Horseracing Health Welfare and Rules

Regulations Medication Bans Better Treatment Are Horse Concerns

Sep 27, 2008

America has lagged in its medical and humane treatment of its horseracing stars. Times are changing. Bans in the areas of medications and treatment are the future.

From better research on horse bone structure, to better treatment of the individuals themselves, strides are being made in the equine industry.

Breeders' Cup officials have already acted to ban the use of anabolic steroids in all competitors scheduled to run in the Breeders' Cup World Championships in October at Santa Anita Park.

Groundbreaking Research

Veterinarian Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, professor of surgery and director of the Gail Holmes Equine Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University, recently revealed preliminary reports on blood biomarkers research in horses (The Blood-Horse, "Final Turn", September 6, 2008, page 4438).

Tests funded by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and conducted on Thoroughbreds in Southern California found periodic blood samples of horses can help in identifying microdamage to the equine bone system. Early detection may prevent future catastrophic breakdowns if the individual is taken out of training long enough to let the mini-damage heal properly.

Welfare of All Horse Breeds

The issue of improving the health and welfare of horses reached epic proportions and has remained close to the heartbeat of the equine industry since the inexplicable breakdown of the brilliant filly, Eight Belles, in this year's Kentucky Derby.

Since then, everything from questionable medications to slaughterhouse abandonment to banning of whips, all that is conceived as dark, or evil in the industry, has been attacked by horse lovers driving for a vast surge of reform. And self-reform is being called for from every crevice of the horseracing industry itself.

Real Horsemen Favor Reform

Financial concerns, reform, and getting people back to the tracks are beginning to merge. Recently, at the world class Little Brown Jug harness racing competition in Delaware, Ohio, driver John Campbell spoke to the public in a forum held in the Jugette gazebo-like barn (September 18) about recommendations to ban horse whipping in harness racing.

Campbell said he favored the proposals to disallow one-handed whip use. This week, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved legislation to ban one-handed whipping. President of Walnut Hall Ltd., and KHRC commission member Alan Leavitt told the Lexington Herald Leader that he had been involved in harness racing for 50 years and had seen many cases of abusive whipping.

Leavitt commented, "...it's going to be impossible to increase our fan base...(and) attract new owners" as long as whipping is allowed. "People don't want to see it (whipping)," he concluded.

Long-term horsemen are also on board in the endeavor to better the lives of the horses that turn the wheels of the equine industry. Herb Moelis, president of Thoroughbred Charities of America, recently voiced the need to find ways to protect and care for horses after their racing careers. To raise more money for this purpose, Moelis proposed adding $50 to the $200 required to register a newborn foal and designate the extra funding specifically to "provide for care of the foal for life." (The Blood-Horse, "Final Turn", July 26, 2008, page 3750).

Breeder Martin Stiles said in the August 23, 2008 issue of The Blood-Horse, "Final Turn", page 4166, "Badly needed is a way to reward toughness and stamina in horses of mid-class." Why did he make that comment?

Because, he questioned, "What happens to the runners who do not make it to the top?"

The copyright of the article Horseracing Health Welfare and Rules in How to Race Horses is owned by BarbaraAnne Helberg. Permission to republish Horseracing Health Welfare and Rules in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.