By: Breck Norment, Staff Member
Our hearts race when a fleet of horses tear down
a dirt track while pounding their hooves in a rhythmic dance of speed. While many of us love horse racing, we
tend to get caught up in the madness at the tracks and forget about the welfare
of horses. But it is all too
sobering to watch a horse fall during a race, because we know how that horse’s
story will likely end. Only in
rare circumstances can injured horses survive, and many are put down before
they are removed from the racetrack.
Approximately 24 horses die each week at
American racetracks.[1] Although many unfortunate events can
lead to the injury and ultimate death of a horse during a race, the use of
various drugs during race-day could be one of the leading causes of this ever
increasing problem.[2] Some of the drugs given to horses
include a substance secreted from the skin of a frog in South America that can
numb pain and increase hyperactivity in a horse.[3] When given to a horse on race-day, this
can be a dangerous combination.
This issue of horse doping dates back to the
nineteenth century, but it has been relatively dismissed – until recently.[4] Legislators and other racing industry
figures have begun to push for some type of legislation to combat these
dangerous practices.[5]
Some of the industry’s leaders insist that
Congress has the duty to step in with federal legislation to oversee the various
types of drugs administered to horses at racetracks.[6] Senator Tom Udall from New Mexico, who
chaired the Senate Commerce Committee hearing, “proposed legislation to ban race-day
medication” at racetracks.[7] Sen. Udall expressed his concern with
the use of painkillers and other drugs on horses on race-days.[8] He explained that injured horses with
masked pain continue to “charge down the track” and endanger everything in their
path.[9]
Others argue against federal legislation because
they believe the federal government lacks the necessary “experience or
expertise in horse racing.”[10] As such, they argue that a coalition of
states should enact a uniform set of rules for horse tracks to follow.[11]
Perhaps the latter solution would be most
favorable, but further federal government action may be required if the horse
racing states cannot come to an agreement. Either way, the sport must have rules designed to avoid
these tragic deaths.
[1] Walt Bogdanich, Joe Drape, Dara L.
Miles, & Griffin Palmer, Death and
Disarray at America’s Racetracks - Mangled Horses, Maimed Jockeys, New York Times (March 24, 2012), http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/us/death-and-disarray-at-americas-racetracks.html?pagewanted=all.
[2] Id.
[3] Eliana Dockterman, Frog Juice: Horse Racing’s New Doping Scandal, Time News Feed (June 21, 2012); see also, http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/06/21/frog-juice-horse-racings-new-doping-scandal/;
See also Catherine Barrett, “Frog
Juice” Has Legislators Hopping Mad, Ky. J.
Equine, Agric. & Nat. resources L.Blog, (July 19, 2012), http://www.kjeanrl.com/.
[4] Id.
[5] Frederic J. Frommer, Need for federal oversight of horse racing
debated, The Associated Press &
Yahoo! Sports (July 12, 2012), http://sports.yahoo.com/news/federal-oversight-horse-racing-debated-183610459--spt.html.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Jerry Bossert, New Mexico Senator pushing to end doping in horse racing, New York Daily News (July 12, 2012), http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/new-mexico-senator-pushing-doping-horse-racing-article-1.1113554.
[9] Id.
[10] See Frommer, supra note 5.
[11] Id.