Horse Racing

Animal rights activists make point
By Bradley Olson

Linda Kelly became an enemy of horse racing more than 30 years ago.

The Monkton resident was watching television July 6, 1975, along with 18 million other Americans, when the filly Ruffian suffered a catastrophic break of her right foreleg and was euthanized hours after a failed surgery.

That race was supposed to mean something, she remembered. The "equine battle of the sexes" - in which Ruffian faced off against Foolish Pleasure, a 3-year-old colt who had won the Kentucky Derby that year - was supposed to mirror the classic tennis match in which Billie Jean King beat the braggart Bobby Riggs two years earlier.

Instead, it became a rallying cry for people like Kelly, 60, who decided she could never enjoy another horse race. Unlike the tens of thousands of college students, inveterate racing fans and gamblers who streamed into the Pimlico Race Course yesterday to watch the Preakness, Kelly stood outside with about 30 protesters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Read More

With the unfortunate deaths of two horses in two years, horse racing, as an industry, has taken a beating as of late. However, the thing to remember is that both of these horses lost their lives doing what they loved to do and that was racing.

PETA Wants Jockey Suspended

PETA wants Eight Belles jockey suspended after filly's death

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is seeking the suspension of Eight Belles' jockey after the filly had to be euthanized following her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Gabriel Saez was riding Eight Belles when she broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter of a mile past the wire. She was euthanized on the track.

PETA faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky's racing authority claiming the filly was "doubtlessly injured before the finish" and asked that Saez be suspended while Eight Belles' death is investigated. Read More

Not surprisingly, PETA is using this tragedy to promote their agenda. To suggest that a jockey riding at this level would not have noticed a problem is ridiculous. There are inherent dangers in horse racing and unfortunately they lost a horse in this year’s derby.