Coming Soon - Links to All the Thoroughbred Websites I can Find

We need to ask the Thoroughbred Racing Industry to increase the minimum racing age to four (4) years old.

Kentucky Horse Racing Authority Attn: Chairman Robert M. Beck Jr. Following Eight Belles' breakdown and euthanasia at the Kentucky Derby on May 3, I urge you to immediately take the following steps to prevent such tragedies in the future. This is not the first such catastrophic injury caused by allowing these horses to race before they have had a chance to fully develop. There are many famous race horses who have suffered life ending injuries while in the limelight (Eight Belles, Barbara, Ruffian and many more), but their are countless others whose lives were lost on lesser known tracks and whose demise was not witnessed by millions. There were 15 horses at 39 North American tracks who failed to finish a race Saturday, May 3. Nine of them were reported to have been so injured or unsound that they had to be vanned off the track in an equine ambulance. Additionally, each year thousands of racing careers are ended due to injury and many are never again sound once they leave the track. 1. Delay training and racing until after a horse's fourth birthday. Before reaching this age, the horse's skeletal system is not fully developed, which increases the chances for injury. 2. Further investigate the use of synthetic track surfaces, such as the surfaces used at Keeneland and all California race courses. If these surfaces are proven to be safer and result in less injuries, then these surfaces should be required on all tracks and dirt track racing should be elimated. 3. Ban from racing forever any trainer or owner whose horse is found to have been on pain inhibiting substances during a race. 4. Limit the number of races per season. Even Triple Crown racers who have light schedules leading up the Derby break down under the strain. Horses who race on smaller tracks are often run so frequently that strains and breaks are inevitable. 5. Reduce the use of whipping. A crop is sometimes necessary to remind a horse to change leads, to get the horses attention to move away from the rail or other horses to prevent injury, but a jockey should never be allowed to whip with every stride. A true racing champion loves to run and has the desire to win. 6. Investigate the possibility of requiring breeder's to establish a trust fund that will be used throughout the horses natural life to ensure that it can be cared for so that it will not end up at the slaughterhouse. It is a disgrace that any horese, let alone our champions, including former Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand, who deserve to retire to a meadow instead wind up being scared to death and inhumanely killed at slaughter for dog food. These changes won't stop all the injuries that occur on and off the track, but they will help stop a great deal of suffering. Please take action today. Robert M. Beck, Jr. Lexington, KY Office Phone: 859-226-2336 Fax: 859-425-7986 E-mail: rbeck@stites.com

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