Letter to the Sports Editor...The pain of losing a racehorse, better systems needed at meets

Letter to the Sports Editor…The pain of losing a racehorse, better systems needed at meets

Apr 28, 2015 Sports

Dear Sports Editor,
It’s always a sad scene losing a racehorse to injury and having the animal put down. To the connections for the two animals which were euthanized Sunday, we feel your pain and our condolences to you.
It’s always a sad sight to see an animal go down, even worst when it’s right in front of the cameras and grandstands. At the recently held race meeting at Port Mourant Turf Club on Sunday, there were two such incidents where racehorses broke down and one had to be euthanized. The first accident took place right in front of the grandstand, while the other incident was at the homestretch turn.
What shocked me was the fact there were no veterinarians on scene; not one. The horse that fell in the first race at the finish line was eventually taken away with a career ending injury, but was almost shot behind the stables. Also the callous nature with which the viewing public took over the scene, ensured its quick descent into a spectacle.
PMTC authorities should have done more, and quickly, to ensure the animals were taken care of in a humane manner and with much more respect. Once it was determined the animal could not be saved, it should have been euthanized in the most respectable manner possible, and not have an animal hobbling around on three legs as everyone come up to say last rites; wait another 15 minutes before being led away to its death. We might as well put up a ticket booth and charge $500 for viewing, for the spectacle surrounding the final minutes of both animals’ life garnered more watches than quite a few races.
It was shameful, absolutely shameful to witness this, the shock and horror was still on the faces of the owners as they tried to best come to grips with their reality.
Why wasn’t a vet on scene?
Who verifies the injury and determine the horse must be put down?
Who is responsible for putting down the animal?
Whose gun is used, and is it a licensed firearm?
Putting down a racehorse is not a spectacle. The horse should have been loaded into a “buggy”, driven to the top turn of the racetrack, way out of view, and euthanized. We’ve become so numb that the merciful act of putting a horse down could be viewed with sick pleasure. A tarp should have been erected, but then again these things are never thought out beforehand, and we are left with gunshots being fired and shouts of “you miss am, he just dead”, and gleeful grins.
As I was walking towards the crowd gathered around the second animal that had to be put down, someone asked if I was headed to photograph the horse, I shook my head and took a shot of the crowd watching.
Indecision and bad judgement was in good supply. The winner of the feature race had to be determined by photo finish. There was no photo finish camera available and many were disappointed with the judges’ decision.
Once again, these decisions are left for too long, lingering doubt about the integrity of the process led many to walk away. It’s unfortunate that our pictures were used to verify the winner in every race before this one, but somehow they used their natural eye version on this one.
For the umpteenth time I will say this to officials at race meetings: THE CAMERA IS MUCH MUCH FASTER THAN THE EYE. At 30 frames per second, it captures all what you’ve missed in one blink. Photos have made the day and they destroyed many days, causing fights and opening up photographers to abuse from race fans. Race fans become upset, for they see us taking photos and video, yet these photos and videos are seldom used to determining the winner of these close finishes. We provide the photos for officials to look over, and in many cases have reversed an otherwise wrong decision, yet we are being verbally abused and threatened at racetracks.
I wouldn’t even suggest a solution, for its staring us right in the face.
The authorities with the help of Government need to invest in technology, perhaps some are comfortable with the mediocrity being displayed.
Ron Elcock

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Letter to the Sports Editor…The pain of losing a racehorse, better systems needed at meets

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