HBOs "Raced to Death" is tonight....anyone watching?

[PaceAdvantage]

My family particularly enjoyed the points in the piece where they would show horses being shot in the head with bolts and hung up still alive while their throats were slit, slashed, and carved like a Thanksgiving turkey...

Definitely a fair and balanced piece of reporting ...as if they verified the horses being shown in the slaughterhouse were actually former t-bred racehorses...I'm sure some, if not most, were NOT. But that doesn't matter.

[jay68802]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

My family particularly enjoyed the points in the piece where they would show horses being shot in the head with bolts and hung up still alive while their throats were slit, slashed, and carved like a Thanksgiving turkey...

Definitely a fair and balanced piece of reporting ...as if they verified the horses being shown in the slaughterhouse were actually former t-bred racehorses...I'm sure some, if not most, were NOT. But that doesn't matter.

I am shocked, that you would question that they verified their story. Journalist in this country are held to very high standards when it comes to verifying facts that support their story. The major news outlets spend millions of dollars doing this. I am still in mourning over the passing of that supreme court justice.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

My family particularly enjoyed the points in the piece where they would show horses being shot in the head with bolts and hung up still alive while their throats were slit, slashed, and carved like a Thanksgiving turkey...

Definitely a fair and balanced piece of reporting ...as if they verified the horses being shown in the slaughterhouse were actually former t-bred racehorses...I'm sure some, if not most, were NOT. But that doesn't matter.

And if they had reported that only HALF of the horses in the slaughterhouse were former t-bred racers...would that have softened the blow to the viewing audience? The game has acted irresponsibly for many years now...and the "positive stories" are few and far between. When the negative far outweighs the positive, then we can't blame just the media for these one-sided stories. We have to place the bulk of the blame where it rightly belongs...on the shoulders of those who control this game, and who, oddly enough, seem determined to run it into the ground.

Here's the main point in a nutshell, from what I see:

If this game is really a "sport", as the horse racing industry wants it to be...then the racehorses are the truest athletes in this sport. And the sports media isn't going to be kind to a sport whose "athletes" routinely end up in a slaughterhouse once their racing careers are over. When it suits the horse racing industry...then these horses are portrayed as majestic and courageous "equine athletes". But when these poor horses eventually outlive their usefulness...then they are lined up and shipped to faraway meat processing plants, as if they were a herd of farm animals. And the racing industry either doesn't care at all...or doesn't care enough to come up with an answer to this obvious tragedy. If there is a reasonable "other side" to this lamentable scenario, then I too would love to hear it...if someone from this "other side" ever works up the courage to present it. But...those on the "other side" are probably just sitting there...too scared to even answer their ringing phones.

[Mulerider]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

My family particularly enjoyed the points in the piece where they would show horses being shot in the head with bolts and hung up still alive while their throats were slit, slashed, and carved like a Thanksgiving turkey...

Could have been worse. At least we were spared the horror of the Mexican puntilla knife method.

[SG4]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

I don't think they've EVER run a positive piece on racing. It's always been negative. Somebody there (Gumbel or Goldberg) has it in for racing, and always has, for whatever reason.

I hope I'm wrong and they have run positive pieces in the past and I just missed them.

I don't think the show necessarily has it in for racing, they have been relentless on organizations like the NFL, NCAA & IOC, it's just the nature of their style to sink their teeth in where they see problems & keep harping on it til they see positive change. Unfortunately racing has an array of issues to choose from, and they are there to present these stories, always around the triple crown season it seems.



I think it's worth noting that the show hopefully won't be completely biased against racing considering one of their contributors, Soledad O'Brien, was the first keynote speaker at Equestricon, so I'd like to think there's at least one positive voice in the room.

[Fager Fan]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

And if they had reported that only HALF of the horses in the slaughterhouse were former t-bred racers...would that have softened the blow to the viewing audience? The game has acted irresponsibly for many years now...and the "positive stories" are few and far between. When the negative far outweighs the positive, then we can't blame just the media for these one-sided stories. We have to place the bulk of the blame where it rightly belongs...on the shoulders of those who control this game, and who, oddly enough, seem determined to run it into the ground.

Here's the main point in a nutshell, from what I see:

If this game is really a "sport", as the horse racing industry wants it to be...then the racehorses are the truest athletes in this sport. And the sports media isn't going to be kind to a sport whose "athletes" routinely end up in a slaughterhouse once their racing careers are over. When it suits the horse racing industry...then these horses are portrayed as majestic and courageous "equine athletes". But when these poor horses eventually outlive their usefulness...then they are lined up and shipped to faraway meat processing plants, as if they were a herd of farm animals. And the racing industry either doesn't care at all...or doesn't care enough to come up with an answer to this obvious tragedy. If there is a reasonable "other side" to this lamentable scenario, then I too would love to hear it...if someone from this "other side" ever works up the courage to present it. But...those on the "other side" are probably just sitting there...too scared to even answer their ringing phones.

I agree with all this, just wanted to point out that Tbs account for 8-10% of horses going to slaughter. 0% is the appropriate percentage, but it’s at least a positive that despite being 2nd in breeding (behind QHs), the percentage isxwuite a bit lower.

Most who do end up there are the lowly breds owned by the lowest horsemen (and I’m using that term loosely), who have run them into the ground. And then they’re happy to take a few hundred bucks as a final spitting on the horse on whom’s back they made their living.

[stlseeeek]

Didn't HBO do the documentary on Sellers, rosier, and i forgot the other jockey.


If you ever went to the Old Fairgrounds web site, before churchill downs took over, they would have a tidbit about jocks, trainers,etc.

Every Jockey, their greatest accomplishment was beating drugs and/or alcohol. Was kind of shocked that it was every jockeys demon.

[cutchemist42]

Originally Posted by Fager Fan

I agree with all this, just wanted to point out that Tbs account for 8-10% of horses going to slaughter. 0% is the appropriate percentage, but it’s at least a positive that despite being 2nd in breeding (behind QHs), the percentage isxwuite a bit lower.

Most who do end up there are the lowly breds owned by the lowest horsemen (and I’m using that term loosely), who have run them into the ground. And then they’re happy to take a few hundred bucks as a final spitting on the horse on whom’s back they made their living.

Alex Brown the former exercise rider turned advocate has once said something similar to this. The worst slaughter problems come from the tracks that frankly dont have wealth connected to them.

I mean, Hong Kong is not letting Joe Blow round up $5,00 to jokingly buy a horse to race for a year for shits n giggles. He frankly thinks racing should go back to what the model is in Europe, a playground for the wealthy where the crowds dont come simply because its a gambling game.

I mean, when I see old pictures of packed Suffolk Downs with 40,000 when a $2 min bet was actually $40 today, I doubt that all 40,000 were there for gambling as I hear repeatedey its not this way in other parts of the world.

[Flashbackdiner]

I watched and was not surprised as to what goes on in the horse race industry. They talk about the thousands of horses being slaughtered every year as if they are the only animal that goes through this. Why not bring up the millions and millions of animals who are bred each year only to end up as a Big Mac. A women protester in the segment held a sign reading “ You bet they die”....yes and we eat and they die as well. Horse racing deaths is teenie tiny compared to the overall slaughter of animals in this country. I will agree that drugging up horses needs to stop in this country and stricter regulations are in place.