Could humane activists shut down racing?

Banning dog racing is great. No connection. Horse racing was saved by OTBs. The slots are sustaining harness racing.
To prosper, you have to create fans through promotion including having stars as other sports do. The whipping issue could have been avoid by enforcement of present rules. Now the only answer is to ban whipping. Other issue is horses going to slaughter. A tiny amount of each purse set aside to fund their retirement appears the answer.
Harness racing should be the opposite of runners who cater to the elite who make their regular fans feel lucky they let them in. We should be doing evrything within reason to make them want to be at live racing or at least bet it at OTBs
Teach people that harness racing is actually easier to handicap, stay at same track longer, often in same barn, have same driver, raced at same distance, often at same class. They can pick favorite horses and follow them for years.
Each stae ought to have a promotion board, putting out calandars, open horse farms, ton of things. Ideally there would be a national promotional board to look to. This doesn't cost a fortune.
Hope we don't fail to help ourseleves.
Cure issues with horse treatment the whipping and slaughter because it is the right thing to do

By the way, everyone who has a huge chip on their shoulder in regards to the whipping issue, stop playing the safety card everytime someone mentions being responsible.
NO ONE WANTS TO TAKE THE WHIP out of your hands, so stop crying and start listening to the actual complaint.
They just want certain drivers to stop BEATING their horse as a means of making them go faster.
Honestly every person who has posted to defend the whip has talked about safety and control and the danger, but not one of you has dared to comment on the whipping that takes place in the stretch drives,the all out, win at all costs, crack, crack, crack.
Those displays have nothing to do with safety.

. . . and to SR, nice comment, I really hope you don't own any horses, God help them if you do.

Ban the use of whips and then what will be next when the judges and the puplic say slow quarter or didn't fill the hole, or knocked horses and drivers down because he tried to avoid the gate.Cutting the mile out stuck his toe in took the feild down. Sit behind one that would do this see if you sit at your keyboard typing.It takes guts to drive, you's put vests on them to protect them and now they talk about taking a safety device away.If a dog bites you put a muzzle on him a horsethrows himself over backwards what pet him give him 5lbs of carrots then pick up your cheap race bike.Give your heads a shake.Driver's just use your heads and respect your whips theres to many saftey features involved. Best of luck in 2009.

When are people going to think of the animal instead of the money,the animal will provide if treated well.This is the problem, they treat them like a stock or share, buy low sell high, in stead of real estate, fix them up and sell as classic or as is.But they are animals, like your dog or your cat they need 24 hr care, they have feelings,issues,problems,moods,and occasionally they will give you love.Any horse will repay an owner that has payed them with respect,food,shelter and love.If you have that ,you have your racehorse.

Tim,

As has been pointed out, there are bigger issues facing harness racing than the use of the whip, however, the whip is obvious to the viewing public. The less obvious problems occur a long way from the racetrack on race night in many cases. Many would suggest that banning the whip isn't the most pressing concern, but perhaps appropriate use and control of it should receive more attention. Does anyone think the drop in handle across North America is due to the public concern over the whip? Bigger fish to fry I say.

I agree with the whipping comments as it is the most visible however
the fact that no one says to ban all drugs in this sport is most alarming
all major sports have no drugs policy- there are only a few thorougbred
trainers talking about hay and oats only- why not and why is there no
outcry for this - I guess it would severly cut down on the trainers in business

Sandy,

The original poster uses the words 'fear of pain', which would indicate that the horse is thinking of the whip before it is contacted, so the point wouldn't be that the whip needs to leave marks on the horse to be effective. In fact, many horses respond very well to the light brush that is used on the Beach in the messenger - the whip is in hand, bushing over his rump- the effect is that it is part of the drive and motivation for him. Keep in mind that all horses are very different creatures, some need only the plugs pulled, while others respond to other 'cues'. If the whip 'scratching his back' isn't part of his motivation, then why again is it being carried?

Actually I wasn't taking part in "the point" at all. And NO, one more time, the whip was not used in the Messenger, stop blatantly making that false claim that it was. IT WAS NOT USED, FACT.
. . . and don't split hairs or be petty, no one on this thread was talking about scratching the horses back with it.

Sandy,

I think you may be missing the point, the Beach certainly knows what a whip is (which by the way was used in the Messenger) and he has seen it used heavily in defeat in the Pace (I hope you aren't too upset with PM for using it). Trying to use him as an example of why the whip isn't necessary is completely absurd. Just curious, why do you suppose PM carries a whip during a race with the Beach?

Just as a side note to anonymous 2, watch the video of the Messenger, MacDonell NEVER uses the whip, AT ALL.
Video evidence is widely available, so you can check it out yourself.
Sandy

Your statement that dog racing was banned because of humane reasons is not correct. The banning of dog racing was motivated by a clever campaign by people and groups who did not want casinos at dog race tracks. The banning of dog racing has nothing to do with horse racing or the treatment of horses. Watching a horse like Somebeachsomewhere may be entertaining, but the real reason people come to the track is to gamble. When the horses are racing to the finish line, I don't hear anyone yelling to stop whipping the horse that they bet on.

