Now 7 horses have died at Churchill Downs

[jeffreyi]

20. Lifelong horse lover/caretaker here

My last, a rescue mare. 14 years of bliss. I live in an extreme unlimited rural area. Explored it as much as possible with my equine partner. Riding, camping. She loved it. I tried very hard to help this wonderful being have a good life, and succeeded, at least partially. These racehorse deaths are very troubling to me. Money money, the heck with the horses. Any true horse person would never subject a horse to that kind of stress at that early age. If you want to race them, fine, at least wait until their bodies are more mature, minimum 5 years. Equine endurance horses have to be at least 5 to participate in a sanctioned ride, at least in the USA, for good reason. I like the pageantry of the Kentucky Derby, and viewing the beautiful horses, but dread watching the race because of the potential for ugly injuries and fatalities, all too often realized. I will definitely skip this spectacle now, and in the future.