[Archived] Ugh

[Hasta]

This really is ugh.

You're bang on , it is really urrgh. However it's urgh because of a shockingly biased and uninformed piece of journalism. As someone who loves racing as much as footy, and has several friends who work within the racing industry, I didn't get upset. I just laughed out loud at the stupidity of the article.

To start with she makes her intention clear with the line "Having fought my way to the Red Rum bar to buy some water, I find there is none on offer, and nothing to eat either, merely booze, booze and more booze." Anyone whose been to any race meeting knows full well that it doesn't take much doing to buy either water or food relatively quickly. Aintree is no exception. However that early sentance is just setting the mood for impressionable readers for what is to follow.

The rest of the article is half truths and untruths. I can't be arsed going through it point by point but just to highlight a few.

Whenever a horse falls, turning cartwheels, crashing on to its neck - and it happens often, only 15 horses will complete the course - the crowd around me cheers.

That's b*****ks. Firstly it implies that every horse that falls cartwheels, twists and lands on it's neck. Secondly no-one cheers when a horse falls. Some groans due to lost cash maybe but no cheers. In 10 years of going racing regularly there have been some instances when idiots cheer if a horse falls at the last to hand the horse they have backed the race but they're few and far between.

I found out that McKelvey had competed in only two hurdle races since his injury last year, in which he had shown no ability.

McKelvey was indeed returning from injury. He was much better over fences but campaigned over hurdles in order to preserve his handicap mark - a tactic often used. Hedgehunter was campaigned similarly prior to winning the race in 2005. Until the National weights were announced Hedgehunter was doing very little in hurdles. On McKelveys comeback race he ran up with the pace and had every chance until 3 hurdles out in a £16,000 class 2 handicap. A horse that retained no ability would surely have just been tailed off and pulled up. Regardless, McKelvey didn't fall at Aintree. He slithered on his belly after landing,unseated his rider, ran loose and collided with some off track barriers.

As a side note, McKelveys back was not broken in the series of pictures in the Daily Mail article. He got up and ran around for quite a while. In fact looking at the pictures, he also doesnt look to be cartwheeling and falling on his neck does he? Wonder if the crowd was cheering?

Horses die in racing. It's a fact. However, 99% of the thoroughbreds involved are born only because of the racing industry. They wouldn't exist were it not for racing. Regardless of the article, the majority are looked after very well indeed. Most trainers,owners and stable staff do think highly of the animals. They are healthy, excersised and well fed. It is in neither the owners, trainers nor the horses interest to mistreat the animal. The return is that they race on average 50 times in their life. If they were not to be asked to do this then they wouldn't exist. Many survive, some unfortunately don't. Horses are fragile creatures. Some horses in training die by fracturing legs on the gallops at home or when turned out in fields. I would suggest there are hundreds if not thousands of horses unrelated to racing that are malnutritioned and stuck outside in a field somewhere with no care or shelter. Which is more cruel?

On a final point, I agree that more needs to be done to look after horses after they leave racing. I regularly donate money to Greatwood mentioned in the article. That is one area of the sport that needs improving greatly. However it is not a reason to ban racing which, regardless of what Animal Aid say, is their main aim. Something which the RSPCA disagree with them on.