Young horses quick, but increasingly fragile; breeding "at a crisis state" says industry expert

Every year, the Preakness Stakes not only attracts some of the best 3-year-old colts in training, but also a massive throng of enthusiastic horse-racing fans. Some come wearing button-down navy blazers and sip sparkling water in the comfortable clubhouse, while others dress in old T-shirts, guzzle Budweiser and fling Frisbees in the sunny infield, as rock-n-roll plays on.

At last year's Preakness Stakes, a record crowd of 121,263 watched as Curlin bested Kentucky Derby-winner Street Sense by a head. This year, Big Brown could be the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, and a huge crowd is expected at Pimlico to see if he can take the second jewel.

Of course, people who have never heard of Big Brown will attend for the social atmosphere, and the grizzled horseplayers will be there because they always are -- that's just what they do.

However, another group has also circled Preakness Day on its calendar. This group is just as enthusiastic as the others, yet they're not coming to Pimlico because they love horse racing, but because they hate it.

And they want it to end.

PETA is planning to picket the May 17 Preakness Stakes but, ironically, the protest might do more to pressure Thoroughbred racing into saving itself than to end the sport. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says that when Eight Belles shattered both ankles and died on the racetrack at the Kentucky Derby, it was a reminder that horses are being exploited and abused.

Eight Belles death came two years after 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was injured in the Preakness. Barbaro struggled to recover for months, but was also euthanized.

PETA says horses are raced too early, the hard dirt tracks are dangerous to joints, and that jockeys whip the horses too hard.

"In pursuit of cash and industry prizes and hefty stud fees, some trainers and owners run horses too young, dose them with large quantities of drugs, order jockeys to whip them mercilessly, race horses when they're exhausted and lame, and sell them for slaughter when they can no longer turn a profit," said a release on the PETA website entitled "Drugged, whipped and run to death. A call for Congressional hearings."

On the PETA website, folks are asked click a button to add their names to a petition headed to Congress. PETA, a group which believes animals deserve to live free from suffering and exploitation, goes so far as demanding an end to horse racing. But also lists less drastic requests such as banning whips and mandating that tracks install synthetic surfaces, which are believed to be kinder to horse's bones and joints.

Industry insiders acknowledge that Thoroughbreds are much more fragile today than they were decades ago. And some experts fear that, unless breeding tendencies change, injury problems might get to the point where horses won't run much more than once a year. They point to a study which shows that, in 1960, the average racehorse in the United States made 11.3 starts a year, but today they only run 6.3 times.

"We are at a crisis state," said Churchill Downs veterinarian and equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage to the the Wall Street Journal. "The soundness of the horses has completely gone out the window because we don't reward it anymore. Pretty soon we won't have any animals that can go more than one race."

Two main reasons for unsound horses are that, decades ago, breeders raced the horses they produced, so they had an interest in breeding durable runners, said columnist Andrew Beyer in the Daily Racing Form. But now breeders sell most of their racehorses to others. Also, during the last few decades, Thoroughbred racing expanded the use of medication, some of which is banned in other countries.

"They allow infirm horses to achieve success, go to stud and pass on their infirmities to the next generation," Beyer wrote.

These days, horses are bred for brilliant speed, so owners can get quick returns in 2-year-old or 3-year-old races. And one of the most prolific breeding lines is that of Native Dancer, a champion in the 1950's. Native Dancer produces horses with heavy muscling that can overwhelm the ankles and feet, said Anne Peters, the matings advisor for Three Chimneys Farm, which bred Eight Belles.

Native Dancer himself had leg problems that ended his career.

"Many of the family's descendants tend to pass on unsoundness," Peters told the Wall Street Journal.

Horse racing's problems have grown partly because it has not had an outspoken critic to pressure change, said the Humane Society's President Wayne Pacelle.

"It's time for the Thoroughbred industry to deal with its problems," said Pacelle to the Blood Horse magazine.

Racing leaders recognize that the high-profile injuries to Eight Belles and Barbaro have caused people to turn against the sport. And they seem motivated to find solutions. Greg Means of the Alpine Group, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s lobbyist in Washington, D.C., said that the horse racing industry will not ignore the concerns of special-interest groups like PETA and the Humane Society, which have millions of constituents.

“I think they have to be taken seriously in the climate that is Washington, D.C.,” Means told the Blood Horse.

Breeding and medication issues cannot be solved anytime soon, but on May 8 the Jockey Club formed a Thoroughbred Safety Committee. Seven of the club's members were chosen to review every facet of equine health -- including breeding practices, medication, the rules of racing and track surfaces. It intends to issue recommendations to be adopted by the industry that lead to horse safety.

The seven members of the committee are Stuart S. Janney III (chairman), John Barr, James G. (Jimmy) Bell, Dr. Larry Bramlage, Donald R. Dizney, Dell Hancock and Dr. Hiram C. Polk Jr. Each is a member of the Jockey Club. The committee will meet for the first time on May 14, three days before the Preakness Stakes.

“All seven of these individuals have dedicated a major part of their lives to thoroughbred breeding and racing and have shown a consistent and unwavering concern for the welfare of Thoroughbreds,” said Ogden Mills Phipps, the chairman of the Jockey Club. “We will reach out to involve others in the industry and we will do everything in our power to encourage changes that will benefit the breed in any way. We will do this in a timely manner.”