Will Barbaro Become A Poster Boy Against Animal Abuse?
A new Triple Crown entry named Bernardini went away to steal the Preakness Stakes victory last Saturday. But even with that kind of feat, he’s still not the most talked about horse in town.
In fact, the limelight remained and never left the favorite Barbaro who was pulled out of the race after suffering a near-fatal injury. If not for the presence of mind of his jockey, Edgar Prado, yes he could have met his creator in equine heaven more sooner than we think.
The colt underwent almost seven hours of surgery. 
In news releases the surgeon who operated on him declared he’s never worked on so many catastrophic injuries to one horse.
In fact no. 2, if he was a less patronized horse with that kind of injury, he would have been euthanized right there and then because it would be very unlikely he will survive long.
But Barbaro is an important horse. Horse racing fans evidently love him, and his owners too apparently because he’s getting all the proper care even humans rarely get.
However, it’s also true that keeping him alive is about money. As one cynical observer declares: the hope is that he can be saved because horses like him are worth at least $100,000 a "load" – a load of sperm that is…
And he’s not alone in that sentiment. In fact no. 3, Barbaro’s misfortune created an outcry among pro-animal groups. Then people who may not have had any interest in horse racing before are now scrutinizing the alleged abuses being forced into these race horses:
"People who say that they love horse racing because they really love the animals is kinda like saying, “Yeah, I really love kids. That’s why I kidnap so many of them and stuff them in my closet.” It makes sense to me that if people really loved horses, they’d hate an activity that was so cruel to them." [The Mighty MJD]
"I know a great many people who get a lot of enjoyment out of this "sport," but enough already. This is a live animal, not an Indy car. Horses are not treated like living beings in this "sport" — they are bred eugenically, cleaving their bloodlines ever thinner through a century of inbreeding until they are mere knife-like assemblages of muscle tissue with no hardiness." [AmericanCaesar Salad]
"In fact, that’s the only reason people are keeping him around…For the sex. [rantcharlotte]
What do I think? Well, it’s never right to use animals for human amusement, especially the smaller creatures. But what does a self-righteous bitch like me knows, right? Yes, I can read your minds.
The thing that’s giving me the most creeps, though, is I’m almost expecting Pamela Anderson to appear anytime now jumping and dancing to the tune of "I told you so…" a la Will & Grace.
Her mighty boobs bouncing and all.
Revisit: Pamela Anderson Is Boycotting Kentucky Derby…Yaaaaawnn!
[Ed note: There's no Triple Crown yet again this year, but that won't take away all the fun. All HorseRacing is giving red-blooded horse bettors FREE Belmont Stakes Bet!]
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May 25th, 2006 at 10:28 am
Oh, I wish I’d had no interest in horse racing before this — it’s my goddamn day job, after all.
August 3rd, 2006 at 12:01 am
The problem with the notion of them keeping Barbaro around for the money that would be made on the stud farm is this: Thoroughbred race horses are not allowed to be bred using Artificial Insemination. They must be bred naturally or the foal cannot be registered- of course people get around those kinds of things, but it would not be without so much blackmail opportunity that it could be fathomably worth it. Even if it had not been such a catastrophic break down, in a REAR leg nonetheless (which would be supporting a huge amount of weight in the breeding process), the subsequent onslaught of laminitis in his good leg pretty much renders him a lawn ornament.
It is funny- I work at a museum dedicated to the KY Derby and we have people coming in asking about him, but they completely butcher the pronounciation of his name so that it is not unimaginable that they probably did not even watch the Derby at all. I had someone tell me that they had “just fallen in love with him”, and that he “Had such heart.” – He was a race horse, albeit a great one while he was running, and he was injured…True, he does have to be a trooper to have been able to stick through the recovery like this, but how does one go about telling those people it is not because they signed a Get Well card and sent him a bucket full of “horse toys”? People just want some kind of stir so as to be able to commiserate with all the other couch monkeys out there so they’ll have something to talk about when they run out of gossip about the neighbors.
January 29th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
I think this type of stuff has always been wrong. Why do humans try and apply self conciousness to animals. Barbaro is not a trooper, set him in a field in the wild and see if he comes back to be what people call a trooper. Humans make me ashamed to be part of this world. Animals dont race and were not made to be bet on! Or judged for monetary rewards! All i can hope is that each one of the people that participate in cruelty and betting on animals will come back to eart to experience the same fate they cast upon so many.