Major Hit Piece on Our Sport

[clocker7]

Big whoopie.

The PETA crowd is aligned with the leftwing as another of their nutter constituencies.

It is impossible to have a rational conversation with them.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

That's why online forums like Paceadvantage.com exist, in part...so the "other side" of the story could also get a voice...and the public at large can get a more balanced view of the topics in question. But when the rebuttals amount to mere mud-slinging themselves...then the public gets even more confused, IMO.

I disagree.

IMO, a competent responsible person should look at an topic, get input from all sides, evaluate it all, and then come to a conclusion.

Regardless of whether you are a reporter or expressing an opinion, it should be backed by a balanced view of the facts. The only difference should be whether you report all the facts in a balanced way and leave it to the reader to form an opinion or report all the facts in a balanced way and then express your own opinion.

If that opinion happens to be a scathing indictment of a sport or anything else, you are free to express it, but it should be balanced.

This report came from someone that hates racing and went into the article looking for a way to put horse racing in a bad light. I don't care how many awards she's won covering other sports or how well she writes, it was a bullshit hit piece not because it contained lies, but because there was no effort at all at balance.

[Nitro]

by Sally Jenkins
Think for a moment about all of the factors that have to line up just right for a Kentucky Derby runner to be foaled and safely reach the age of 3, how unpredictably the spinning wheel of genetics must stop on just the right alignment of bone and spirit to produce a creature that can hold up while galloping at 45 mph and striking the ground with a force of 5,500 pounds per square inch, on legs shaped like a beauty contestant’s. It’s all chance. Frightening, terrifying chance.

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Columnist Sally Jenkins published an opinion piece...and several of the posters here have expressed their displeasure with the article. But I still haven't seen a sensible rebuttal to refute the "lies" that Jenkins has supposedly spewed.

How do you make sense from ignorance? By glorifying some made-up facts that the everyday lay person won’t bother to look up or consider an alternate rationale.

And how about that 2nd paragraph (above) from the editorial!? It didn’t take very long!

You mean all a KY Derby winner has to have is the correct breeding?
What happened to the proper and painstaking conditioning of the animal through workouts and trial races for as long as it takes leading up to the Derby?

Where did the force of 5,500 pounds per square inch come from?
An average thoroughbred has a single hoof that has a typical surface area of 23.75 sq inches.
23.75 sq inches x 5,500 pounds/sq. inch = 130,625 pounds if only a single hoof is in contact with the ground or 65,312 pounds if 2 hoofs are in contact with the ground at the same time.
Does anyone actually believe that this much weight is being supported by the horse’s legs as its running?

It’s NOT “all chance” by any stretch of the imagination! Any equine expert will support the FACT that the horse in and of itself (particularly the thoroughbred) is Designed to run. Calling the beauty, stamina, and fluid dynamics of a horse in full gallop “frightening” or “terrifying” is an outright Lie!
.

[castaway01]

Originally Posted by Nitro

How do you make sense from ignorance? By glorifying some made-up facts that the everyday lay person won’t bother to look up or consider an alternate rationale.

And how about that 2nd paragraph (above) from the editorial!? It didn’t take very long!

You mean all a KY Derby winner has to have is the correct breeding?
What happened to the proper and painstaking conditioning of the animal through workouts and trial races for as long as it takes leading up to the Derby?

Where did the force of 5,500 pounds per square inch come from?
An average thoroughbred has a single hoof that has a typical surface area of 23.75 sq inches.
23.75 sq inches x 5,500 pounds/sq. inch = 130,625 pounds if only a single hoof is in contact with the ground or 65,312 pounds if 2 hoofs are in contact with the ground at the same time.
Does anyone actually believe that this much weight is being supported by the horse’s legs as its running?

It’s NOT “all chance” by any stretch of the imagination! Any equine expert will support the FACT that the horse in and of itself (particularly the thoroughbred) is Designed to run. Calling the beauty, stamina, and fluid dynamics of horse in full gallop “frightening” or “terrifying” is an outright Lie!
.

What you quoted says it is "chance" a horse stays healthy considering how fast it goes and its build, not that the dynamics of the horse or whatever you said are frightening. But then your reading comprehension is right there with your veracity.

[Nitro]

Originally Posted by castaway01

What you quoted says it is "chance" a horse stays healthy considering how fast it goes and its build, not that the dynamics of the horse or whatever you said are frightening. But then your reading comprehension is right there with your veracity.

How you arrived at that conclusion from my critique of Jenkin’s 2nd paragraph only further demonstrates how obtuse your way of thinking goes. Neither I nor she mentioned anything about considering a horse’s health in relation to its speed or its build. Nice try though!

[Franco Santiago]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Whom within the industry would you consider qualified to present the "other side" in a debate against these 'one-sided hit pieces' that you rail against? Who is out there to provide the "facts"...in order to refute these "lies"? Does the industry have an acknowledged "representative" whom I am unaware of?

Todd Schrupp? LOLZZZZZZ

[Tom]

Originally Posted by thaskalos View Post
Whom within the industry would you consider qualified to present the "other side" in a debate against these 'one-sided hit pieces' that you rail against? Who is out there to provide the "facts"...in order to refute these "lies"? Does the industry have an acknowledged "representative" whom I am unaware of?

Steve Byk~!

[Zydeco]

If a horse galloped at 45 MPH as it says in the article...what would be the final time for a mile and a 1/4?

[Ocala Mike]

1:40 - absurd hypothesis, though.

[Zydeco]

Originally Posted by Ocala Mike

1:40 - absurd hypothesis, though.

Just fact checking.... didn't know horses galloped at 45MPH in races... always thought it was around 30MPH.

[cutchemist42]

Yeah in the end this is a journalist writing an opinion piece.

Right now if with the little to go on, I think it seems worse that HBO is doing a hit piece andd didnt want to listen to any counter point.

[clicknow]

One sided? 3/4 of the stuff in the article is stuff I see discussed as "problems" by people on horse racing forums, inlcuding this one, by the actual supporters/patrons of the sport.

But hey, let's blame the messenger.

[Tom]

But, WE are customers and support the game.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by clicknow

One sided? 3/4 of the stuff in the article is stuff I see discussed as "problems" by people on horse racing forums, inlcuding this one, by the actual supporters/patrons of the sport.

But hey, let's blame the messenger.

Do you understand what balance is?

If there are a hundred things wrong with the sport balance means reporting those 100 things, but also all the things that are good about it. It doesn't matter if your list of 100 are all commonly held opinions if you don't get the other side of the story.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

Do you understand what balance is?

If there are a hundred things wrong with the sport balance means reporting those 100 things, but also all the things that are good about it. It doesn't matter if your list of 100 are all commonly held opinions if you don't get the other side of the story.

How easy do you suppose it is to come up with a list of the "good things" about this game?