Whipped to the finish and dead on the track

Romance. Grace. Sport.

Horse racing has a rich tradition in our country. As we watch this “Sport of Kings” on television, we are treated to images of women in extravagant hats and garb, men in splendid tailored suits and children lovingly coiffed and attired.

And then we gaze upon the beautiful, powerful horses — athletic, prancing, waiting to charge toward the finish line — aiming to please, aiming to win. How exciting it all appears.

Not really. It’s an illusion and a fraud, and, too often, this romanticized image dissolves into animal cruelty and death.

Eight Belles was killed on the track at this year’s Kentucky Derby. Barbaro fractured three bones in his ankle in the 2006 Preakness Stakes and was killed eight months later. And don’t forget the 2005 Horse of the Year, Saint Liam, who broke his left leg while backing away from his handlers; he was killed, as well. However, his funeral expenses were fully covered as he had earned his owners more than $4 million.

Those of us who teach animal law tell our students that societal attitude toward animals has changed. We tell them the status of animals is marked by companionship and humaneness, and our laws reflect that new status.

Except in horse racing. The images and pictures from the Kentucky Derby are unbearable. And so is the benighted and sentimental quote from Eight Belles’ trainer, Larry Jones: “We put everything into them that we have, and they give us everything they have. They put their lives on the line, and she was glad to do it.”

This is nonsense.

One hundred sixty years after the passage of our state’s first anti-cruelty law, which was enacted in response to a race that ended with both horses dropping dead, we feel as if we’re in a time warp.

The question, then, is, where did our compassion for horses go? Too often we read and hear about the abuses in the horse-racing industry, all done in the name of amusement and economic pursuit. Anyone who watched the Derby should now recognize that animals are sentient creatures capable of experiencing great pain.

With this recognition must come change. We must start to investigate these injuries as animal-cruelty cases. How many more Eight Belles, Barbaros and Saint Liams must there be before we take action to stop these deaths?

The deaths that make the news — such as those of Eight Belles and Barbaro — do so only because they occur during one of the Triple Crown races, to high-profile thoroughbreds. But how many other horses at smaller tracks around the country also die that we don’t hear about?

A 2001 Seattle Post-Intelligencer article reported that, in North America, approximately 800 horses die per year due to racing injuries. That number is likely even higher today, with the prevalence of steroids and other drugs pumped into the thoroughbreds. In the summer of 2006, there were 19 deaths at one race track alone.

And those are just the deaths. Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins reported that, on average, two horses per day suffer career-ending injuries.

When it comes to determining whether a particular practice constitutes animal cruelty, courts may allow the practice if there is a legitimate or religious purpose for it. Unless one considers gambling a legitimate purpose, horse racing seemingly has none.

These horses are bred for the sole purpose of racing and making many people much money. And once they have served that purpose, they are bred to other horses to produce offspring that will generate more money. If gambling on horses were illegal, would horse racing even exist?

So what should be done? Outlaw horse racing or prosecute it like other cases of animal cruelty?

At a minimum, there should be no more whipping and no more forced entry into the gate. That is animal cruelty. Whipping a horse forces it to run through pain, and in Eight Belles’ case, until she had no legs left to stand on.

And when a horse doesn’t want to go into the gate, do not force it to do so. Scratch the horse from the race.

Another minimal step would be to change the track surface to a synthetic one, which causes fewer injuries.

Cruelty to animals in Massachusetts is defined as “whoever overworks … cruelly beat(s) … and whoever uses in a cruel or inhumane manner in a race, game, or contest ... or permits it to be subjected to unnecessary torture, suffering or cruelty of any kind.”

The romance and grace of horse racing is illusory. The deaths are real. {EXA}