First baseball, now horse-racing??

[MsKandice01]

Damnit you guys, our country is in shambles! You have more important things to worry about right now than sports!!

June 20, 2008
House Panel Takes Aim at Horse Racing Practices
By JOE DRAPE

WASHINGTON — Members of a Congressional subcommittee scolded the horse racing industry Thursday for what the called the endangering of thoroughbreds with lax drug policies, faulty breeding and an emphasis on greed over transparency. The committee appeared to unanimously endorse a central governing body for the sport, and threatened to use the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978 to make that happen.

“The best racehorses in the sport no longer make money for their owners on the race track — they now make money in the breeding shed,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Democrat of Illinois, who chaired the hearing entitled, “Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: The State of Thoroughbred Racing and the Welfare of the Thoroughbred Racehorse.”

“The breeders no longer have an incentive to breed horses that are sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of racing, and instead, promote fashionable, but unsound, bloodlines that are known for precocity and speed.”

Schakowsky also reprimanded Rick Dutrow, the trainer of Big Brown and the person who put the use of steroids in horse racing front and center with his colt’s bid for a Triple Crown, for not appearing before the committee. Dutrow has been ill since the Belmont Stakes, where Big Brown’s bid to sweep the historic series fell apart when he finished last after being eased by jockey Kent Desormeaux in the final turn.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/sports/othersports/20racing.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Justitia]

1. It's about serious animal abuse for profit, I think it's a worthy topic.

The abuses alleged in the hearing were serious.

[Muttocracy]

2. I agree, but is the reason anti-trust / monopoly issues?