Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
AT LEAST TWO people have died and over 100 left injured by an earthquake in south-western China.
The magnitude-5.5 earthquake struck the Sichuan-Yunnan border region at around 9am Irish time and at a depth of 9.3km, according to the US Geological Survey. The China Earthquake Network Centre said that the quake reached magnitude 5.7 and was followed by an aftershock of 3.3.
There are reports of housing collapses, but an official in Lijian city told the AFP that it was too early to have detailed estimates of casualties or damage.
According to China’s Xinhua news agency, authorities in the affected areas have dispensed hundreds of tents, blankets and clothing to help residents in the immediate aftermath of the quake. Meanwhile, telecoms workers are also investigating the level of damage caused by the earthquake, which cut off telecoms to Yongning township in Yunnan province.
- Additional reporting by AFP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
They have bloody solariums at the training yards for horses, equine jacuzzi and ice baths, trotting pools. Jaysus I’d love to be a horse, run around have loads of attention when your young and fit then off for the twilight years riding young ones
It’s not as if the horses are bred to fight each other. Dog fighting is clearly wrong. Why don’t the one hour club put their energy into that? Something that is wrong and dangerous for people and entertains a minority. The national is massive and is something that entertains a majority. Think the pc fun police need to focus their energy elsewhere. Lots of sport injures. We’ll have nothing to watch today if sports that injure are banned.
Defending anything by comparing it to something worse is always a poor man’s argument. Everybody agrees that dog fighting is cruel and obviously more severe than horse racing but this won’t make the Grand National any less of a problem to those that oppose it.
yeah and ye ate the horse in yer burger last week
Trying to put out stories clearly for the sole purpose of stirring the pot. The moral police will be out in force today and every other day of the year they are completely oblivious to the world of horse racing. The people directly involved in the sport are the ones who’s love and dedication to these fine beasts ensure they receive the utmost care and best attention around. Yes its a sad fact that horse’s die, but it effects nobody more than those with connections to said horse. Have often seen trainers and owners mourn a horse like a family member. Where as ya get the fecking eejits will call it cruel today, feel good about themselves, throw on their nice mink coat and head off out for a few drinks later feeling great after doing their bit for society. Gimme a break!
As I said in a previous article, i hope all the ‘anti horse racing crowd’ are vegetarian!! Surely they wouldn’t eat meat considering the animal is raised with the sole intention of going for a spin to the factory. That could be considered cruel
What about the poor little fishy going for a swim with his friends and then bam he’s being fried in batter… Surely thats cruel too
What about the clothes on their back and in their wardrobe. The poor people working all day for hardly any money. Thats cruel!
Etc etc etc!
Or is that all ok because it’s out of sight, out of mind?
These people should be more concerned with the poor horses that are tied up and clearly starving and/or being forced to run down roads dragging 2 or 3 people.
Finally, i have no objection to people that campaign against horse racing all year round but as for the sunny day campaigners, take a look at your own life and take into consideration what you might be supporting that is ‘cruel’ and go change that instead of jumping on a bandwagon with no research.
Stirring the pot=cultivating intelligent discourse.
If animals are getting injured or put down, it’s clearly cruel.
@jessica
In sports people ans animals can get injured thats life. They are the most well looked after animals in the world
Or ending up in burgers, like cows, that’s cruel.
@stephen
Haha it’s only a matter of time before traces of human are found
Thousands of horses die and are injured each year in road traffic accidents, by your logic that makes riding horses on roads cruel.
Yes that is correct. Any situation where you put a dumb trusting animal in jeopardy for its life purely for human pleasure is cruel and I believe immoral
Because a horse is just a dumb animal is it?
Don’t be so ridiculous the lot of you. Does a horse have a choice? No! Do you think it’s all worthwhile because the owner/trainer sheds a few tears if anything happens the horse? Thats silly. Now I ain’t no St. Francis, I don’t argue that when not racing the animals are not looked after but the racing is cruel. At that extent. It’s typical “live in the bookies”types that are gonna thumbs down this comment but i have a right to my opinion.
Must be fantastic to be vegan is it? Imagine enjoying a fine steak or a roast chicken when they were bred solely for your enjoyment? Shudder the thought! I can guarantee you they don’t get treated nearly as well as horses do. Maybe they should be who the moral police try ‘rescue’ first.
