I don’t know a thing about horse racing, and I don’t follow it. All I know that the Kentucky Derby happens once a year.
I’m probably not qualified to react this way about a sport (is it even a sport?) that I know nothing about, but it seems pretty sick to me. Sure, it’s not like horses die during every race, but I think I’m more appalled at the people that attend the event and own the horses. If you watch the video, you’ll note that the owner of Big Brown, the winning horse, was not the least bit concerned about Eight Belles’ welfare because the horse that he owns won the race. Maybe he didn’t know, but still, as they said in the broadcast, to see that celebratory mood juxtaposed with the somber reality of death is jarring.
How is winning a horse race prestigious? I feel the same way about owners of sports franchises. They don’t do anything except invest in the team and possibly make other decisions like salaries and whatnot, but basically they get credit for the sweat and tears that the players shed, or in this case, the strength and speed of the horses you own. And when you own 100 horses, it seems to be pretty impersonal. Or im-horse-al.
The players on a Super Bowl-winning team get pride, fame, and fortune from their victory. What the hell does a horse get? The pride goes to the owners, the fame goes to the owners, and, yep, the fortune goes to the owners, too. Big Brown will get some extra treats from his trainer that he/she can enjoy before being run into the ground at another race some time in the future.
At least my biased and judgmental self has a point – that’s more than you can say about horse racing. It’s a “sport” for elitists to show off how much money they have and wear expensive clothing to a race track in honor of a horse they probably don’t care about. That slick bastard jumping up and down next to Big Brown’s owner makes me sick
But please, if there are some horse racing fans out there, correct me if I’m wrong that horse racing is bad for horses and really has no point, except to prove who owns the fastest horse on a given day. Which, again, has no point.
1 Comment
May 5, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Haha, even before I read this post I was going to say something about the douschebag that was screaming “I luuvvvvvvv you maaaaan” next to the owner.
For a female horse, there really is not much of a prize. But males, when they retire, get to screw as many horses as they possibly can because the owners want their genes to be passed down. But I agree that to kill a horse sucks. I don’t know if it has to do with the investment or that a horse could not walk after breaking it’s legs. But in any case, it’s caused by pushing them too hard. I wonder if PETA protests horse racing.
I also thought this basically sums up your entry: