I Want Revenge Scratched from the Kentucky Derby

The owners of the Thoroughbred racehorse I Want Revenge announced today that he was scratched from the Kentucky Derby, part of the Triple Crown and one of the most important races of the year-for some people, the most important. What makes this particularly noteworthy is that I Want Revenge was the favorite to win.

With a $1 million purse, the decision to pull a horse from the race is not one to be taken lightly. According to various news reports, such as this one from the Associated Press, I Want Revenge's injury is not career-threatening, and may even seem minor. While this mild inflammation might not cause an issue for a typical pleasure horse, the risk of more serious injury is high given the great amount of stress on a racehorse, particularly on a sloppy track like today's.

I would like to personally commend the owners and trainers of I Want Revenge for deciding not to take a chance on his well being and scratching him from the race. They could easily have decided to go ahead and race him-he might have been fine, but he also might have broken down completely.

I am a horse lover and owner, and have shown them in various disciplines for a large portion of my life. I have no problem with horses being given a job to earn their keep, as long as they are treated humanely in the course of that job.

However, in my opinion, horse racing is a sport that causes injury and death to a disproportionate number of horses simply through the course of doing their every day job. While horses can and do get sick or hurt themselves doing the simplest of things, you rarely see a horse break an ankle or leg in the middle of a western pleasure class.

It is common industry practice to start racehorses under saddle at the end of their yearling year. They are still babies at this point, and in no other horse sport would this be considered a good idea. Racehorses begin their careers at the age of two and race for several years if they do well, perhaps just a few months if they do not do well.

What happens to them after that? If they were successful or well bred, they are retired to the breeding shed to make more racehorses. Most of them live fairly comfortable lives. The rest are sold, usually through auction. Many of these horses end up at slaughterhouses when they have outlived their usefulness. The lucky ones get new homes and start new careers as show horses or companion animals.

As I heard a racehorse owner once say, "They aren't pets." That is true; however, many show horses are not considered pets, either. They work hard for their living. Yet, rarely are they shipped off to the slaughterhouse the minute they stop earning enough for their owners. They are not put to hard labor when they are still babies.

One rescue operation in Northern California, TB Friends, saves many horses from California tracks, but they cannot save all of them. The owner, Joe, keeps an eye-opening daily blog of the horrors he sees from off-the-track Thoroughbred racehorses.

Am I watching the Kentucky Derby today? It's on the television, but I am not eagerly awaiting this race along with much of America. I'm just hoping no one gets seriously hurt.