From: rtorres@convex.com (Randy Torres)
Subject: Re: dog-racing vs. horse-racing
Organization: CONVEX Computer Corporation, Richardson, Tx., USA
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 20:42:57 GMT
X-Disclaimer: This message was written by a user at CONVEX Computer
              Corp. The opinions expressed are those of the user and
              not necessarily those of CONVEX.

emm@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (ellen.m.mcsorley) writes:

>Not to be starting a non-dog thread here, but...

>Yes, horse racing is just as bad for the animals as
>dog racing.  People buy "thoroughbred" horses and 
>see nothing but $$$ - "a RACE horse!  We'll win BIG!
>and then stud fees - WOW - MILLIONAIRES!"  Pretty much
>the same as people asking me "oh, you have a pure bred
>dog - are you going to breed her and make some money?"
>It's just ignorance, plain and simple.
This is true, there is not much money in horse racing.  The rich usually 
just do it for the fun of it.

>I have friends who have rescued "retired" race horses
>(i.e. the horse lost lots of money for it's owner and
>was sent to auction to be sold for dog food for about $50.)
I am from South Florida and very much involved in the horse seen then.
Yes horses do get sold off to dog food houses which is gross.  VERY
gross.

>Often these owners of "race" horses really don't know how
>bad off their horses are.  They spend a bundle on a horse,
>send it to a trainer, send it to a track, pay for minimum
>care, and don't realize the horse never leaves its stall,
>has the stall cleaned once a week, maybe, and gets very
>minimum food.  If the horse is "slow" it's kept hopped up
>on drugs so it will run - a hopped up horse left in a stall
>is not a pretty sight.  Usually such an animal would need
>extra food to burn off and they don't get it.  A friend of mine
>just rescued a horse which was more than 200 lbs. UNDER weight.
NOW I have to differ.  I do not know where these horses are being 
raced in, but in Gulfstream, Coulter, Flamingo (The three top
south florida tracks) the horses get taken care of very well.  Lets face it,
if your horse is not in tip top shape, they will LOOSE.  People realize
this and keep there horse in top shape.  Any oppurtunity I get to get a 
horse off the track is great.  These off the track horses are so tuff that
they make great three day eventers, open jumpers, hunters, and dressage.
I do not know what track your friend is dealing with but this does not
happen in South Florida, Kentucky.

>Most horse racing tracks around here in New Jersey are old
>established tracks (monmouth, freehold, atlantic city) and
>do bring in a LOT of money for the surrounding area.  You'd
>never get them shut down.  They even race on Sunday now - I
>pity the people who live in the area and have to deal with
>the traffic all weekend.
So what is the problem with traffic.  I have to deal with it every morning
when I go to work.  What about the football games, baseball games, boat
shows, boxing, etc.  All bring traffic.

>There is always the other side of the coin where you have an
>established racing stable, with healthy clean horses, who are
>bred carefully (you think dog pedigrees are complicated?) and
>live at "home" when they are not running.  If a horse doesn't
>work out as a racer, it is worked with and privately sold as
>a pleasure horse.
This is what I am use to.

>It sometimes looks to me like horses are even more disposable
>than dogs or cats.  You can almost always sell a horse, even if
>it's at the horse auction and it goes to Alpo for $.50 a pound.
>People don't see horses as "pets" as much as they do cats and
>dogs (except for my friends who make edible Christmas wreaths
>for their horses out of hay and carrot tops!)
Don't say that too loud around the people I hang out with.  There horses
would be in the house if they fit.

>Yeah, it's an unfair business to the animals either way.
I know.