Preakness

[alonewiththemoon]

Granted the competition wasn't much, but that was *beautiful*, just picture book perfect.

Also, kudos to NBC Sports for handling controversy head on by dedicating the first half hour of the two hour broadcast to a panel discussion of safety in the racing industry and an interview on the same with Alex Waldrop, the head of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.  I was pleased to hear from Waldrop that by Jan. 1, 2009 most states will have banned *any* steroid use in horses.  If enough states ban it, then that's effectively a national ban, since trainers move their horses around from track to track and state to state.  Progress is being made, bit by bit.

Comments

[xenoglaux]

one of these days I'd love to watch a race with you,
mostly because I don't get it...

[eeyrg.livejournal.com]

there's a serious flaw in that though. the ban is only effective for on-track use via track testing. It does not prevent breeders from using the substance to "improve" stock before sales, etc.

it's still a step forward. state bans (especially in NY, where lasix has been banned for many years) for stakes races is not new. i just wish more focus would be on development. drugs or no drugs, stressing soft bones / ligaments on a 2 year old is just unfair, no matter how you look at it. pushing the stakes races off even by a year would be a little better.

just my $0.02

[alonewiththemoon]

I think though that some steroids are currently legal in all states if not given on a race day. Big Brown's trainer mentioned that he gives all his horses a monthly dose of a steriod (I forget which one, but it's illegal for human athletes); he didn't even really know what it did for his horses but his vet recommended it, so he figured why not. That kind of steroid usage, not just race day drugs, would become illegal as well.

I totally agree with your two cents on racing babies. The panel discussion danced around the subject of racing two year olds. Dr. Brammage (the same vet who was basically the medical spokesperson for Barbaro) said that you need to work two year olds to prepare them for racing later, making an analogy with high school, college and pro athletes. You have to start building the body before development is done, according to him, otherwise you run an even greater risk of damage later, and I can see the sense in that. OTOH, we don't expect the same things of high school and college athletes that we do of pros, and right now we expect the same if not more from two year old Tbreds as is expected of the older horses. Unfortunately it all boils down to money. Until the money stops demanding faster younger horses, that's what the industry will supply, no matter how distasteful people in the industry might find it. But at least the subject is being brought into the open--maybe the money will be shamed into making different demands.