Showing posts with label horse racing industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horse racing industry. Show all posts

More Miscellaneous News.

This is a great idea and a great way to honor veterans whose remains were never claimed.

The Missing in America Project's webpage is here.
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The congressional hearing on horse racing and catastrophic injuries seemed to elicit a lot of agreement of what should be done. Of course it is easier said than done.

I agree about the drugs. Get rid of them because they tend to mask injuries and make horses run when they shouldn't.
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Miscellaneous.

For Reno native Alex Candelario, being known as a good sprinter wasn't good enough for last night's pro criterium. He finished 58th, which was just about last of the remaining cyclists.
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What an unbelievably dumb thing for kids to do. It makes one yearn for the days when pregnant teenage girls were kicked out of school merely for being pregnant.
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These idiots are boasting they got Larry Sinclair arrested.

The Sinclair story gets murkier and murkier, as the post demonstrates.
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Hearings began today in Congress on the horse racing industry and its problems.
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Why is It

that despite great advances in veterinary medicine, racetrack fatalities haven't gone down? 5,000 racehorse deaths have happened since 2003, which is an outrageous total.

After the gruesome breakdown of Eight Belles, the Jockey Club created a national panel to examine safety, and the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority did the same on the state level.

Among the topics being reviewed are track surfaces, medication (particularly steroids), the use of the whip by riders, and whether - as Bramlage suggests - thoroughbreds are becoming less durable because they're being bred to emphasize speed rather than stamina early in their careers.

"Those that do get hurt maybe get hurt worse because of their speed and size," said Larry Jones, who trained Eight Belles. "A good big horse will outrun a good little horse, and they can be more fragile because their legs and joints have to hold a lot more."



And this:

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said the sport gets a bad rap for what he believes it does best - take care of the animals.

"There isn't a trainer worth his salt that doesn't look into this 24 hours a day," Lukas said. "I'll guarantee you that if any one of those purists who feel like it's an abusive sport would spend two weeks in my barn, they'd walk away a different person and have a greater appreciation for the care. Animals don't have a say in it, but when they get to this level, they have a pretty good deal going."



I know from having visited the horse farms in Kentucky that racing people DO care about the horses. However, there needs to be some drastic measures taken to minimize breakdowns and fatalities.

I think it all goes back to the trend of breeders to breed horses for speed and not soundness.

Featured Post

Crater Lake National Park Photos 1

 Here are a few pictures I took at Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon today, including a couple of them from the historic lodge: