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knee-jerk reaction that puts us on guard— looks too much like guilt to the general public. While we whine about misleading prose and unscientific data, the general public just wants answers to their questions: Why is the racing industry killing horses, and what are you doing about it?
Within the week, the horse racing industry started to respond. New Mexico took the brunt of the
Times’ scrutiny, and New
Mexico Racing Commission (NMRC) Executive
Director Vince Mares has been vocal with his answers, telling the Capitol Report
that while he questions the Times’ statistics, he thinks there is definitely a state- wide problem that needs to be addressed.
highest of any horse track, at nearly 7,000 feet.) Ruidoso Downs’ statement continues: “There are a great many factors other than racing sur- face that come into play as well in determining the health and welfare of equine athletes. With that in mind, Ruidoso Downs Race Track
led the charge this year at the New Mexico Racing Commission, which recently
resulted in the elimination of clenbuterol as an accepted drug for horses racing in New Mexico. Ruidoso
Downs makes every effort to present a safe racing environment and is grateful that injuries
have been limited.” Outside of New
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 break- downs. We’ve been down this path before. Race-day medications...breakdowns...doping... it’s nothing we haven’t discussed at great length numerous times. This time, however, the whole world is watching.
Yes, I knew the article was going to be bad. But what I didn’t realize at the time is that it could also be good...very good.
We, as an industry, have a chance to do the right thing. We have a chance to finally address and develop a proper response to the misuse of drugs and the part drugs play in horses dying. We have a chance to prove our commitment
to the horses by making the changes that need to be made before the government does it for us. We have a chance to admit our failures and take responsibility for our actions. We have a chance to send a clear and strong message that we do not take lightly the responsibility of car- ing for our horses and protecting our jockeys. We have a chance to show the world that we will do what it takes to prevent mangled horses and maimed jockeys.
In pondering the possible scenarios that could result from the yet-to-be seen continuation of the Times series, I was reminded of a fable I recently heard about a wise old man and a bird.
The fable goes something like this: “Once upon a time there was a wise man who lived
near a village far, far away, on top of the highest mountain. He was reported to be the wisest man from far and wide. People went to him for counsel and he was wise in his advice. But there was also
a young man who had heard about this wise man and felt he could fool him by trapping the wise man into giving incorrect information. His plan was to capture a bird and take it to the old wise man. He would hold the bird behind his back and ask, ‘Old man, what do I have in my hands?’ The young man hoped the wise man would say, ‘A bird.’ This young man would then ask, ‘But is this bird dead or alive?’ If the wise man said the bird was dead, the young man would let the bird fly away. But if the wise man said the bird was alive, the young man would crush the bird in his hands and produce a dead bird. This young man set off to find a bird and make the trek to see the wise man. After a long journey, the young man finally stood in front of him and asked, ‘Wise man, what do I have in my hands?’ The old man replied, ‘A bird.’ Excited that he was about to trap and fool the old man, the young man then asked, ‘But is this bird dead or alive?’ The wise man looked at the boy, paused a moment, and then said, ‘Son, you hold the answer in your own hands!’”
Much like that young man, the racing industry holds the answer in our own hands. The Times’ series on horse racing could be bad, but it could also be very good. The final outcome is up to us.
A press release from the NMRC states: “The focus of the article was on illegal doping, not on the accidents. Granted, the article did elaborate on the high rate of accidents in New Mexico, but it also made clear that it is the doping of horses, and the lack of enforcement of the rules that has led to these accidents.
“It’s important to remember what the real problem here is...animal abuse. These train- ers that are drugging their horses are putting everyone at risk, jockeys, the horses and most importantly the reputation of the sport. The trainers that illegally drug their horses are doing nothing short of abusing their animals. Stop the drugging, stop the accidents. And with the direction of a Commission who is committed to protecting the horses and a director who is committed to cleaning up the industry, it’s just a matter of time. When the doping stops, the accident rates will go down.”
Mares was able to report some good news from New Mexico, including the recent ban of clenbuterol for both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds and the expansion of out-of- competition testing, both of which were in the works prior to the Times’ article. Further, New Mexico has a new necropsy program to study horses that died for reasons other than catastrophic injuries.
Sunland Park was able to proudly say it is one of only 23 racetracks nationwide, and the only track in New Mexico, accredited by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Safety & Integrity Alliance. (That more racetracks are not accredited speaks volumes to the industry’s failure to live up to the voluntary reforms promised time and again.)
Ruidoso Downs President Bruce Rimbo issued a statement refuting the number of fatal injuries at the track and citing the scientific data surrounding athletic performance at
high altitudes. (The track’s elevation is the
Mexico, on March 30 The Jockey Club released an
updated version of the Reformed Racing Medication Rules that it hopes
will be adopted by state racing commissions. Most notably, the changes recommend stricter penalties for trainers with multiple drug viola- tions and reinforce The Jockey Club’s opposi- tion to race-day Lasix. Like the American Quarter Horse Association’s recent recommen- dations for clenbuterol thresholds, The Jockey Club can only recommend—not enact—the policies. While the recommendations are com- ing from a Thoroughbred entity, as we have seen first hand in the discussions surrounding clenbuterol, state racing commissions are loathe to split medication rules between the breeds. What The Jockey Club recommends and rac- ing commissions adopt, Quarter Horses will have to live by.
And on April 2, the New York State Racing & Wagering Board released two comprehen- sive and searchable databases to the public, bringing an unparalleled level of transparency to horse racing. The databases contain detailed information on every horse that has broken down, died, sustained a serious injury or been involved in an incident at a track in New York State since 2009; and a list of every fine and suspension issued by the Board to licensees for nearly three decades. In further action, New York became the second state in the country
to enact a rule that voids a claim if the claimed horse dies during that race or is euthanized on- track. California passed a similar rule last year.
Corruption. Exploitation. Epidemic. Doping. Unscrupulous.
Enforcement. Transparency. Safe. Protecting. Cleaning up.
In just under two weeks, the words used to describe horse racing in the media are chang- ing. And without a doubt, change is coming
to our industry. Whether or not the change comes voluntarily or at the hands of the federal government remains to be seen.
We, as an industry, have a chance to do the right thing.
SPEEDHORSE, April 13, 2012 23
UNDER WRAPS