Stick to the subject David
Cruelty to animals is the subject? You cant defend one aspect of it and enjoy all the others. Although, that is what is so infuriating on Grand National day. They care for one hour of the year and act like they know what is best for the horse
Exactly stick to the subject “Is the Aintree Grand National cruel?” Not let’s name all the animal cruelty problems we can think of, that opens a whole new argument.
Ok well I’ll say this then, go down to your nearest horse yard, there’s loads around the country. Spend an hour there and if you come away with the same thought that it is a cruel sport I’ll stand up and admit I was wrong. Honestly, the love, care and attention they receive is phenomenal. I can promise you the horse has no problem with the sport it is involved in. Does it have a choice? No, but as it’s not human it would only live on instinct anyway. Which is run, jump, eat and shite. I respect the opinions of people against it but to say those animals are not cared for is ridiculous
I guess you should ask Mad Moose who planted himself and refused to race yet again yesterday. If half a ton of horse decides he doesn’t want to do something there’s not much a 10st man with a foam covered whip can do to make him. By the way do you enjoy a Sunday roast? Wear leather? If so then you should descend from that moral high ground pretty quickly. Did the cows/sheep/pigs have a choice about entering the abattoir after a journey in a cramped lorry? It turned me vegetarian over 20 years ago. Have you ever watched a video of the stuff that happens when poultry are killed (quickly if they are lucky) and processed? And I hope you don’t use a down feather duvet or pillow, what happens to some of those birds is nauseating. But if you avoid all those then I will listen, otherwise you are just another once year hypocrite.
Horses want to run… Watch today when a horse unseats its rider does it stop and chill out or does it keep running
I don’t doubt for one second these horses are not looked after in the stable or horse yard…….
Firstly I don’t need to explain myself or my personal life for you to “listen” to the opinion I type. And Secondly that’s a whole other ball game and argument which we have established in earlier comments.
if that horse refuses to run again he’ll be dog food
I have no strong opinion either way on whether or not the GN is cruel, but the argument that someone isn’t allowed to highlight something they perceive as cruel unless they also highlight every other form of cruelty is pretty nonsensical.
The horses nature is to gallop and jump. If the horses didn’t enjoy it, why would they continue to run after the jockey falls off? They jockey and saddle and bridle weigh less than 10% of the animal, that’s quite strong relatively speaking anyway, so the weight isn’t a problem, as I’ve said already, they like to run and jump, it’s in their nature. The whip doesn’t hurt, it makes a noise, I could whip you with it and you wouldn’t feel it!
The most horses ever to run in the grand national is 69. The fewest is 12. What race had more fatalities? Yep the one with 12. The one with 69 had zero.
Horses are athletes, who enjoy galloping and racing other horses, you see it in the wild. It should horses in the wild be stopped from running around too? Also what would you propose we do with all the horses? The racing industry provides massive source of employment, just add those people to the dole queue?
Get off your high horse (pun intended).
… or burgers for humans
Thats herd instinct….
Horses don’t jump over big jumps in the wild in big crowded groups – they do not have the chance in a race to avoid what may be a dangerous jump for them because they are trained to run and jump and obey. How many wild horses break their legs jumping over high obstacles? You may not agree with the arguments people are putting, but I think the basic difference is that some people don’t like to see animals kept and coerced for human gain and you can at least respect that point of view. There are millions of species on this planet that have been denied their own lives and wild spaces to live in because of our greed – might may be a fact, but it does not mean it is right. I would like to see wild spaces set aside for wild animals to live their own lives – the life of a racing horse with a metal bit in its mouth is nowhere near the life of horses in the wild living in family groups. And one sad typical sight of the Irish countryside that I hate is the lonely donkey in the field – beyond understanding.
Race horses are pushed too far in my opinion by greedy trainers and owners! A couple of years ago I saw a horrific accident at a Point to Point race meet in Carlow where a young horses leg literally snapped at the knee and was dangling off while the poor animal reared in agony until he fell to the ground. I was standing 10 feet away with my young children. Obviously the poor animal was shot! Since then I would be if the opinion that these beautiful animals are pushed too hard and ultimately it’s all about the money. This from a meat eating farmers wife!
I can safely say it wasn’t shot! It was put down by injection
Oh well then, that’s better.
It is actually
The Grand national is not as cruel as the dumb ass questions the Journal keep asking lol !
