A HORSE RACE ENDS IN TRAGEDY

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The filly Eight Belles finished second behind favorite Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, then collapsed with two broken front ankles and was euthanized after crossing the wire.

The field of 20 horses was galloping out around the first turn at Churchill Downs when Eight Belles suddenly went down on both front legs and jockey Gabriel Saez slid off.


"When we passed the wire I stood up," said Saez, a first-time Derby rider. "She started galloping funny. I tried to pull her up. That's when she went down."


An equine ambulance reached her near the second turn and tended to the filly.


"There was no possible way to save her," on-call veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage said. "She broke both front ankles. That's a bad injury."


I watched the video that showed the horse fall and it made me very upset.

Here is a sample of some of the comments I have seen posted on the Internet about this:

B*D!
"More Elmer’s Glue for the kiddies in school"

"Another animal off to the glue factory. How do they know which horse is stickier? "

"Kind of odd that this horse was Hilliary’s pick. Maybe she’ll get the injection as well."

"This horse should be honored and made into a gun holster."

"We were not put on this earth to care for animals. We were given dominion over the animals."



I cannot believe the complete ignorance of some people.
From a Christian perspective I believe we should look at this event this way:

Animals were created by God

We are to have dominion but this means we are to be stewards of what God has given us.

Cruelty to animals must be condemned.

The use of Animals for entertainment should be looked at carefully.
Are the animals being hurt?
How are the Animals being treated?


I think in many cases these types of events need to be condemned.
Proverbs 12:10
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

On one site a few people were posting comments in which they expressed their sadness and outage about this event. Someone responded with this:

"Any of you nitwits ever eat a steak or chicken leg? Sad the poor horse died but thats life."

I don't know why people always run to this argument.

Eating meat and hurting animals for entertainment is very different. The only way they would be the same is if someone who eats meat took the time to go enjoy the killing of the animal before he ate it!

The argument is simple, should Christians enjoy the hurting of an animal?

I am not saying Christians do not have the right to eat meat, I am simply challenging the idea of finding enjoyment in the taking of the life of an animal or the use of animals for entertainment when it hurts the animal.

The Fourth Council of the Lateran took place in November, 1215.
Here is an interesting statement from the Council
"We forbid hunting and fowling to all clerics; wherefore, let them not presume to keep dogs and birds for these purposes."

Do we really need horse racing? Do they make these horses race at to young of an age?

How do we as Christians need to change our views on animals and the use of them for our entertainment?

Are we glorifying God in how we use animals?

Is our understanding of Dominion biblical?

I know this is a controversial issue and the debate about it will never stop.

If a person eats meat they seem to not be allowed to talk about this subject without being accused of being inconsistent. This has lead me to begin the transition to becoming a vegetarian. This week has gone very well and I have tried some interesting foods and hope to find some new recipes. If there are any vegetarians who read this post please send me some good suggestions on what to eat :)

This event will lead to some discussion about animals being used for racing. I challenge all Christians to seek to give a biblical response.