Page 24 - 13 April 2012

IN OUR HANDS
Responding to the New York Times’ exposé
Since the Times article—the first in a series, by the way—horse racing has again been put on the hot seat in regards to drugs and breakdowns.
by Stacy Pigott
As soon as I saw the headline, I knew it was going to be bad. “Death and Disarray at America’s Racetracks: Mangled Horses, Maimed Jockeys.” The story hit my e-mail box on Saturday, March 24.
The next day, the Sunday print edition of the
New York Times featured the investigative article on the front page, above the fold. The New York Times
is the most circulated Sunday paper in the country, delivering 1,645,152 copies according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation. That’s 1,645,152 people who were greeted with an image of a dead racehorse on the front page of the paper that Sunday morning.
By Sunday afternoon, friends were e-mailing me the link to the article on the New York Times’ website. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal last year, the New York Times’ website is the most popu- lar American online newspaper website, receiving more than 30 million unique visitors per month.
By Monday morning, the article had “gone viral” as they say in cyberspace. It was the most e-mailed article on the Times website, where more than
480 reader comments were posted underneath the article in the first 36 hours following its release. Few defended or supported the racing industry.
On the official level, the racing industry as a collective whole was slow to respond. Associations, organizations and racetracks feverishly worked on statements to be released later in the week. On the individual level, most horsemen had a knee-jerk reac- tion to the article, immediately condemning it and quickly pointing out flaws in the data and perceived lies and exaggerations in the facts.
The federal government responded a bit more quickly. U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) released the following statement on March 26:
“The findings uncovered in The New York Times investigation about horseracing in the United States, and New Mexico in particular, paint a very disturb- ing picture of the industry.
“The sport of horseracing which, at its best, showcases the majestic beauty of this animal and the athleticism of jockeys, has reached an alarming level
of corruption and exploitation. The consequence of inconsistent state-level regulation is an epidemic of ani- mal doping that has lead to countless euthanizations of helpless horses and the injury and death of their riders.
“The Times exposé has shined a glaring light on the need for national standards in a sport that reaps gambling
profits, but has lacked proper oversight for decades. “I urge our leaders in Congress to advance the bipartisan legislation Congressman Ed Whitfield
and I have introduced in both chambers to renew the sport of horseracing and set minimum, nationwide standards for medication and doping. The Interstate Horseracing Improvement Act would kick cheat-
ers out of the sport. The horseracing industry has promised voluntary reforms for decades, but as we’ve painfully observed, our legislation is the only viable way to address doping problems plaguing the sport.
“Now is the time to end the unscrupulous practices of those trainers and track veterinarians in horseracing who abuse these magnificent animals and endanger jockeys for gambling profits.”
U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY-01) and Udall initially introduced the Interstate Horseracing Improvement Act on May 4, 2011, to end the use
of performance enhancing drugs in the sport of horseracing. The legislation’s goal is to improve the safety and integrity of the sport by amending the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978, a federal law governing horseracing. Under the bill, racetracks that provide simulcast or Internet wagering must ban performance-enhancing drugs and test the winning horse plus one additional horse from each race. The legislation also would require stiff penalties for dop- ing violations, including fines and a “three strikes you’re out” rule.
Many in the horse racing industry oppose federal regulation. But, as Udall and several turf writers have pointed out over the past few weeks, we have prom- ised voluntary reforms for years, to little or no avail.
Daily Racing Form columnist Andrew Beyer on March 26 wrote, “...even if the sport’s critics distort some aspects of the horse-safety issue, Thoroughbred racing
is facing a crisis that has been brewing since the Eight Belles tragedy. The industry is alienating large numbers of fans and potential fans who believe the sport is ruth- lessly inhumane in its treatment of animals.
“While people in racing may complain that critics distort the facts, the industry doesn’t have a good answer when those critics say that the misuse of drugs is respon- sible for killing racehorses. Until racing has a proper response to this charge, it will remain under attack.”
Beyer is right. The racing industry has never had a good and proper response to the issue of breakdowns or the issue of drugs (therapeutic or otherwise.) The defensive posture we automatically assume—that
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SPEEDHORSE, April 13, 2012
UNDER WRAPS