they’re breeding for speed, there have been very few world records set. Some records have remained in the record books for 20, 30, and in some cases 40 years. Secretariat, for example, still holds the record at the distance of one and one-half miles which he sent in winning the Belmont Stakes back in the 70’s.

Contrast this to the Standardbred Racehorse (”trotters & pacers”). World records are broken annually — at the current rate it is no longer inconceivable that one day a pacer may race as fast as a thoroughbred at the distance of one mile. Yet at the same time, the standardbred horse has greater longevity, races more each year, more often (generally once a week for the average horse) - for more years - and you rarely read about standardbreds breaking down.

This is not to say that standardbred’s are superior to thoroughbreds and that thoroughbred racing, or all horse racing, should be abolished due to cruelty to animals. But, it is more of a call to going to back to sensible training methods, and not racing horses so often so young when their bodies clearly haven’t matured enough to withstand the rigors of extremely high speeds. This obviously cannot happen overnight as there’s too much tradition, too much at stake in such early emphasis on races such as the Kentucky Derby. But, while standardbreds (especially the stakes-caliber ones) are starting to race less at an early age before their Stakes engagements, I would venture to say that thoroughbreds are NOT getting in enough races and training (miles under their belts) before being put to their ultimate tests.

Let’s wish Big Brown good luck in his historic attempt to win the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, The Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes) in the coming five weeks. Horse racing needs a champion. Especially one with charisma that can re-awaken America’s interest in racing and in horses. We don’t need tragedy to get in the headlines; We need a “hero”.

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Tags: Horse Racing, Sports

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