Either David O Sullivan is bullshitting or has never been to a race meeting. They are dispatched using a quick 9mm to the skull by a vet. Quick and pain free.
I’ve never been to a meeting in which a horse was killed. There is a difference. But I can’t see a gun being used in a public place.
Just checked it out, they used to be shot, nowadays it’s done by injection
You went to the racetrack to wtrch the races… that is why there is racing because many humans want to go and watch… that it happened in front off you has left you physologically marked is normal and understandable but saying it is cruel… As a farmer your farm possibly produces animals that are slaughtered sold for money rather than your own personal survival. Im apologise if I am wrong but if this is the case is that not also cruel and those poor animals shoved in cramped condition into lorries that smell of death… I also eat meet but hate overtaking lorries full of animals on their way to slaughter…. and have seen some horrific scenes of animals being dragged out of lorries with broken legs due to trampling….
Apology accepted, we have a tillage farm so only produce crops. There are 6 lovely horses happily grazing away, living a happy life outside my kitchen window! My point is that the trainers and owner push race horses far to hard to the point that the are killed as a result of horrific accidents that could be avoided but for financial gain. In terms of animals breed for the food chain and human consumption, I don’t have an opinion either way but I think that standards of care of animals on farms these days is fairly tightly regulated and controlled.
I fairly sure it was shot. We weren’t with the crowd at the time but half way around the course!
No, if it was it wouldn’t be one of the most watched sporting events of the year!
The ‘Games’ in Rome were watched by big crowds, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t cruel!
They’ve tamed it since the 70′s. It used to have unlimited entrants and was a cavalry charge to the finish. Very exciting race and not the kindergarten romp it is now.
@paul it’s not exactly a tickling competition either
Any tips for the national? :P
Dont buy tights for mermaids
That’s not for the national.
It’s a lottery. Don’t gamble too much. Pick one and hope for the best.
Sea bass is my pick
I wouldn’t go seabass, women drivers and all that!
True
badum tish
The cruel element of the sport is that if a horse falls, it’s immediately considered useless because it won’t make any more money. Then, they kill it. Anyone who disputes this must be delusional. The horses don’t know the dangers of what’s they’re letting themselves in for, and they weren’t born to race but bred to race, and there’s a difference.
And the people who are saying “ooooh I bet you eat steak etc”…yes I love steak, had one last night. We need to eat meat, however you lot don’t NEED to force horses against what is natural, you lot don’t NEED to gamble their lives for money.
But it is natural!! It’s what horses do! As for the point about falling? Horseshit! Kauto Star fell, he continued to run up until his retirement! Stick to what you know something about.
A lot of them break their legs when falling awkwardly mate, and are put down…you know that don’t you?? Your example was an exception to the rule.
It is natural that horses rub, correct.
But is it natural for a horse to be forced into a pressurised competitive environment (with a risk of death) where it gets whipped and has to jump over ridiculous fences? No it’s not and you know it!
The whip only makes a noise! Nothing else! Some horses get injured and have to be out down, that is unfortunate. Most fallers get up and are fine, much like any sport, people fall, some get injured, most don’t! The horses like running and jumping, the horse weighs 750kg on average, the jockey, less than 65kg! If the horse doesn’t want to move, there’s not much the man on his back can do about it!
The whip only makes a noise!! i ride and own horses nd if u were at the recieving end of a whip you wouldnt call it noise!! your entitled to your opinion but so are we so dont be so rude. I agree the numbers are small but in a lot of cases it comes down to money and that a horse with a break is too much of a cost to nurse back to health so it gets put down in my opinion this is creul if every effort is made to help the horse then fair enough but at the end of the day this doesnt happen in racing its just not worth the owners time or money. If there animals were more than just a means of entertainment they might have a little more compassion!! Rant over :)
I’ve been hit with one, my friend is a dick! It’s not that bad, given the size of the horse in comparison to myself the pain is minimal! With regards injury, if the horse can be saved it is, usually though, unfortunately, it’s just not feasible
David what are you talking about! The whip only makes a noise!? If so, I’m sure the noise is drowned out by the surrounding shouts from the crowd, the horses breathing and galloping and the noise from the horses around it.
The whip is intended to provide painful stimulation, thereby pushing the horse to the very brink of its limits! No wonder a horse had a heart attack the other day! Your point is invalid!
