Wonder where his bread is buttered ?

[rosewood]

http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/435946.html

[sighthound]

Who, Thayer or Whitfield?

Thayer is Republican friend to hardboot, conservative KY horsemen.

Whitfield (R) is the mouthpiece for the Humane Society of the United States, a semi-extreme animal rights organization that is trying to ban 2-year-old horse racing.

Whitfield\'s wife Connie is a VP of the Humane Society of the United States, and the Humane Society buttered her husband Whitfields\' campaign funding bread.  

Connie Whitfield is a member of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority board. Her appointment was fought by many due to her animal rights activist ties, fearing \"inside\" attempts by her to control and ban horse racing.

See Steve Crist\'s DRF editorial column from last week:  

http://www.drf.com/drfNewsArticle.do?NID=95470

[miff]

\"EPO is a much more effective performance enhancer than steroids,\" said Alan Leavitt, a harness horse breeder who sits on both the drug council and the racing authority. \"Steroids is sexier, but EPO is more powerful.\"



A harness guy(big time) has to tell the clueless!

...finally someone stating the obvious to many, except the politicians and race track managers.The clueless chase steroids, while THE real beast, the magic bullet(masked blood dope,undetectable designer cocktail pain meds) get hardly a mention.

Steroids are in National vogue, so the clueless politicians and the animal loons jump on board.They should leave a National steroid policy to the vet-experts to come up with.What strictly helps a horse race/recover should be permitted and administered by a vet with detailed records kept.Designer and abused steroid use should bring license revocation for 5 years, 1st offense,with harsher penalties thereafter.

It\'s a disgrace that a certified card carrying animal loon and PETA lackey, Mrs.Whitfield,may have some influence on the future of racing without a scintilla of knowledge of any aspect of the game.

Mike

[sighthound]

Small point, Connie Whitfield is a HSUS lackey, not a PETA lackey

HSUS works through lobbying and legislation to control and eliminate animal ownership, PETA uses intimidation, arson and murder.

[miff]

Thanks Sight, I kinda pidgeon hole all animal loons.


Mike

[rosewood]

Mike,

You and Sight are correct to pidgeon hole all animal loons and you should add all politicians together.

It\'s a hell of a note that all you, I, JB and everyone else wants is a fair and level playing  field for all horses, owners, trainers and bettors, and everyone is so on the take that no one will simply correct whats wrong and get on with the racing.

[magicnight]

I\'m not defending or promoting the tactics of either organization, but, if being horrified by what happened to Eight Belles (and George Washington, and Barbaro, and Prairie Bayou, and Union City, and Go for Wand, ad infinitum) puts me with the \"loons\", then I would gladly be placed in that \"pidgeon\" hole.

US racing has put itself in this position. If you all want to believe it is just a small circle of lunatics that deigns to put the humane interests of the horse above the commercial interests of breeders, trainers, owners and, yes, bettors, you all are more clueless than the people you so casually deride.

Bob

[miff]

Magic,

There are horrible injuries in every sport, some fatal to horses and humans.It\'s a terribly unfortunate part of the game.The welfare of the horse certainly is important AFTER the welfare of the jockeys, some killed, several paralyzed for life with little concern from the loons for their plight.I am far more horrified when I see Ron Turcotte or Andy Lakeman(I know for years)in wheelchairs than I am when a horse break down.Guess we do not share the same values.

There is no question that parts of racing are at least unkind to the race horse.If I felt like some, I would not watch or participate in the racing game but rather I\'d attend a petting zoo.

Mike

[rosewood]

Magic,

You list six horses that cover a considerable time frame.

Would you go back and research how many jocks on the track, young human athletes and professionals have died or been killed in that time frame?

Why have you  not attacked all other sports?

That is why you are a LOON........................

[TGJB]

Ahem. When a jock goes down, it\'s usually BECAUSE the horse has gone down. Making the latter less likely will make the former less likely.

[sighthound]

Ask Connie Whitfield what her organization, the Humane Society of the United States, did with the money they stole from folks who donated to them, to \"save homeless Hurricane Katrina animals\".  

Did it help homeless animals?  Nope.  Not one.

Did it help get Connie Whitfield\'s husband elected to Congress?  Yup.

[rosewood]

Jerry,

Isn\'t it the reason we are fighting to clean up drug use to prevent the latter where it is a result of drug violations?

Surely a complete research of the human sports deaths may reveal drug use, don\'t you think?

[magicnight]

Mike/Rosewood;

You both seem to have misinterpreted my post. I\'ll write slower.

\"The welfare of the horse certainly is important AFTER the welfare of the jockeys, some killed, several paralyzed for life with little concern from the loons for their plight.\"

I said the \"humane\" interest of the horse versus the \"commercial\" interests of the jockeys, et al. Savvy the difference?

20-odd years ago Mike Venezia almost got his neck broken because a vet got overruled and a horse with a hot leg broke down. All you jockey-lovers really changed things after that, yes?

\"Guess we do not share the same values.\"

No, we don\'t. For one, I favor honest arguments without subject-shifting.

\"It\'s a terribly unfortunate part of the game.\"

Yeah, how\'s that line working out these days? Only slightly better than it will the next time, I\'d guess.

Bob

[TGJB]

My point is that someone who is interested in preventing breakdowns isn\'t putting horses ahead of people, he\'s protecting both.

[miff]

Magic,

Horses breaking down will be a part of the game no matter what rules they put in.Since horses were not meant to be raced in the first place, the only way to stop breakdowns completely is to stop the game.

I also disagree that those who put in $millions of capital into the horse business and less important than the animals.


Mike