Is American horse racing on its last legs? - Speedway Digest

By Marty Irby, executive director, Animal Wellness Action

American horse racing might be nearing the finish line. However much interest and enthusiasm the running of the 148th Kentucky Derby in Louisville kicks up on Saturday, it won’t matter if the sport doesn’t clean up its act. Horse racing needs to end doping, whipping and sending horses to slaughter if it wants to avoid the fate of greyhound racing — which will soon cease to exist.

Three decades ago, there weredozens of greyhound tracks. But since then, concerns about how the dogs were treated as well as competition for gambling dollars have led to their decline, helped along by legislation pushed by my organization tooutlaw greyhound gamblingin its major hub. By the end of this year, there will be just two tracks left in the country.

Horse racing has faced some similar threats, as well as major scandals. In recent years it’s seen theindictmentof more than two dozen trainers, veterinarians and others for “juicing” horses; thedisqualificationof the last twoDerby winners, one connected to drugs; and thepremature deathof Medina Spirit (the 2021 Kentucky Derby winner disqualified for doping) who then dropped dead on the track from a cardiac event in December. In 2020, a scathing editorial in The Washington Post declared that the pastime as a whole was done for in an editorial titled “Horse Racing Has Outlived Its Time.”

To its credit, leaders in the horse racing industry are finally recognizing that inattention to the equine athletes at the center of the enterprise is a losing proposition. This year’s Kentucky Derby has seen a host of reforms that, coupled with new national legislation, might just salvage the sport.59

Churchill Downs Inc., the parent company that operates the Derby, hasbanned the use of horse racing’s most addictive drug, Lasix. The diuretic, often misused to enhance performance, makes horses run faster by sheddingup to 50 poundsof their water weight just before the race.

Click here to read the rest of the story from NBC THINK.

Marty Irby is a former eight-time world champion equestrian who currently serves as the executive director at Animal Wellness Action in Washington, D.C., and wasrecently honored by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II for his work to protect horses.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.