Barbaro
I, along with millions of other tv viewers & the thousands of people in the stands, was witness to Barbaro's painful withdrawal from the Preakness on Saturday. It broke my heart - such a great, powerful beast brought low due to a misstep. I do admire Edgar Prado - he may call Barbaro a hero, but Prado is a hero, too. It's obvious he cared about the horse & did everything he could to rein the horse in without causing him more injury.
Even tho' I've never set foot on a thoroughbred race track - the harness racing at the local fair is the only race I've ever been to, I've always followed the Sport of Kings very closely & held the magnificent horses that comprise the athletes in very high esteem. I even fancy I'm a decent handicapper - I called Barbaro's win in the Derby & the graceful Bernardino's win in the Preakness (after Barbaro was out of it, of course, even tho' my heart wasn't in it) as well as several others in years past. Also, I'm an animal lover, as evidenced by my feelings for that little waif of a kitten.
Which leads me to the question, is horse racing cruel? I don't think so. It's not cruel unless the animals are mistreated - beaten, forced to run with injuries that could be crippling, so on. Running is what they're bred for, that's what every instinct they possess drives them to do. Perhaps in the days of old there were questionable practices - firing the tendons & so on, but a lot of that has been laid to rest. It's a sport, all sports are cruel to some extent because of the rigors they put on the athletes be they equine or human (dogracing is a whole other ballgame - thankfully the level of savagery that goes hand in hand with that sport has been checked to some degree, but I can't go into that now). But horse racing, what can you say? Shit happens. I'm just sorry it happened to Barbaro.
I must also say that the Jacksons handling of the situation is heartening as well. They could've cashed in on a hefty insurance policy if Barbaro were put down, but instead they're footing the bill for his hopeful recovery. If all goes well, they will recoup that money in stud fees in the years to come. But still, they weren't cutthroat about it, they didn't opt to euthanize him even after such a dire injury - remember, in days of yore a horse with a broken leg was a dead horse. Thanks to advances in veterinary science & perhaps a more humane view of these equine athletes, Barbaro can be saved. He may never run again other than a jog around the paddock, but there are worse things for a hot-blooded stallion to do than breed pretty little mares and while away his days in a grassy pasture.
My thoughts are with the brave & splendid Barbaro & his admirable jockey, Edgar Prado, as well as the kind owners, Roy & Gretchen Jackson.
LONG LIVE BARBARO!
Even tho' I've never set foot on a thoroughbred race track - the harness racing at the local fair is the only race I've ever been to, I've always followed the Sport of Kings very closely & held the magnificent horses that comprise the athletes in very high esteem. I even fancy I'm a decent handicapper - I called Barbaro's win in the Derby & the graceful Bernardino's win in the Preakness (after Barbaro was out of it, of course, even tho' my heart wasn't in it) as well as several others in years past. Also, I'm an animal lover, as evidenced by my feelings for that little waif of a kitten.
Which leads me to the question, is horse racing cruel? I don't think so. It's not cruel unless the animals are mistreated - beaten, forced to run with injuries that could be crippling, so on. Running is what they're bred for, that's what every instinct they possess drives them to do. Perhaps in the days of old there were questionable practices - firing the tendons & so on, but a lot of that has been laid to rest. It's a sport, all sports are cruel to some extent because of the rigors they put on the athletes be they equine or human (dogracing is a whole other ballgame - thankfully the level of savagery that goes hand in hand with that sport has been checked to some degree, but I can't go into that now). But horse racing, what can you say? Shit happens. I'm just sorry it happened to Barbaro.
I must also say that the Jacksons handling of the situation is heartening as well. They could've cashed in on a hefty insurance policy if Barbaro were put down, but instead they're footing the bill for his hopeful recovery. If all goes well, they will recoup that money in stud fees in the years to come. But still, they weren't cutthroat about it, they didn't opt to euthanize him even after such a dire injury - remember, in days of yore a horse with a broken leg was a dead horse. Thanks to advances in veterinary science & perhaps a more humane view of these equine athletes, Barbaro can be saved. He may never run again other than a jog around the paddock, but there are worse things for a hot-blooded stallion to do than breed pretty little mares and while away his days in a grassy pasture.
My thoughts are with the brave & splendid Barbaro & his admirable jockey, Edgar Prado, as well as the kind owners, Roy & Gretchen Jackson.
LONG LIVE BARBARO!
posted by RCSure | 1:33 PM
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