Some of those horses I recall being heart attacks. Those should not count at all.
Definitely it was so here at Laurel.
Of course, some blame the horses themselves…breeding for weakness.
I however don’t fully buy that, seeing as American horses are heavy in the genetics of much-vaunted European racers, and often were the top Euro horses themselves.
I think it’s more lack of conditioning, treating them like babies and reducing schedules, then when they do - pop. The soft leftist PETA mindset of don’t make the animal do anything leads to more easy injury, I think. Compare horses 100 years ago to today…look at the schedules. Weak compared to back then.
I haven’t watched a race since Barbaro went down at the Kentucky Derby. His owners did all they could to save his life, but best vets couldn’t get that leg to heal.
Just re-connected with old high school friend who now lives in Louisville. He emailed me to be sure to watch this year. I did watch the run, exciting. But I understand that several horses died in training.
The two men who owned the company I worked for, put their unsuccessful race horses “out to pasture”. And then an investigation was done, revealing that those poor horses died “suddenly,” by electrocution. Vicious “sport”.