.

[Cannon Shell]

What Andy wrote yesterday was both poignant and timely. His optimism is refreshing and encouraging especially considering it is Andy writing it. However I am not nearly as optimistic about the industry. I haven't posted in a few days simply because I have been very busy but also because there is just so much bs that is being spread, both by the quasi-terrorists and by respected industry figures that I figured I should step back and take another look at the situation.

I admit that I was wrong about Eight Belles ability to hit the board in the race. That she was able to overcome her pedigree and lack of a 1 1/8th prep says a lot about her and probably a lot about the other 18 horses in the race, but that is a debate for another day. Her death was both upsetting and unsettling to me. Upsetting is easy to understand but the unsettling feeling is one that may wind up lasting for a long time. My first thought was probably an unfair one but the reasoning is realistic. I wondered if this filly has had issues with her ankles before. She is big, heavily raced (by modern standards) and by Unbridled Song. If she made it through her campaign without issues she would be rare indeed. That is not an indictment of her trainer in any way. Horses are athletes, athletes have injuries, trainers and vets deal with them. Larry Jones has had more than his share of brokedown claimers, he knows when to say when and it is very unlikely that he thought there was any chance of Eight Belles breaking down. But I do wonder.

The second thought was how the media would have a field day with this story. I was actually surprised that the lead up in the general media to the Derby didnt include more negative stories about Dutrow. But I knew this would be too easy to sensationalize, especially with the human trash at PETA chiming in. They are a despicable group that loves to exploit suffering for camera time to advance their radical agenda. (For those who support them, this is like supporting the taliban because they keep crime rates low) I called Steve and urged against giving a point by point dissection of their "demands" because that is just giving them credibility that they dont deserve. They should simply be dismissed without regard. (I thought that Steve did a great job on Monday's show handling the situation)

Too bad Randy Moss didn't do the same. By injecting his personal beliefs and seemingly his own agenda into the discussion by talking about medication rules and banning the whip he played directly into PETA's hand. He actually said that he agreed with PETA concerning the whip. That is unconscionable for a person who's livelyhood is dependant on horseracing. I dont have any problem with Moss having his own views (though I disagree with many of them) but there is a time and a place and the morning after the Derby was not the time or place to start talking about these internal issues that the public simply doesnt care about. To use his platform as ESPN's racing "expert" to advance his own views rather than shout down PETA and the idiocy of the media in trying to place blame on the jockey or track surface is a real shame. I hope he realizes this when the next anti-racing brochure or ad features his quotes agreeing with PETA. Bill Finley also used the tragedy to knock the industry by rehashing many of his old rants about banning Lasix or some other nonsense. Instead of standing up for the industry so many of the racing media just reprising the same crap about the "dying" sport and too much medication and breeding for too much speed, etc. Perhaps they may actually look at each issue from more than one viewpoint but I guess that would take too much work. I keep reading about how horseracing is dying yet there are billions of dollars bet, billions spent to purchase horses and billions spent caring for them. There was just a 2 day event which attracted 250000 fans and hundreds of stars (admittedly many B listers). There are tracks like Saratoga and Del Mar in the Summer and Keeneland in the Spring and Fall where 20000 fans per day is the norm. There is international wagering, more life changing bets available and forums like this one. The sport is hardly dying. Changing, yes. Dying , no.

I have spoken about breeding and the modern day horse many times on these forums. The sport simply wasnt made to be a feeder system for the breeding business which it has become in many ways. All the talk of "breeding too much speed" into horses has some truth to it but it is not that cut and dry. As I have said over and over (mostly to deaf ears) when the breeding boom of the 80's occured and so many inferior animals were introduced (or not taken out of service) into the breeding pool the breed as a whole suffered a decrease in quality that is being felt today. When you add the preponderence of the blood of Mr. P and Storm Cat, willingness to breed to sell rather than race, corrective surgeries to foals, expanded pinhooking and top class yearlings forced to endure the rigors of 2 year old in training sales (as opposed to when these sales originated when mostly lower class yearlings were pinhooked or sold as 2 year olds) you have a real problem.
Maybe the bigger problem is that it is almost impossible to fix, especially short term. Blame the breeders if you please but they produce what the market wants or they go out of business.

The banning the whip talk is stupid. Since we hear so much about what other countries do concerning medication, what other countries ban the whip? We have restrictions in place now that stewards seem reluctant to enforce. How would you like to have bought a sound, sturdy but lazy horse that may need a slap on the ass for encouragement to get him involved? What about when a green horse starts to bear in or out during a race? Just hold on? Pull em up? We have rules now, maybe they can be clarified a bit but banning whips is a ridiculous idea.

I am not a poly hater. I think that it has it's place in the industry despite the chaos and confusion which has ensued from it's installation at many tracks. But the thought that tracks that dont have it are more dangerous than those that do are offbase. Dirt, turf, poly, cushion, etc. horses will breakdown on any surface because they are fragile. It sucks but it is true. Women basketball players shred their knees up at a much higher rate than men but we dont hear they should be playing on a different surface or shorter court.

This industry has, in my lifetime, always been a knee jerk reaction type business. They missed the boat on TV, OTB's, medication, etc. The game now is so much different than the game I grew up with and that is sad. Horses like Curlin can never be considered great by many of us from the older generation (I cant believe i am part of the older generation) simply because he will probably never do anything extraordinary. If he runs in and wins the ARC forget the last sentence. Horses dont carry weight, they dont run much at 2, good ones dont run at all past 3, singular races like the Breeders Cup, Dubai World Cup and Kentucky Derby have eroded the traditional fixtures and turned them into grade 3 type events. I cant tell you that I have the same respect for Todd Pletcher or Steve Assmussen as trainers or horseman as I did for Charlie Whittingham, Woody Stevens or Mack Miller. It is not the fault of the modern guys but could they accomplish what those other guys did with 40 horses, mostly homebreds? The jockeys seem to always be involved with some kind of controversy, usually involving them making more money which is not really endearing to them regardless of the circumstances. Tracks are now owned by corporation rather than individuals which is not a positive. And I now feel that there will be a real push to change so many things that simply dont need changing. I understand that in one paragraph I am promoting the notion that horse racing isnt dying and now i am talking about all the negatives and that seems a juxtapostion of opposing views. But I firmly believe that horseracing isnt dying yet I do believe that the sport I love is on the verge of making major mistakes that will render it a shell of it former self. Simply because one horse died.