They’ve used them on humans in some documentary I saw, they’re foam whips that crack, the horse feels something and hears the crack, ask any jockey, I’ve been hit by them, if it doesn’t hurt me, how will it hurt an animal 10 times my size?
Same hippy shit every year! There are other races than the grand national, point to points and cross country races are as, if not more, dangerous! These clueless tree huggers come out of the forest every year!
It’s because it’s the highlight in the racing year, and the best time for people to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with a cruel, highly money-orientated sport. A debate over the cruelty every day of the year would lose it’s effectiveness. Plus there are other interests which take my attention the rest of the year.
It’s money orientated yes, in so far that it’s a massive source of employment and therefore revenue for the government.
Humans are the dominant species, we use other animals for enjoyment, dogs cats etc. zoos are there for our entertainment. So is horse racing. Would you prefer it another way?!
Are you proposing a cull of all these amazing specimens of genetics? Because that is what would be required
“We use other animals for enjoyment”!!! Well, that may be the view of some, but it is not the view of all… Dogs, well we have one that needed a home (there are tens of thousands of healthy dogs put down by pounds every year in Ireland) and we do not consider her to be for our entertainment; zoos I think are cruel and I would never support them. Can anybody in this day and age (except perhaps religious fundamentalists) really believe that the millions of species on this planet are here for our entertainment?
I think a lot of zoos are trying to make their spaces better, and many are involved in breeding and conservation programmes now. Considering we have destroyed so much of their natural habitats, zoos are keeping some species going.
It’s not ideal, these animals should be in the wild – of course they should be, but for many of them the wild is a dangerous place filled with poachers. Which is worse, being gawped at or being shot at? :(
If you whip a horse and leave a welt then you are being cruel..do you really whip your horse? for what reason? I never ride with a whip. Race whipping can on accassion be brutal but it is normally the arm movement without whipping that urges the horse to give that little extra it may look like they are whipping them but actually they are not. You ride horses surely you know yourself that the moment your horses feet touch green grass and a huge field he starts dancing and all he would really love to do is gallop ?
I have worked with 3 horses that broke their legs. One was a throughbred breeding stallion he got kicked by another horse and broke his knee we tried to save that horse and for 3 months he was tied up in a swing and in the end put down as his weight made it impossible to heal… that is what I call egoistic cruelty he suffered so much to not loose money on his stud fees. It is much kinder to put them out of their suffering straight away. Another a simple trekking horse after another kick cracked his elbow. The owner tried to save him and for 2 years kept him alive again to no avail he was also put down after 2 years of suffering….this horse was a pet that was ridden once a week. When horses break legs it is almost impossible to heal them even just to the level of an unrideable pet in a field…
If a horse breaks it leg then it is pratically impossible to heal it is not a case of worthlessness. Stallions and mares if healable can often go on to breed but most attempts to do this fail and cause further uneccessary suffering.
I dont use whips either but im simply putting the point across that david is talking utter nonsense in saying that its only a noise. I agree with you that breaks are hard to heal but a decision is usually made on track about as to whether the horse is put down or not more often than not with no xrays and very little examination…im not in the slightest bit anti racing i just feel the grand national itself is creul and that the fences are too much at the speed, distance and numbers involved. :)
It is always sad when a horse falls and has to be put down in any race and especially the Grand National. However, these are thoroughbred champion Racehorses bred by previous champions for racing only and with racing in their blood, they know nothing else. Lets hope there are little or no fatalities today but with all racing sports, there is always a high risk.
There’s a very low risk! There has been 28 fatalities in racing this year in the uk and Ireland. That’s very low when you consider there is, on average, 5 meetings a day, 7 races a meeting, 15 horses a race, 90 days this year, that’s over 47000 runners!! About 0.05% chance the horse won’t survive! I’ve had worse odds crossing the street!
Theres a higher risk in the Grand National of fallers. Ya the risk is low all year round expecially during flat season but there’s 40 horses jumping at speed together, how can there not be a high risk?
I’m only talking national hunt, flat season only started a couple of weeks ago.
