Melbourne Cup 2014

[Julia]

I don't doubt for a moment that the people associated with these beautiful animals do love them.
But I do question that, if as is so often quoted, the horses love every minute, can't wait to run, then why is there any need to whip them?

And he didn't die of a heart attack. It was acute heart failure, a completely different condition and one not uncommon in hearts that have become enlarged and worked extremely hard to maintain blood circulation under stress.
Prior to the start of the race, I'm pretty sure it was this horse which demonstrated a reluctance to go into the barrier. Probably wasn't feeling well at that stage.

No one up for defending the use of whipping the horses?
I'm not surprised.

If the team responsible for Admire Ratki had taken some notice of his clear reluctance to go into the barrier, he may well have been alive today.

But who cares, really? There'll be another to take his place and earn megabucks for the owners along with giving the punters fun.

 

[Tisme]

No one up for defending the use of whipping the horses?
I'm not surprised.

.

Haven't you heard ... it's an industry so it's alright to spoil stuff, harm animals, impoverish families, et al because without industry; unemployment would skyrocket, taxation rise, unions power would blossom, the international space station would be marooned, the sky would fall and the ABC Fabians, headed by Tony Jones, would take control of minds after banning tin foil sales.

What's the misery of one or two animals compared to the dire consequences of making betting unpredictable in allowing highly strung horses, that apparently love racing down a few furlongs with a man's crotch on their backs, to race against each other without prodding and goading. A man has to have some chance of making a fortune by punting the odds that a rider with a will beat out the best or worse in a horse.

 

[Knobby22]

The whip rules have been changed over the years.
The rule is now that it must be padded, must be used over the flanks and is only to be used a maximum of 5 times.

Horse Racing goes back to James II who started it so change is slow but I predict that there will be no use of the whip in the future. It will require some retraining though as it is used as a way to alert the horse that a gap has opened.

I am very interested in what the report shows regarding Admire Rakti. Don't forget it was bred in Japan and I suspect we may find other problems. If so, we should ban the Japanese from the race until these are fixed.

I grew up near Flemington racecourse. my uncle had probably the last milk delivery cart driven by old trotting horses that could no longer race. But in today's world that would probably be considered cruel, the poor horses pulling a load up the hill. I don't see it that way.

As Tisme has said, it's got the Greens against it now so watch out!

 

[Julia]

Tisme, I'm usually resistant to your relentless cynicism, but in this instance, sadly you have it exactly right.

Knobby: the whip used to 'alert the horses to a gap'??? Sounds pretty euphemistic to me.

Re any investigation into Admire Ratki, the course vet, when interviewed by Fran Kelly, sounded very uncomfortable indeed, anxious to ensure people heard over and over that the acute heart failure is a rare event, yada, yada.

The horse's heart didn't become enlarged during that race. If he had been properly vet checked it would have been noted and the potential risk of heart failure taken into account. Which, of course, is not to say the team supposedly caring for him would not have said "oh, let's not worry, I'm sure he'll be OK".
Yeah, right.

I feel as though I should be somehow apologetic for going on about this, but I can't be. The exploitation of animals is probably the only subject I still get really distressed about.

 

[pixel]

Quoted from a letter to the Editor in today's West Australian:

What interests Australia?
The television news I was watching allocated a greater portion of time to the death of a racehorse than it did to the memorial service for a former prime minister.

Do we have our priorities right?

 

[overhang]

I don't think horse racing should be banned all together but I do believe that the whip should be banned, it was banned in Norway years ago and they still get on fine. The horses would be on an even playing field, the times may not be as quick but that won't matter. I'd also like to see jumps racing banned, these races where horses are required to run 3-5km and then struggle to jump over the last few jumps are just cruel and the many deaths are evidence of that.

It could be the cynic in me but I would be surprised if Admire Ratki didn't have performance enhancing drugs that caused the heart failure. Given Lance Armstrong and many other sports stars have been able to go undetected then surely it would be quite easy to drug a horse with undetectable drugs.

 

[Julia]

Quoted from a letter to the Editor in today's West Australian:

Do we have our priorities right?

Given the ABC's repetitive replays and continued eulogising over the late Mr Whitlam in the two weeks since he died, heard across pretty much every part of their radio and other networks, the commentary devoted to the death of the two horses would have been infinitesimal in comparison.

I don't think horse racing should be banned all together but I do believe that the whip should be banned, it was banned in Norway years ago and they still get on fine. The horses would be on an even playing field, the times may not be as quick but that won't matter. I'd also like to see jumps racing banned, these races where horses are required to run 3-5km and then struggle to jump over the last few jumps are just cruel and the many deaths are evidence of that.

It could be the cynic in me but I would be surprised if Admire Ratki didn't have performance enhancing drugs that caused the heart failure. Given Lance Armstrong and many other sports stars have been able to go undetected then surely it would be quite easy to drug a horse with undetectable drugs.

Interesting suggestion, overhang. You may be right. I don't imagine we will ever know. If that were to be the case I'm sure the all powerful racing industry would find a way to hush it up.

 

[So_Cynical]

The whip rules have been changed over the years.
The rule is now that it must be padded, must be used over the flanks and is only to be used a maximum of 5 times.

Yeap the whip is used very sparingly now days, any breach of the rules will see the Jockey out of action for at least 3 or 4 meetings and that's big money.

I am very interested in what the report shows regarding Admire Rakti. Don't forget it was bred in Japan and I suspect we may find other problems.

I have no idea what your getting at with the Bred in Japan comment? Japan has arguably the best racing and breeding industry in the world, the very best of everything.

 

[Knobby22]

Yeap the whip is used very sparingly now days, any breach of the rules will see the Jockey out of action for at least 3 or 4 meetings and that's big money.

I have no idea what your getting at with the Bred in Japan comment? Japan has arguably the best racing and breeding industry in the world, the very best of everything.

I don't know much about the Japanese racing community so I was just wondering. Just an ill informed comment.
The vets did check the horse before the race and would have detected it if it was present while resting. It is most likely bad luck as has been suggested. The vets were heading towards the horse when he died and might have saved him given the chance.

I have looked it up, see link below and horses suffer from heart arrhythmia more than any other domestic animal. Still very rare though.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3878194

 

[Tisme]

Tisme, I'm usually resistant to your relentless cynicism, .

It's not cynicism Julia, its just me being one of the first on the internet in Oz, years of Brawl Hall and a genuine love of life that prohibits me from being bound to a religious and political tribe. The closest I get to blind teaming is footy and even then I barrack for the Lions, The Hawks and The Suns and go to their games accordingly.

You've probably never met an hedonist before.

 

[Julia]

Perhaps I haven't. Anyway, I love that you say "an hedonist".