Not really, but horses are like dogs...really, really expensive dogs with investors in many cases. There's the affection for a beloved performing pet and a terrible loss of an asset. Two different ends of the spectrum in sentiment, assuredly, but large concerns at both ends.
There's a huge amount of investment in emotion and dollars to raise a horse and train him for this sport. It's simply crushing to have it end this way.
No way does a horse equal a man, but there is way more emotional investment in a horse than the average livestock.
You know, I hate to make this prophetic analogy, however, the only female in the race, Eight Belles comes in second (like Hillary will?), and Big Brown wins (like Obama, who is neither black nor white, but appears brown?). Weird, if you ask me.