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They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

By Rick Karcher, Michael McCann, Geoffrey Rapp, Greg Skidmore, and Howard Wasserman

At Saturday's "dramatic" Kentucky derby, runner-up Eight Bells broke both ankles and had to be put down.

Two years ago, when Barbaro suffered the injury that eventually ended his life, I asked, Was Barbaro Abused?

Imagine if every year, one player died in the Superbowl. Or if a player died every year during the NBA finals. Would we tolerate such a result? Should it matter that the athletes who are pushed beyond the quite literal breaking point are animals?

In fact, Kentucky has a "cruelty to animals" statute. Under the law, a person is guilty of a second degree misdemeanor if "he intentionally or wantonly...subjects any animal to cruel neglect or . . . kills any animal." Is it not possible to argue that pushing horses beyond their physical limits, causing their death, meets the statutory standard here? The statute provides immunity for euthanizing suffering animals, but I'm not asking if the euthanasia is illegal; rather I think the sport of horse racing itself -- at least as it seems to be run these days -- is a crime!

Full post as published by Sports Law Blog on May 04, 2008 (boomark / email).