Taking a horse to water
Reading the comments on any Houston Chronicle article is like venturing into a cesspool. Even an innocuous "it might rain" article is venemous and contentous. Sheesh.
Moving on.
A few days ago, I listened to Diana Nyad on Marketplace talk about the Kentucky Derby and the rash of injuries to these horses lately. Diana blames inbreeding. Scott Jagow: All week, the sports world has been buzzing about the Kentucky Derby. And not in a good way. The death of Eight Belles after the race has prompted protests from animal rights groups. It has people within the industry searching for answers. They know casual fans might stop watching if horses keep dying at the track. Our Business of Sports commentator Diana Nyad is here. Diana, a lot of issues have come up regarding track surfaces, the age of racehorses, medication. What do you think this boils down to?
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Diana Nyad: You know, what it really comes down to, I don't care what subject we discuss, it comes down to the inbreeding. That's what's caused the horse to be so fragile. Every single horse, 20 of them, this past weekend at the Kentucky Derby came down the exact same bloodlines. You know, you can trace back to the very same bloodlines only a grandfather away. So, you know, we know what's happened with humans in this case. We know what happens with canines, with dogs, in this case. You develop genetic weaknesses. And now the horse has the ankle bones and the lower legs are incredibly susceptible to injury. And so, to my mind, the one thing that could be done is a central agency that really overlooks, and we could say that you've got to go, unless a horse goes through six generations staying away from that bloodline, you know, then maybe they can go to the grand grand grand grand granddaughter of War Emblem, not the direct descendants can't be inbred.
Jagow: Do you think the industry is in such danger here that they need to take this upon themselves to do something or do you see Congress getting involved, something like what happened with baseball?
Nyad: You know, I don't. I think that it would be different if we saw a lot of callous people in the racing world who came out, you know, after Saturday's tragedy and said, "Hey, it's just part of the sport. Don't bother us about it." That's not how they feel. They are devastated. It hurts them deeply. And I think that the Racing Association, regardless of how much money they want to make, they are definitely looking into every nook and cranny to see what can make these horse safer, including changing breeding rules.
One can only hope. Frankly, I'm really, really glad I was busy glittering an art car instead of watching the Derby this year.
I came across this article today, thought it was written a few days before the Derby: TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese owners of former Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem are struggling to explain why the American thoroughbred has lost his libido.
Even a private harem and a limitless supply of Viagra have failed to pep up the love life of a stallion his handlers freely admit has some personal issues.
"We've tried everything," Nobuo Tsunoda, director of the prestigious Shadai Stallion Station on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, told Reuters.
"You name it we've tried it. We had him on Viagra -- that didn't work. I even went into (Sapporo's) red light district with 300,000 yen in cash and brought back a lot of 'special' medicine to try and perk him up.
"It's very odd. He's not impotent. He's just very choosy about his women. He's more human than animal. Basically he's a bit of a weirdo."
War Emblem won the 2002 Kentucky Derby but has had problems in the breeding shed since being sold to the prominent Yoshida racing family for around $17 million (8.6 million pounds) later that year.
The 2008 race takes place on Saturday and its winner can expect big fees when he goes to stud. War Emblem has been a disappointment, however.
"He's been in contact with hundreds of mares but has successfully mated with a only a tiny percentage," said Tsunoda. "We have him on male hormone injections to see it that will help."
Maybe War Emblem is aware of the inbreeding problem and is doing his part to slow it down a little.
Moving on.
A few days ago, I listened to Diana Nyad on Marketplace talk about the Kentucky Derby and the rash of injuries to these horses lately. Diana blames inbreeding. Scott Jagow: All week, the sports world has been buzzing about the Kentucky Derby. And not in a good way. The death of Eight Belles after the race has prompted protests from animal rights groups. It has people within the industry searching for answers. They know casual fans might stop watching if horses keep dying at the track. Our Business of Sports commentator Diana Nyad is here. Diana, a lot of issues have come up regarding track surfaces, the age of racehorses, medication. What do you think this boils down to?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diana Nyad: You know, what it really comes down to, I don't care what subject we discuss, it comes down to the inbreeding. That's what's caused the horse to be so fragile. Every single horse, 20 of them, this past weekend at the Kentucky Derby came down the exact same bloodlines. You know, you can trace back to the very same bloodlines only a grandfather away. So, you know, we know what's happened with humans in this case. We know what happens with canines, with dogs, in this case. You develop genetic weaknesses. And now the horse has the ankle bones and the lower legs are incredibly susceptible to injury. And so, to my mind, the one thing that could be done is a central agency that really overlooks, and we could say that you've got to go, unless a horse goes through six generations staying away from that bloodline, you know, then maybe they can go to the grand grand grand grand granddaughter of War Emblem, not the direct descendants can't be inbred.
Jagow: Do you think the industry is in such danger here that they need to take this upon themselves to do something or do you see Congress getting involved, something like what happened with baseball?
Nyad: You know, I don't. I think that it would be different if we saw a lot of callous people in the racing world who came out, you know, after Saturday's tragedy and said, "Hey, it's just part of the sport. Don't bother us about it." That's not how they feel. They are devastated. It hurts them deeply. And I think that the Racing Association, regardless of how much money they want to make, they are definitely looking into every nook and cranny to see what can make these horse safer, including changing breeding rules.
One can only hope. Frankly, I'm really, really glad I was busy glittering an art car instead of watching the Derby this year.
I came across this article today, thought it was written a few days before the Derby: TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese owners of former Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem are struggling to explain why the American thoroughbred has lost his libido.
Even a private harem and a limitless supply of Viagra have failed to pep up the love life of a stallion his handlers freely admit has some personal issues.
"We've tried everything," Nobuo Tsunoda, director of the prestigious Shadai Stallion Station on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, told Reuters.
"You name it we've tried it. We had him on Viagra -- that didn't work. I even went into (Sapporo's) red light district with 300,000 yen in cash and brought back a lot of 'special' medicine to try and perk him up.
"It's very odd. He's not impotent. He's just very choosy about his women. He's more human than animal. Basically he's a bit of a weirdo."
War Emblem won the 2002 Kentucky Derby but has had problems in the breeding shed since being sold to the prominent Yoshida racing family for around $17 million (8.6 million pounds) later that year.
The 2008 race takes place on Saturday and its winner can expect big fees when he goes to stud. War Emblem has been a disappointment, however.
"He's been in contact with hundreds of mares but has successfully mated with a only a tiny percentage," said Tsunoda. "We have him on male hormone injections to see it that will help."
Maybe War Emblem is aware of the inbreeding problem and is doing his part to slow it down a little.