Exploding Chestnuts
Well-Known Member
I don't believe the UK racing industry is perfect, no, but it has a high level control, if one wants to put it that way. There are several organisations which run racing, allocate races, decide on race conditions, check stabling, staff, training, security etc etc, so that in general the horses are well looked after, raced and trained on the best facilities. Of course there will be a few debates, a few unneccessary interventions, and in some cases not enough intervention, but the UK is relatively free of drugs, and the horses get a better deal than in the US of A for example, where so many never see beyond a track, from their first race to their last, and where certain drugs are permitted.Bonkers2, do you believe the racing industry is perfect and there is no room for improvement at all? I suspect you don't. Would you like it to change for the better? Maybe not, if that means potentially disruptive changes. However, I see "giving racing a hard time" (at least in areas where improvements could be made) as one of the main motivating forces for change. It doesn't mean the people who criticize are necessarily anti racing.
I am trying to be realistic, I don't hold such strong views about racing of two year olds as some on here, though it comes under the heading of "it would be nice if horses first ran at three", its not going to happen.
The whole racing industry is geared to breeding the winner of a Classic Race, of which there are few.
There are a number of other major races which are targetted for both prestige and for prize money. Sponsors are found to provide a lot of prize money, though the owners have to pay a significant amount to enter the Classics.
Breeders may hope to find another Saddlers Wells / Northern Dancer, horses which changed the breeding lines for many generations, and reversed the trend of breeding from US stock http://www.ownerbreeder.co.uk/2011/05/tribute-to-sadlers-wells/
Part of the excitement and the preparation for the more important races means finding from the newly broken two year olds those which can run in good races at two and then at three, and then go to stud or to win more races.
If for example the UK decided to ban two year old racing, it would just mean owners would send their horses to France, its as simple as that. They might also send them to countries who already have a shadowy history of horse preparation, and where drug testing may not be possible, so effectively you have given those who wish to cheat, eg by using steroids, a free pass.
It is not illegal to organise racing outside the BHA and the Jockey Club, it happens all over the UK, we know it as flapping, the courses are not as safe as the licenced tracks, it is an amateur sport, the horse are not drug tested, but as the only real money to be made is from betting, there can be a bit of skullduggery. Not everyone does it to make money of course. The horses are often ex racehorses, and they are all in handicaps, so they don't run two year olds, as they would not win due to the fact they are carrying essentially the same weight as a five year old.
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