The unfortunate death of the filly Eight Belles following the 134th Kentucky Derby has sparked a debate once again about the treatment of thoroughbred horses, and the inherent dangers of the sport. Following Eight Belles injury that resulted in her being euthanized, the idiots over at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals asked for the suspension of the jockey, Gabriel Saez, revocation of the second place prize, and limits on horse racing in general.

Unfortunately, PETA, along with many of the uninformed commentators in the past 24 hours are people that just don’t understand horse racing. From the Associated Press:

PETA faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky’s racing authority claiming the filly was “doubtlessly injured before the finish” and asked that Saez be suspended while Eight Belles’ death is investigated.

“What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?” PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. “If he didn’t then we can probably blame the fact that they’re allowed to whip the horses mercilessly.”

First of all, to say that Eight Belles was “doubtlessly injured before the finish” is plain wrong and stupid. No one saw that horse injured while the race was being run, and she showed no signs of having anything wrong with her.

There is no jockey in the world that is going to continue to ride hard on a horse that he thinks may be injured. Saez is being portrayed by PETA as a merciless animal abuser and that’s completely unfair.

What PETA has done is put us all in the position where we have to choose between Saez knowingly riding an injured horse, or whipping the horse to the point that she was forced to break her ankles. They are completely ignoring all of the other aspects of this story.

Most importantly, they are ignoring the fact that the horse never lost a step during the race, and happily galloped a quarter mile after the finish line before suffering her unfortunate injury.

To say that jockeys are “allowed to whip horses mercilessly” is just factually incorrect. There are strict rules on whipping, and for the most part, it’s the sound of the whip that is sought more than the physical impact of the whip. Yes, whipping does happen, but I can say with 100 percent certainty that Eight Belles was not whipped mercilessly, causing her ankles to break.

I’ve read all over the Internet in the past day that horse racing is cruel and that it should be banned. Most of the people demonstrate by their second sentence that they have no knowledge of the sport. Calling for the banishment of horse racing and calling it cruel is as bad as the people who call mixed-martial arts “human cockfighting” or call boxing “barbaric.” These are the cries of the ignorant that aren’t willing, or aren’t able to understand the true nature of these sports.

The folks from PETA should visit a horse racing stable, or watch more than one race before opining idiotically about a sport they’re not familiar with.

The problem with PETA jumping in here is they take away from the real issues that need to be addressed in horse racing. There is widespread corruption in the sport, both on the track and in breeding that needs to be addressed. Over-whipping is an issue, but it wasn’t in this race. Drugging is an issue, but it didn’t kill Eight Belles.

Horses in the racing industry are treated very, very well, and injuries are just an unfortunate reality in any sport. The difference is with horses, many injuries can be fatal. Whereas a football player may end his season or even his career, a horse may have to be put down for a comparable injury.

There are changes that can be made to the industry, but knowing the time and place to raise those issues is important. By calling for the suspension of Saez, PETA has lost any credibility they thought they had. Placing blame on an innocent jockey is unfair to Saez, and unfair to horse racing. All they have done is spread misinformation with the purpose of influencing the minds of people who don’t know better.

Horse racing certainly could use some changes. But horse racing is also a fantastic sport. As someone who grew up around race horses and racing stables, it is painful to listen to people who don’t understand the sport lecture those who do about how they should conduct their business.

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