Having a race be diverted around a dead animal covered in a black sheet is about as tasteless, cruel and distressing as it gets on live TV. Loved the Grand National as a kid but no more. Horrible
Tesco is sponsoring beaches brook and the chair this year at the national
The same can be argued for hunting. Which at times can be more dangerous
It’s a wonderful spectacle
Horses love to run.. You can literally feel the adrenaline and excitement running threw them before a race I don’t think horse racing is cruel but I think how it’s done is cruel.. The jumps are often way to high and too many jockeys and horses are getting injured.. Also a race horse is one of the fastest animals in the world is there really need to use wipes!! The most annoying statement from no it all horsey people is that ‘ sure they don’t even feel that’ have horses all of a sudden no nervous system They can’t feel pain lol serously!!!!! And last of all I once worked in a yard, the horses that are winners are treated like royalty but the ones that lose or are ‘lazy are called donkeys these horses are to be gotten rid of as soon as they owner says get rid.. I also saw a man wip a horse across the face while I was on it just because it was windy day and my horse was spooked by rustling leaves in the tree…. Wipd in the face several times… This gos on everywere in every yard.. I’m gonna get thumbs down but I am entitled to my opinion :-D
Have you been to every yard?
Any chance the journal could introduce a.. “no logical fallacies”…rule into the small print?
“Anti-horse crowd hate horse racing but love eating meat, therefore the anti-horse crowd would eat a horse”
Building strawmen to argue a point is nonsense and here it’s suggested that only vegetarians and vegans have a right to talk about the cons of breeding horses to run for our entertainment.
For balance: “does a horse have a choice? No”
Explain how it’s possible for horse to make choices. Hardly an honest argument either.
Is the horse offered a choice?
You’re saying that seeing that a horse cannot chose between racing or staying in a field then racing it is..
Another logical fallacy.
That is my point, they can’t.
They are bred to race. In other words the horse wouldn’t exist without racing. Who would keep a horse in a field for no purpose?
Actually horses were a food source, tamed and used for transport and work then humans decided – “hey they can run pretty fast, lets race them”.
If they were indeed solely bred for racing then evolution should have flattened our seat bones which horses find incredibly uncomfortable hence the introduction of saddles and other aids like shoes to aid them on ground pretty unnatural to their feet.
Horses are not were a food source unfortunately as has been revealed by the Irish. All the horses racing today would not exist if the owners didn’t make it happen for racing. So would you prefer to exist and race or not exist at all if given the choice?
Do you think horses evolved from Eohippus to modern day horses just to race?
Seriously?
Although horse racing goes back many centuries horses were primarily bred for food, saying you don’t believe that doesn’t make it untrue, saying horses would be extinct today only for horse racing is like saying lizards would be extinct today only for aquariums and tanks.
You are misinterpreting what I’m saying. I didn’t say horses wouldn’t exist. I’m saying the horses running today wouldn’t exist. Anyway, must study the form. We’ll agree to disagree. I hope the fun police never win at anything. Life is tough enough for people without taking their fun too. People working in sweat factories have a tougher professional life than race horses. Plenty of people work in danger of their lives. We are all owned. Never mistake that. Everyone has to work for a master to put food on the table. Same for horses. Some jobs are tougher. I think there’s plenty of fights out there but this isn’t one.
True…anyway I wish you the best in your choice today and hope it comes in safe, retires and is put in a large field surrounded by willing fillies.
Horses did exist before racing! Like in the New Forest, they are capable of living in their own natural environment. We have taken over most of the living space on this planet for ourselves and pushed out other species – it does not mean it is right. The view that animals cannot have space of their own to live in the wild is one I find sad.
Yes it is cruel. Watching a horse running around jumping those big scary jumps only to fall at the last hurdle and be put down. And me with €50 on him at 16/1. How cruel is that in me. €800 just gone.
Jessica r u a vegetarian ???. I bet u eats ur steaks and chicken breasts which the animals are inhumanly kept & killed and year round yet u have a right go at a race that a horse might die at . Ur entitled to ur opinion but ur argument is pointless . . Go stand out side an abattoir if u feel so strong about animal cruelty as they get slaughtered for YOUR enjoyment
@Mark
As I stated previously my personal life is none of your business unless you know true information or facts about me do not make assumptions. It’s cruel simple as, and so are a long list of other things, slaughtering of cattle included.
I’d find cow racing quite distasteful too, I’d still eat a big chunk of it’s arse though because I’m conditioned to eat it, there’s a reason our stomachs produce hydrochloric acid, it’s too help breakdown and digest the aforementioned cows arse.
