I’ve never been much into horse racing, but I usually watch the Kentucky Derby, largely out of nostalgia. (I used to live in Kentucky.) Saturday’s was my last. Eight Belles’ death was just too heartbreaking.
This article by Mike Lopresti asks some good questions about Saturday’s race:
- “In public perception, horse racing sometimes finds itself on a thin line between competition and exploitation. Look at the track and what do you see – the sport of kings, or the arrogance of humans?”
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“Words such as courage and determination and heart are used to describe the animals. It is as if they become human athletes, as if they become family. OK. But if that is the case, is this the way we treat athletes – breeding them for maximum speed, even if it kills a few of them? If they are family, how can an enterprise watch so many of them die?”
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“‘They put their life on the damn line,’ Jones said to the media Saturday evening. ‘She was glad to do it.’ How would he know?”
Lopresti’s conclusion is, “The sport need not be condemned. It is not going away. But some soul searching is in order.” I think that’s probably an accurate description of what will happen, but it’s not the desirable outcome. The desirable outcome would be radical change on a number of fronts.
I resist the label of “animal rights,” because I think sometimes that debate goes off in a wrong direction, making value judgments I don’t agree with. But I am a “living things rights” advocate. I still believe in the vision suggested to me by God’s imperative in Genesis that humankind should “steward the earth.” Stewarding isn’t a self-serving or exploitive discipline.
It’s true that things in the racing industry probably won’t change. But the small change within my power to make – leaving the television off — I gladly make.
