A possible solution to the "Eight Belles" problem in horse racing

I think there would be a fair amount of support for a move that would not permit 2-year-olds to race, but you're asking to stop a tradition that goes back . . . I don't know how far, 100 years? We also have too many tracks offering too many races; there's no need whatsoever for a horse of any age to have 20 starts in a year. Philadelphia Park races 12 months a year, doesn't it? (Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.) That's crazy.

In the UK, I believe all the racing is done on grass. I'd be curious as to what the injury/fatality rate is over there.

 

There are some dirt/artifical courses in Britain, though they're outnumbered.

 

In the UK/Ireland, there is also much more jumps racing, which you rarely see in the U.S., so you have to take that into account.

As of right now, I believe there are five all-weather tracks Southwell, Lingfield, Wolverhampton, Kempton and Great Leighs, all for flat races. They tried all-weather for jump racing in the past, but it was a major failure as the surface didn't provide enough cushioning as the horses were landing after the jumps, and more horses came up lame than on turf.

 

I like the idea. It's not unlike pitch counts and discouraging curveballs for little league baseball players.

 

Just to piggyback on that, this is so true. PETA has become self-defeating, because most people have an immediate negative reaction when they hear the name. Like Devil says, their methods are just so extreme.

 

Are you a tasting animal?

Oh wait, aren't we all.

Well, they can eat me too.

 

Can anyone point to any statistical evidence that horse racing deaths are actually increasing? I know we've had two highly visible occurrences recently with Barbaro and Eight Belles, and any horse that is injured or dies as a result of a race is a horrific experience to watch.

But, I'd be less interested to support major changes to a sport that has been around for virtually a century and a half based on a couple high profile incidents. If the overall trend is worse to a significant degree, then major structural change to the sport is warranted. But, if that's not the case, I don't know if these two incidents should lead to changing the basic fabric of the sport.

 

Who keeps track of it?

 

There have been recent issues with the major California tracks -- most notably Del Mar --which prompted the state racing board to urge usage artificial surfaces.
The fact that field sizes have shrunk in CA due to the economics of the local game has
highlighted a bad situation.

 

I assume there must be some statistical records out there. This is a sport that can tell you not only where every horse finished in every race, but where they were at various intervals around the track. I don't think I'm going out on a limb to guess they can and do track on-track fatalities.

 

The Jockey Club in New York, might.