Next you’ll be suggesting only only eunuchs can comment on the absurd practice of gelding horses.
Yes. Horse racing is unnaturally cruel to the animals involved.
Read in to this what you will. But can we not all just “JOIN TOGETHER” for today. I’ll say no more.
Horses are born to run and jump , Horse racing goes on all year yet these so called anti racing folk appear about a race on once a year . go back to doin what u do the rest of the year . They are well looked after and jockeys risk their own lives for our entertainment .is it cruel on jockeys ?? It’s hardly bull fighting or illegal dog fighting now is it . And the 1s moanin about it wil b the ones puttin a bet on tryin to win a few bob .
Horses are “bred” to run and jump for our amusement.
Anti Racing folk are answering a question in an open thread…. Not Popping up once a year with an opinion
I really do not believe ‘jockeys risk their own lives for our entertainment.’ They are jockeys because that’s what they want to do for a living – and a very lucrative one at that in many cases. I can’t escape the fact that horse-racing is (‘the Sport of Kings’) primarily about making big money, and never mind the ‘collateral damage’.
They set out to trick the horses on the “beachers” fence part of the track, there is a bigger drop on that side of the fence than any of the other fences on the track. That shouldnt be allowed, having said that, i will be backing “imperial commander”. Ha
@jessica didn’t think u would answer the question . These so called bookies types u call that’s there personal choice as u call it and none of ur business . horses r bread to race it’s in their genes not sittin in a field for yrs goin mad . People die in sports too do u want to stop sports too .? It’s the nature of the sport
@ Mark
Now your getting silly.
@ Mark, Any Animal should not have to die for man’s sport and greed. Men die in sport, they are in there at their own choice. Animals do not have a choice.
That is a very big difference.
Ever been to the New Forest and seen how the horses live there in the wild in natural family groups and herds? That is how horses behave in the wild – they may run the odd time (as do most prey animals) but you never see them all line up in a tight group and jump over huge fences or hedges… As for the bit in the mouth and all the tackle, sure captive horses get used to it – what choice do they have? Would we like a bit in our mouths? When you say it is none of our business, well I think that everybody has the right to speak on behalf of animals that cannot speak for themselves.
Putting then in a beef lasagne is cruel.
The Grand National is not as Cruel as the Stupid questions the Journal keep asking !
Don’t watch it if you don’t like it
So ignore something if you don’t agree with it? Do you know how wrong and mad the world would be if everyone adopted that attitude in other walks of life?
Its like all sports, it is cruel thats why we play them.
@dermot their conditions to race it’s in their genes . What do u want . All these horses to sit in fields al day long when it’s genetics that they race ???
Oh right…that’s why humans put artificial aids on them like saddles, shoes and other such devices on them, if it’s their genetics and their evolutionary design was to provide amusement and sate peoples gambling folly then why the jockey with the whip on their back…surely they’d just line up, wait for the signal and run all by themselves?
The jump season is coming to a close, many of these horses won’t ride for up to a year. Sure, Horses die all the time. … the Grand National is a way to speed up the process coming up to the flat season.
There are many points to cruel or not… not sure if any of you have ridden a real Thouroughbred racehorse they are acually one of the luckier workers of the Equine world. They are trained to do the one thing that they love and as David’s said is natural to them: Gallop. Horses and Ponies do jump in the wild if they have to get to another area if there is an obstacle that is not too high they will jump. I only rode a racehorse once and it just took off with me not because it was frightened that is what he wanted to do gallop he did not stop until he wanted to. Horses are very expressive animals if they do not want to do something they will not… you just need to watch a Race and if they are too tired they stop. Yesterday was an example that a loose horse continued to jump and came in second..no one asked him to do this. there have been cases where loose horses have won the race and it is not terror that drives them on it is their character. Whipping do any of you know the technique of race whipping? it is 1, 2, 3 arm movement without touching the horse and the 4th is normally a slide down the flanks. I worked in the Show Jumping world and I can guarantee there is far more cruelty there than in the racing world…
These horses are so well looked after and have a fitness programs that give them the condition to face these races and all horses are checked by Vets before the race and final checks are done in the paddock if they see or think a horses does not look up to condition they will order it to be pulled from the race. Last but not least horses that have been mistreated by humans can become seriously dangerous and agressive some to the point that they have tobe put down and other that can take months or years for them to trust humans again.
have your say