"If McClelland really is a "racing fan" and not (a) a gambler or (b) someone working in the industry, he's in a tiny minority. Unless you're one of the above, the whole thing is a pretty sordid and pointless spectacle." Has this person actually been to a top rung track? Most of the people there are not "gamblers". Sure many will make a few $2 bets but they would not be there if not for the beauty.

"In racing, on the other hand, one in 500 races will result in a death." So with 10 races per day and 6 racing days per week that works to one death every two months at any given track. Not bad for something as inherently dangerous as the sport is.

"I know first hand, race people treat horses like shit." And I know first hand that MOST DON'T. On the whole race horses are better cared for that "pleasure" horses that are tended on a part time basis by their "busy" owners.

"For a so-called civilized race, we're pretty damn barbaric in the way we treat other animals." Yeah - WE EAT THEM. I would take the life of a thoroughbred any day over a that of a cow, pig or chicken.

"the bad news, however, is that almost none of them have been properly socialized or trained in a way that allows them to be directly repurposed by pleasure riders." Yeah - a Formula 1 race car makes a lousy daily driver no radio, no doors and no cup holders. GIVE ME A BREAK!

"Maybe someone should whip you into running" Obviously this person has NEVER been around a thoroughbred. You CERTAINLY don't have to do much to make them run. That is what they DO.

"run by rich men who care only for their pockets and not for the animals." A common misconception is that people get rich racing horses. I have yet to to see this happen. Most successful thoroughbred owners are amazingly rich before they buy their first horse. If they truly "care only for their pockets" they would not get in the game in the first place.

"They're not going to wait 5 years to see if they're going to make a pile of profit on the horse." They will have to wait at LEAST 5 years since breeding is where the money is. Unless you can breed a sound racehorse you will end up LOOSING piles of money.

"regulate the use of steroids and NSAIDS a lot more stringently than is apparently now the case." Every race ends with a piss test. Medications are tightly regulated, disqualifications and fines are there for the cheaters.

"We've about reached the limit of what "natural" horses can do: the current racers are too young, overbred and overmedicated" The "current racers" are the same age they have been for over 100 years. Overbreeding is debatable but overmedicated is not. Controls on medication are tighter than they have ever been and the testing continues to get better. The fastest Kentucky Derby ever was over 25 years ago. If we had truly "reached the limit" wouldn't we have seen a faster time than Secretariat's amazing 1:59:40 in 1973?

"Which is because other equine sports aren't predicated on the deaths of their participants."

And neither is horse racing!

And neither is the Rolex Three-Day Event where two horses had to be put down following Cross-Country spills in April. The world is a dangerous place and there will be accidents especially in the pursuit of excellence. It happens. Get over it.

"Barbaro's owners were of the old guard and loved the horse enough to try to save him. Eight Belle's corporate owners cut their losses and collected their insurance without a second thought."

1. The owners don't always get to decide. The track vet made the call on Eight Belles since she was too injured to be moved off the track.

2. TWO broken front legs is a MUCH more severe injury than one back leg.

It is no fun watching a sport in which the athlete's repeatedly die.

1. NASCAR is wildly popular because it is safe and no one ever dies.

2. How can you "repeatedly die"? That is something I would pay money to see.