by Stacey Mckenna

Created on: May 04, 2008   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

This afternoon I sat myself before the television to engage in one of the more internally conflicted events I face a year - watching the Kentucky Derby. I spent my childhood in northern Virginia riding ex-racehorses at a gallop over rolling hills. It is a feeling that is unmatched. And we went religiously to the weekend steeplechases in which adult horses jumped solid or brush fences at a full run, in a pack. It was exhilarating. I spent most of my high school years competing in show-jumping competitions throughout the Southwest US, even qualifying for and competing at Nationals one year. Horses, and equine competition, have been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember. But I love horses. So every time I turn the channel to watch the Kentucky Derby, I feel conflicted.

The thing is, it is the very thing that makes the Derby so enchanting to horsey and non-horsey people alike that makes it so troubling. It is the thoroughbred. In my 25 years of riding horses I have never known a breed that is so endlessly, heartbreakingly giving of itself as the thoroughbred. Yes, they are "hot." Yes, they are fresh. Yes, they can spook at the silliest of things. But they will jump, run, give their hearts for you, often at their own expense.

There are many problems with the thoroughbred racing industry, including racing at the young age of 2 years, including the reluctance to release the tradition of a dirt track that is more damaging to a horse's lungs than synthetics, including the abandonment of kind, wonderful horses on a losing streak. Today's running of the 134th Kentucky Derby brought all of my doubts and all of my anger to the foreground once again.

The first filly to run in the race in (I believe) the last nine years came in second by five lengths. She finished the race before collapsing, having broken both front ankles. The on-site veterinarians euthanized her immediately. I don't have a problem with the euthanasia. Working regularly with a local horse rescue organization, I recognize the benefits of a humane and dignified end to life. I do, however, have a problem with a two year old filly running so hard she literally runs herself into the ground. She literally runs her body to its own destruction. We have bred these horses to be this giving, and when we race them before they have reached physical maturity, yes, maybe they are faster, but they break down.

I love to watch thoroughbreds race. They are magical in their physical prowess and in their hearts, but this is the second of two memorable equine deaths associated with the Triple Crown in only two years. Perhaps the thoroughbred racing industry needs to look at itself, ignoring "tradition" for once, and ask what is best for the horses, for the jockeys, and ultimately, what is best for the sport?

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