THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 14, 1996 TAG: 9609130012
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 24 lines
Horse racing is not now - nor has it ever been - ``something wonderful,'' as editorial writer Kerry Dougherty claims (``Racing: It's not about horses,'' Aug.31).
Centuries of selective breeding have created a racehorse that is, according to racing columnist Bill Finley, ``a genetic mistake. It runs too fast, its frame is too large, and its legs are far too small.''
Racing insiders haven't helped the situation. For example, trainers have turned racehorses into junkies by pumping them full of drugs like Lasix and Bute, which allow them to race with injuries that would normally be too painful to run on. As a result, compounded injuries and chronic lameness are common.
When horses repeatedly fail to win races, they are sold to slaughterhouses to be made into dog food or glue. Unfortunately, this is the fate of the majority of racehorses.
DENISE JOLANDER
Virginia Beach, Sept. 9, 1996 by CNB