Last updated 05/08
Update: I will keep this list updated as the suggestions and ideas roll in. All new items are tagged new, dated and attributed to contributor.
I never want to be one of those loud mouth people who complains without making suggestions. In part I thank art school for that. In “crit” classes (critiques - you show your work and discuss it with your fellow students) you’re never allowed to say that you either like or don’t like something without discussing why (at least if your professor is on the ball).
The hardest part of any situation that produces hurt, anger and/or frustration is not being able to unequivocally say “it happened because of X”, “it’s X’s fault”.
When the fault is obvious you have a clear cut place to channel that anger, hurt and/or frustration… or at the very least, a starting to point to understand why it even happened!
What happened in the Derby is a very sad symptom of a lot of complex and interwoven issues. As the media coverage escalates and the “activists” call for our heads, I think it’s our duty to make suggestions about how to proceed. It’s hard, for me at least, to defend our sport (that I love) by saying that we have installed some synthetic tracks. Why? We need to do more, a LOT more.
So here are my ideas. They’re meant to start a discussion that includes gathering more ideas and suggestions, refining these and tying to figure out how to make them actionable. None of these are original ideas and certainly have been discussed elsewhere, but this is meant to compile them into one big list.
Keep 2 things in mind 1) these are ideas, not decrees and 2) that I created this list throughout the day (i.e., haven’t been laboring over it), so consider it a draft or a “brain dump” (one of my most hated corporate expressions, right up there with “bio break”… ). Also, the order is random.
Enough with the caveats, here’s the list…
Collect data on all break downs to determine:
- age, sex, equipment, connections, breeder, race type (general information)
- lineage (any developing patterns in breeding)
- surface type & condition (was the track sealed?, synth, dirt, grass, etc - do tracks keep maintenance records?)
- necropsy (condition that could have been foreseen with a certain exam?)
- New: information should be a publicly accessible database, not just for breeders but for everyone (dana - added 05/06)
- New: convene panel of equine vets to determine parameters for acceptable proportions of height, weight and leg circumference (Aelinie - added 05/08)
Also, let’s find out what other countries are collecting and learning.
Ban whipping
- “most horses will give you everything they have without the whip” - Jerry Baily
- “I think we should do away with whips completely” - Randy Moss
- “…usually the horses that want to run don’t have to be whipped” - Jim Squires
- “Our sport looks to newcomers like a bunch of people beating horses with sticks” - comment at GbG
Ban drugging, period
- Race days meds
- Ban steroids (test before sales)
Create serious consequences
Not only for trainers but for owners and vets - when everyone is on the on the line there is more pressure to adhere. Consequences should also exist across jurisdictions.
Stop over sealing tracks
Create national standards for track maintenance and fine when track conditions are found to be unsafe with bigger fines when horses are injured because of it.
Breeding
- Reduce number of mares covered to a reasonable annual amount - New: 75 - (Cyd - added 05/08)
- Compile data from at least the past 5 years on all recorded breakdowns to find sire patterns (use the first bullet point under “collect data”)
- New: penalties for rushing off to stud - (Superfecta - added 05/06)
- New: stop breeding unraced horses - (Superfecta - added 05/06)
- New: Jockey Club could refuse to register the offspring of stallions who couldn’t at least make a minimal number of starts (Jen R - added 05/08)
Racing Ages
- Do away with 2yo racing and race them longer
- Create race conditions that do not allow horses with sires under 5
- New: Only race 2yo at the end of the year and only on turf - (Katie - added 05/06)
- New: 2yo under saddle sales end - (Katie - added 05/06)
- New: cutting back the distance of 2yo races - (Jen R - added -5/08)
Derby
- Limit the field to 14-16 horses
- Change the graded earnings structure to favor more appropriate horses
BC
- Don’t let Derby aged horses run in the Classic / “Distaff” (as an incentive to keep them running longer)
Educate “consumers”
- Why do people routinely buy horses out of unsound sires?
- Why are unsound horses rushed off the track to breeding career?
- Minimize “demand” through education
- New: make data from breakdowns (mentioned above) publicly accessible so people can do their own research (dana - added 05/06)
Bone Scans
- New: Some sort of sanctioned bone-scanning process before every horse’s next race? Kind of like a sobriety test—you don’t pass the exam, you’re scratched - (Ernie - added 05/05)
Progress
- New: What I would like to see most of all, however, is some progress - (Nick - added 05/06)
- New: Some of these things can be done more quickly than others, like banning racing - set some time lines and communicate about them regularly - (dana - added 05/06)
- New: top to bottom of audit of the whole industry (Jeremy - added 05/07)
- New: National ruling body created should also include a broad cross section of interested parties (Joan - added 05/08)
And lifetime bans for crap like this.
I think the NTRA (Hi Alex!) should create a task force charged with taking a serious look at how to make racing more safe that addresses issues across the board create a national ruling body with the authority to make and enforces changes. Not just synthetic surfaces but looking at all of the above, and possibly more, to see how each thing contributes and what can be done to address it. It’s daunting, but it would be a start. [New]
That’s what I think, what do you think? And I don’t want to hear “you’ll never be able to” or “no one would ever”…
Posted by dana on May 05 2008
Filed Under: Randy Moss, 2008, Industry, Greed, Drugs, Breeding, Research, Racing
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