First of all, by governing body I am not recommending a federal or state government. There is an NTRA which, in title is a good idea, but in practice, is a largely feckless organization tasked with marketing the sport rather than providing any constructive guidance. A national racing governing body with the authority to write and enforce medication rules would be preferable. Oversight over the entire racing schedule including number of race tracks operating would hopefully eliminate what has become essentially an arms race amongst race tracks, diluting the quality of the fields and damaging the overall product.
Secondly, no I didn\'t want to see a beaten horse abused. I think Kent did the right thing easing the horse. My point is if we want to avoid further bad press and eventual big government intervention, we need to clean up our own shop. We need to address medication policy and we need to get back to breeding horses who can stay a distance if we\'re going to ask them to go a distance. I\'m afraid we\'ve been trying to stretch milers out on supplements. Obviously, it\'s more stress than they can endure. It\'s unfair to horse and only lends support to the growing chorus of people who want to see this sport terminated.
Hope this helps clarify my position.
