depalma13
12-03-2003, 05:38 PM
I read the sluaghterhouse thread and found it very interesting, but what was very evident is that those that oppose the slaughterhouses lay the blame on the horse owner and believe that if one is willing to take the reponsibility of owning a horse then they must take that responsibility forever. I'm sorry, but it is a business and regardless of the feelings anyone has for animals it must be looked at as a business, regardless of how callous that seems.
I do have a solution, and it is one that can be adopted by those who love the sport. Simply put, those who gamble should part with a portion of their winnings, and then more than enough money would be raised to care for retired horses. If for example 5% of your winnings (that is a high end number) was taken to care for retired thoroughbreds the animals could live their lives cared for until their last days.
The gambler has just as much responsibility for the horse as the owner does. Without the gambler, their is no horse racing. The gambler needs the horse, just as badly as the owner does, yet neither wants to take the reponsibilty for caring for the animal after it's usefulness in the industry.
I challenge you to give a percentage of every ticket you cash. If the gamblers demanded this out of the horse racing industry it can become part of the automatic "take" they normally collect, only with a much better use. A board can make sure the money goes where it is supposed to. Until then, if you adamantly oppose the slaughter houses, do it yourself, don't send $20 to the horse rescue operations, send one to five percent of the tickets you cash for the year, not your profit, 1% -5% of each and every ticket you cash.
Greed is such a relative term. If a man owns a horse and it wins him a million dollar race, then he sends it to the slaughterhouse, many would call him greedy heartless owner. Yet if a million people won five dollars betting on that horse in that same race and where asked to donate a portion of those winnings immediately, how many of those people would let their own greed stand in their way?
Are you willing to make that kind of sacrafice to support those creatures that run for your entertainment, or are you just going to voice your opinion and lay blame without looking in the mirror.
For the record, my wife and I have given over $2000 to various thoroughbred and greyhound rescue organizations in the past four years. All of it coming on from a percentage of our winning tickets.
I do have a solution, and it is one that can be adopted by those who love the sport. Simply put, those who gamble should part with a portion of their winnings, and then more than enough money would be raised to care for retired horses. If for example 5% of your winnings (that is a high end number) was taken to care for retired thoroughbreds the animals could live their lives cared for until their last days.
The gambler has just as much responsibility for the horse as the owner does. Without the gambler, their is no horse racing. The gambler needs the horse, just as badly as the owner does, yet neither wants to take the reponsibilty for caring for the animal after it's usefulness in the industry.
I challenge you to give a percentage of every ticket you cash. If the gamblers demanded this out of the horse racing industry it can become part of the automatic "take" they normally collect, only with a much better use. A board can make sure the money goes where it is supposed to. Until then, if you adamantly oppose the slaughter houses, do it yourself, don't send $20 to the horse rescue operations, send one to five percent of the tickets you cash for the year, not your profit, 1% -5% of each and every ticket you cash.
Greed is such a relative term. If a man owns a horse and it wins him a million dollar race, then he sends it to the slaughterhouse, many would call him greedy heartless owner. Yet if a million people won five dollars betting on that horse in that same race and where asked to donate a portion of those winnings immediately, how many of those people would let their own greed stand in their way?
Are you willing to make that kind of sacrafice to support those creatures that run for your entertainment, or are you just going to voice your opinion and lay blame without looking in the mirror.
For the record, my wife and I have given over $2000 to various thoroughbred and greyhound rescue organizations in the past four years. All of it coming on from a percentage of our winning tickets.