Just a Rant...

[Systemight]

I Consider myself a "lover" of horse racing but also of the horse too,and nothing upsets me more (or makes me feel guilty for that love),is when a horse dies,suffers, or even gets badly injured when on course.Some may say i'm too sentimental-maybe their right.  

I was at Uttoxeter today,and part of me thinks they shouldn't have raced.The ground was deep-the wind was strong and when you have 71 length winners, it makes a mockery of the word "racing" when in reality it was more like survival of the fittest.

When an obviously exhausted Emily's Choice walked past the winning post a couple of minutes after the rest had finished in the 2.45-shes was met with loud sarcastic cheers from the large crowd.Obviously i doubt these "cheers"were from your racing regulars (who understand the game),but even so it was unpalatable to hear and it's quite a common occurence nowadays.

Wouldn't it would be great to see these people try running and jumping over 2 1/2 miles in that ground, with a strong headwind (plus near 12 stone on their backs) to see if they feel like cheering then!.

As i say however i doubt these people were your racing regulars,and they were no doubt fuelled by a few glasses of the old amber nectar,so excuses can be made.

This excuse however can not be aimed at Paddy Brennan,who nearly two hours later was extremely hard on Accidental Legend when winning the 4.30.Looking around approaching the final flight-Brennan clearly had the race won, but even as the horse quickened away on the short run in(about half a furlong),Brennan still forcefully administered the persuader a couple more times, one even when in the shadow of the post.We can fully accept the need to give a slap just to make sure,but to continue to beat a horse after the race is won-in that ground-was to my eyes at least unforgiveable. 

At a time when Racing is under severe scrutiny from the animal rights campaigners,rides like this one can only but add fuel to their cause....and there was no need for it!.

[Torque]

There's a dark side to racing there's no doubt. It's sad but it's always been that way and I doubt it'll ever change sadly. That Gordon Elliott episode the other year illustrates it perfectly - horses are assets used to win races and that's what it boils down to. Everything to do with animal welfare in the industry is just window dressing as far as I can see.