PETA was concerned with dog racing because of the inhumane treatment and scores of unwanted litters that were just killed because of overbreeding or poor quality. We should not fear any imagined reprisals for reasonable and judicial use of whips(policied strictly by the racing jurisdictions) but we should be concerned about negative attention from the slaughter of our breed by the packing houses buying up unraceable or broken down race veterans.
We need more attention to the preservation & retirement of our breed and less discussion about the non-issue of reasonable use of whips. The only comments I've heard in 40 years of attending standardbred races about whips were either in these blogs or from myself in e-mails to tracks about some yahoo, awful driver whipping wildly to save fifth or sixth place usually at a 'B' or 'C' track.

I agree, NO WHIPS!!! we had a horse that if you touched him with the whip he broke(he was a pacer) We rescued him in florida from a trainer who couldn't go a training mile without the whip, needless to say the horse continually broke every time they tried to train or qualifly. He had 7 starts for us and won 4 and placed the other 2 so not bad. the remaining one he broke because the driver beside him touched him with his whip. Ban them now or make the fines higher. Both hands on the lines and both feet in the sulky.....

The truth is even the race announcers don't get it, at the big m and weg you hear the race caller saying things such as, the horse is under whip tap urging, the horse is getting some right handed reminders, the horse is being given some left handed reminders, the horse is being asked for more, in other words the horse is being abused.

I have watched thousands of horse races, and I still fail to understand the need for a whip for
"safety reasons'. If you have both hands clear to steer and control your horse, whip free, you are
safer than if you are using one hand to hit the horse.
There is no safety issue to justify the carrying of whips.
That being said, as a Hall of Famer friend of mine once said "You can pound on the saddle pad for as
long as you want - there is no harm done to the horse." This from a man who dedicated his life to
the sport, who knew how to use a whip properly, and whose primary concern always, was the wellbeing
of the horse.
Well placed, well timed whipping does make the race more exciting , and has a place in the
sport, but the rules need to be enforced universally and consistently.
In closing, several tracks have tried "whipless wednesdays" or some such idea, and it is documented
that a significant number of horses raced faster on such nights, some taking new life marks.
This issue is not going away. Helpful responses are necessary - and quickly.

Obviously none of you people have ever had the pleasure of sitting behind one that's trying to stick his toes......or better yet - sat behind one thats looking to turn around at the 3/4 while sandwiched 3 deep on the last turn! Thats right people, they will do it, and most of the time, for no reason at all, some are just looking to get out of work! Others have been poorly broke as youngsters and will bolt for the nearest gate regardless of the circumstances. Now wouldn't that be nice - take down a whole field because you don't have something in your hand to keep a horses attention away from a deadly mistake! Don't anyone reach into the lameness bag of excuses for this kind of thing either. Any driver worth his weight will drive a truly lame horse accordingly if faced with task. Most of the classy old horses, claimers or not, sore or not, would never think of that kind of behaviour. For the past 40 years I've sat behind anything from a 800 claimer to some world champions - at some point they all have their moments of common behaviour. Next, someone will suggest that every person gives a 100 percent every time they walk in the door at work.

Most of you forget, we are not steering a mechanical race car with a gas and brake pedal. Greyhounds are their own boss when the gate breaks. We are paired with 1100 pounds that has a thinking mind of its own, especially during the course of a race.

Now lets give our heads a little shake and compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges.
The Beach horse? Pure class. Perfect? No. Just ask his trainer, he's had some moments from day 1 to.
But a Champion like the Beach horse is set apart by his own desire to be perfect on the track every time. Sorry Paul, and with all do respect, most of the time you've just been a passenger sitting behind this one!

Very few are looking to carry a whip with the intention to carve one in half.

Regardless of what is done with whipping rules, racing won't change until participants are allowed to like their horses. The entire structure of the racing "industry" or sport as I would in the past rather refer to it, has evolved to a point where no-one: breeders, trainers, drivers, or grooms can like their horses - unless of course these horses are superstars, which doesn't often last the career or lifetime of the horse.

Tons of slot money was thrown at the claiming classes making horse no better than a disposable lighter, and cheapened the yearling market to the point of extinction. Money which was targeted to bolster the agricultural aspect of this sport has instead through mismanagement, corrupted it to the breaking point. Unless one is completely focused on the money aspect of the sport, there is no way to be involved. And therefore, many are leaving the sport.

Why... well, because they like horses. As it stands, there is no way to be involved in Standardbred racing and still like horses.

