This will effectively kill horse racing

[Thoroughbred Fan]

First, horse racing is a brutal sport. They are a selected breed. They are inferior when it comes to health and soundness, but they are fast. In the US we have taken this selection way too far and patched the animals genetics with meds.

Animals get sick, injured and even die. It is a fact of life. I do think we should medicate where necessary (antibiotics, steroids, etc.) to help the animal. However, if these rules go in effect, then it may require the horse to be absent from the races for some time for the meds to leave his/her system.

In Europe, they race with less meds and it doesn't kill their racing. The bottom line is they breed a sounder animal, race primarily on turf, and at a longer average distance.

In the US, this will be painful for a few years, but eventually it will be fine, maybe even better than fine. I'd like for the US to breed heartier types and eliminate the bleeders and the glass horses from the stock. This may reduce the overall number of horses and bring the industry to the size it should be.

Most trainers probably do their best to play within the rules, but the policing will never be good enough without a black and white rule set. No is no.

I don't have all the answers, but as an owner and bettor, I sure wish the sport were holding itself to a higher standard than today.