Horse news: Barbaro

According to all the news I've seen, Barbaro seems to be doing fine. He's recovering rapidly and eating heartily and seems to be on the road to recovery.

The same cannot be said for horse racing in general.

There have been a number of news stories questioning whether racing needs to change its ways. One I saw today talked about the need for better track surfaces. I don't know if that would help, although until the Kentucky Derby, I think all but one of Barbaro's races was on turf, not grass.

Another piece, by John Pricci at NBCSports.com, said the Triple Crown should extend the time between races, so that all three races take place in a span of nine weeks instead of the current five.

That may help. Barbaro's trainer's had rested him as much as 8 weeks between races prior to the Preakness, so the fact that he ran hard on only two weeks rest may have been a factor in his injuries.

Not surprisingly, a letter in USA today took the whole horse-racing industry to task for the injuries, noting that serious injuries are a fact of life for race horses. The difference is, for claimers and other horses less valuable than Barbaro, such an injury means euthanasia or, if they do recover enough to walk, a trip to the sales yard.

I have some sympathy with that position.

I love horse racing and have attended races at a number of different tracks. My wife, daughter and I even made it to the Kentucky Derby in 2000. It's wonderful spectacle. And there is no sport quite as pure as animals running for the sheer joy of it.

But I have several friends -- two farriers and a former jockey and a one-time trainer -- who have spent a lot more time at tracks than I have. And they confirm what the letter writer said: While horses at the top of the racing heap are treated like royalty, those at smaller tracks or with only modest futures are routinely drugged, raced with injuries, pushed too hard, started too young and, if they're lucky, retired to become saddle horses by the time they're four.

I'm not sure what the answer is. I certainly wouldn't advocate banning racing, as some people do. But I would like to see the horses started later. If they ran their first short races as three-year olds, and big races like the Triple Crown were for four-year-olds or older, I think would help a lot.

And, there should be better veterinary control. But, especially at the smaller tracks, it's hard to pay enough to get good vets on duty and routine drug inspections.

Horse racing has been around since the second cave man jumped on the back of a wild horse, and bet that he could beat the first guy on a horse. It will be around for a long time to come. But it will lose fans -- not gain them as it has been trying desperately to do -- unless it finds a way to make it easier on the equine athletes that are the stars.