Horse racing still great despite tragedies

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Belmont Stakes

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Filly wins Preakness thriller
Rachel Alexandra holds off Derby winner Mine That Bird to become first female to win race since 1924.

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Preakness Overhead Cam
May 16: Watch Rachel Alexandra hold off Mine That Bird on the overhead cam.

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But on those rare occasions when I attempt to express my conflicted thoughts, it goes something like this:

Racing is a sport that is played out on a Shakespearean scale: It has triumphs that take you higher than any other sport I’ve ever experienced, and tragedies that can just as quickly drop you into a deep reservoir of sorrow.

In addition to the obvious highs and lows, it is a wonderfully complex sport filled with twisting, turning plots that aren’t always obvious to outsiders.

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Though many pure fans are happy to spend a day at the racetrack without ever making a wager, for me the gambling aspect is an important part of the ride. It makes me a participant in the continually shifting drama being played out in nine, 10, 11 or 12 acts on any given day.

I don’t go to the track hoping I’ll be able to witness a horrific accident — an accusation that horse racing fans ironically level at their motor sports counterparts — but I’ve been forced to accept that the possibility is always there.

One of the reasons I’ve been able to come to terms with that is that racehorses love to run. You can see the evidence clearly every day at the racetrack or by visiting a thoroughbred farm and watching them gamboling in their pastures.

Unfortunately, their pattern of evolution — helped along by human breeders — has turned them into fast but very fragile animals capable of hurting themselves in the blink of an eye. It happens every day, both at the track and on the farm, sometimes with tragic results.

The only way to keep these amazing athletes completely safe would be to immobilize them in a heavily padded room, which to my mind would be a far crueler fate than the one that might await them at the racetrack.

That said, I believe fans and participants in the sport have a responsibility to help take care of the athletes that, as trainer Ron McAnally said after Go for Wand’s horrible Breeders’ Cup breakdown, “give their lives for our entertainment.”

There are a number of charitable organizations that help find new lives for thoroughbreds after their racing days are over, and are always in need of financial support. The Blood-Horse magazine has an excellent online search tool that allows would-be contributors to find organizations near them at http://retirement.bloodhorse.com/.

I’m going to make a contribution to my local organization in Barbaro’s name, and I urge all other passionate racing fans to join me.

It’s the very least we can do.

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