The TWF Horse Racing Thread

[Johnny75]

Who agreed with you it is cruel?

 

[BillyDee]

Everyone is of course entitled to their own opinion, but if you're going to come on to a forum just to pick a fight, it's probably a good idea to do a little bit of research first so you actually know what you are talking about, rather than just reposting someone else's false equivalency. Otherwise you might come across as a bit of a prick. Just a heads up.

 

[Trips]

"Any injury/fatality in racing is dreadul, and believe me the people involved in the sport feel it more than the anti-racing brigade." is what you said. Sorry if I interpreted that wrongly, my point is that your assertion is false. It is also not the point - the 'antis' care about every single horse (and greyhound, camel etc.)

Again, I havent said they don't care. I said that the lads and girls working with the horses will feel any loss more than the 'antis'

While you may feel upset at the death of a racehorse, there is no way you will feel the same loss for them as the people working with them every day. That would be like saying if my cat died tomorrow, you would be just as upset as me or my kids.

That's not me saying you don't care, but that you dont feel that loss as much as others.

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

Everyone is of course entitled to their own opinion, but if you're going to come on to a forum just to pick a fight, it's probably a good idea to do a little bit of research first so you actually know what you are talking about, rather than just reposting someone else's false equivalency. Otherwise you might come across as a bit of a prick. Just a heads up.

See last night - "Seriously (no sarcasm) I actually appreciate some of you voicing your thoughts when we disagree. I am sorry I did not come to this debate armed with pages of facts - it was just a spur of the moment comment this morning."

So I just googled "is horse racing cruel?" Several articles saying yes, some offering pros and cons, none actually saying there is no cruelty.

The Ugly Truth About Horse Racing

An exposé by PETA, published in The New York Times, shows a side of the sport that the industry has tried hard to shield from public view.

www.theatlantic.com

The Hidden Cruelty Behind the Glamour of the Horse Racing Industry

Horse racing has a reputation for elegance and attracts many wealthy individuals. Tragically, there is nothing glamorous about the world of horse racing

www.onegreenplanet.org

Five reasons why horse racing is cruel

The recent ABC footage of Australian horses being tormented and slaughtered on an industrial scale is sickening

www.worldanimalprotection.org.au

Is Horse Racing Cruel?

Let's look at the facts, do you think horse racing is cruel? We break down both sides of the arguement on this important question.

ihearthorses.com

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

Again, I havent said they don't care. I said that the lads and girls working with the horses will feel any loss more than the 'antis'

While you may feel upset at the death of a racehorse, there is no way you will feel the same loss for them as the people working with them every day. That would be like saying if my cat died tomorrow, you would be just as upset as me or my kids.

That's not me saying you don't care, but that you dont feel that loss as much as others.

"Any injury/fatality in racing is dreadul, and believe me the people involved in the sport feel it more than the anti-racing brigade." At the very least there is an implication that we don't care. We protest because we care.

 

[Trips]

I haven't implied you don't care. You're reading between the lines and finding what you want to find.

 

[darlowolf64]

"Any injury/fatality in racing is dreadul, and believe me the people involved in the sport feel it more than the anti-racing brigade." At the very least there is an implication that we don't care. We protest because we care.

I don't see where you're coming from here, Dennison. Trips has clearly stated the the grooms etc will feel "more" pain than someone not directly involved with the life of the horse. He doesn't say that an anti-horse racing person WON'T feel "pain"

 

[Tony Towner]

I don't think Trips is saying you don't care in the abstract, just that someone who had a personal relationship with the horse would be more affected by that individual horses loss. I would imagine that 99% of stable hands are good people who love their animals, unfortunately as in any walk of life there are people who set terrible examples like Davy Russell or Gordon Elliott. Now they may be the real face of racing but I don't believe that's the case

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

I haven't implied you don't care. You're reading between the lines and finding what you want to find.

Honestly not looking to argue here. I was trying to take your words at face value and it did seem the obvious conclusion. If your point was merely that stable staff care about their horses then obviously we all agree.

 

[Donegal Wolf]

See last night - "Seriously (no sarcasm) I actually appreciate some of you voicing your thoughts when we disagree. I am sorry I did not come to this debate armed with pages of facts - it was just a spur of the moment comment this morning."

So I just googled "is horse racing cruel?" Several articles saying yes, some offering pros and cons, none actually saying there is no cruelty.

The Ugly Truth About Horse Racing

An exposé by PETA, published in The New York Times, shows a side of the sport that the industry has tried hard to shield from public view.

www.theatlantic.com

The Hidden Cruelty Behind the Glamour of the Horse Racing Industry

Horse racing has a reputation for elegance and attracts many wealthy individuals. Tragically, there is nothing glamorous about the world of horse racing

www.onegreenplanet.org

Five reasons why horse racing is cruel

The recent ABC footage of Australian horses being tormented and slaughtered on an industrial scale is sickening

www.worldanimalprotection.org.au

Is Horse Racing Cruel?

Let's look at the facts, do you think horse racing is cruel? We break down both sides of the arguement on this important question.

ihearthorses.com

All these articles relate to US racing which has been a unregulated disaster zone for the last 10 years, with regards treatment if horses and use of drugs, although there has been strides in the last 12 months to improve it.
The way horses have been treated and the use of drugs in the US is a world away from what happens on the UK and Ireland (although like everything in life there are a few bad eggs).

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

One was Australian, but agreed they do not specifically refer to UK and Ireland.

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

Both sides of the argument:

Is horse racing cruel?

Debate.org is a dynamic social community where you can voice your opinion on today’s hottest issues.

www.debate.org

 

[Donegal Wolf]

Missed that bit, but if you were to say horse racing in the US was cruel and horses treated terribly I would agree with you.

Which is why numbers attending and betting over there are going through the floor.
They know something has to be done so they have started to try and put it right.

 

[Tony Towner]

Ultimately it comes down to one thing, which is your attitude to the fact that so far this year 64 horses have died on UK tracks.

Nobody likes that it just depends on how accepting your are of it against the wider good that racing offers

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

European, a few years old, biased but still valid:

http://faace.co.uk/horse_racing.html

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

Ultimately it comes down to one thing, which is your attitude to the fact that so far this year 64 horses have died on UK tracks.

Nobody likes that it just depends on how accepting your are of it against the wider good that racing offers

You are right TT. Some people focus on one side of the argument, some on the other. Neither side should pretend that the other side does not exist. It may come down to how we see the role of mankind on this planet.

 

[Johnny75]

Ultimately it comes down to one thing, which is your attitude to the fact that so far this year 64 horses have died on UK tracks.

Nobody likes that it just depends on how accepting your are of it against the wider good that racing offers

How many horses have raced?

 

[Tony Towner]

I neither have the answer or see the relevance

 

[darlowolf64]

How many horses have raced?

There have been 347 meetings this year so if there have been an average of 6 races per meeting and 6 horses per race that means 2,082 horses have run in 3 and a bit months

(I plucked the "average" out of thin air)

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

And don't forget the horses who die off the racetrack. Whose life ends when their race-worthiness ends.