If you have a nice old campaingner whose made a pile of money but slowing down, you have no choice but to race in claimers where he can do. And if you do that, you risk loosing him. So, what do you do? You retire the old fella, get out of the business, and take yourself, your kids, your friends, and your co-workers to the trails, or to another horse sport that doesn't force you to put a price on the head of a horse you feel is priceless. Or you disconnect yourself from the animals who's back you earn your money from and flog it for all its worth.

I sat in a coffee shop with a neighbor who shows western gaming and was asked to explain the claiming race to him and his friend. Now this is a man who spends every weekend on the road to shows, purchases God knows how much tack and equipment, services, breedings, feed, etc, but more importantly takes with him kids, family, friends, neighbours, and co-workers who are never disappointed with the results. They're there to have fun - and they do.

When I told them that in a claiming class they'd have no choice of who could take their horse, they asked why on earth would anyone enter. You see, they like their horses - even the slow ones have a place in their world and they would trail ride and give up gaming rather than take the risk of loosing their horses. Ironically, gaming classes wouldn't pay the gas to get there.

In racing we have purses high enough that horsemen can make a living or for some, become rich, but little regard is given to the animal. And within that structure, those who like the horses have left or more often been forced to leave. This is no longer a sport you can sell to a friend, colleage or member of another horse sport.

The trickle down effect has show clearly in year end awards administration where winners are chosen based on money rather than their contribution to the sport or the Standardbred horse itself. A triple crown winner is overlooked for the claiming trainer who has more dollars on their card. An ambassaor is shunned for the winner of the mighty dollar. And we wonder why no-one knows of, or wants to know of harness racing.

So, in my humble opinion, regulating whipping is not the problem - recreating a sport where participants and fans are allowed the luxury of liking their horses is. If that happens, whipping won't be an issue at all.

I think that if the whipping rule is banned, there will be alot of driver's feets flying!!! But thats just me. They should at least make a rule that says that they have to keep the lines in your hands for the whole race. That should at least cut down on the blataness of the whip. the speed of the races will go down and so will the intencity of the races for sure if the whip is banned!!!!!!!

Whipping in close quarters in stretch drives can intimidate OTHER horses, is needed for safety with some horses. Is racing lame horses not a much bigger issue?

Have you been watching the same 'Beach', he no doubt knows what a whip is and what it feels like.
You can't be serious with your previous comments about the messenger?
Anyone who knows the racing game knows that there are legitimate uses of the whip, and uses which
are not so kind. Aren't there bigger issues facing the racing game that should be dealt with?
Dean says that times have changed and harness racing needs to change with the times, there hasn't been
a more true statement made - only it has been said before about a whole host of issues in racing.

Dog racing has nothing to do with horse racing. In Maine dog racing is even banned at OTBs.
Female dogs produce hundreds of pups, they are simply disposable. It is a horror.
Harness racing is a vauable industry. We need to enforce the rules when a bad apple comes along. We should be a family friendly sport, loving and respecting the horses. We need to police ourseleves or someone will else will.
It is great that dog racing is banned and doesn't mean we are next. I do believe that we could present ourselves better, promote, have open horse farms and make the fans feel welcome unlike the runners who make you feel you are lucky that they let you in, not many snobs in harness racing.
So fret not about dog racing, it is more akin to dog fighting than harness racing.

Carrying the whip for safety purposes only is completely justifiable. In the rare incident when necessary using the whip for safety is no different than shoving a pedestrian out of the way of an oncoming vehicle. That person may fall and scrape a knee but it is certainly better than being hit by a car.
However using the whip to encourage a horse to go faster or try harder, well I don't think that is justified. A horse should win and lose based on their ability, and the the general public should expect no more.
The patrons should not have to speculate which horse has the been fed the better supplements (everyone agrees on that), and they should not have to speculate how each horse will react to the whip in the stretch.
I don't support taking a safety tool out of the hands of the drivers, but for goodness sake we do not need to hear in a post race interview "I gave him a good crack there at the end, and he pushed his nose in front".

If the rules are not altered to ensure a line is kept in each hand, then whips will be banned outright.

Once again you can turn to the industry's poster boy for the case against whipping, Somebeachsomewhere.
Arguably the greatest standardbred the world has ever seen couldn't tell you what a whip looked like or felt like.
No better example of this then the Messenger Stakes. Two world class horses entered the stretch head to head, one listened to the sound of encouragement, one felt the pain of encouragement, the one who only had to hear it won the race.
Beach won the race because "he wanted to win", that is pure sport. Ability and determination is the essence of an athlete.
Horseman always remind us of the significance of "how big a heart the horse has", and that it is that measure that seperates the great from the good. Well then if that is true then please, let that natural competitive spirit motivate the athlete, not fear of punishment.
In the midst of a stretch duel, when both horses look each other in the eye, their own natural ability and will to win should decide the outcome, not the fear of pain.
I love the sport and especially it's athletes and they deserve better.