Thoughts from the weekend

I hate PETA. I mean, hate as in I think they are lower than most liberal politicians threatening to tax me more. I am using the word, HATE, here.

PETA has decided they want to use the tragedy that unfolded this weekend at the Kentucky Derby as a sounding board for attacking the sport of horse racing. In case you missed it, the 2nd place finisher at the race broke both her ankles while runnig her 1/4 mile cool down. Doctors made the decision to euthinize (a pretty way to say kill) her onsite. For those uneducated, broken legs for horses tend to mean the end of their lives through a long and sufferable process. Notably, without their ability to stand up, their digestive tracks do not function properly. Broken bones for horses are esepcially suseptable to infection (see Barbara circa 2006), and thus ending the horse's life is most likely the most HUMANE thing one can do.

PETA has decided to critize the way the horse was ridden by her jockey during the race, saying he pushed the fillie too hard down the stretch run. I suppose they wanted him to gently pat her side and whisper encouraging words to her to move faster. Look people - they're horses. Yes, majestic, beatiful, graceful. But frigging horses. Before the advent of the car, these were our Ford, Lincolns, Toyotas. Horses are a mode of transportation and now recreation. You never hear people crying out when a NASCAR Sprint Cup is thrown to the scrapyard. Horse racing is no different. I'll take heat for it - but the reality is horse racing is a social and recreational activity designed to get you liquored up and betting on some beasts running as hard they can to win a race. Nothing more. The horses live great lives, running for couple of years before retiring to a stable to eat hay and boink other horses while making their owners excessively rich. There is no place for PETA to be involved in horse racing, whether it be protesting or helping provide guidelines for the sanctity of the animals.

So as I said, I hate PETA.