Melbourne Cup cruelty accusations dismissed by horse racing industry

akiraTwo horses, Admire Rakti and Araldo, died at the recent Melbourne Cup which has led to campaigners heavily criticising the event and racing industry as a whole.

The horse racing industry has swiftly rebuked these criticisms, and stated that those making them have no idea how the horses are treated.

Admire Rakti, a Japanese stallion, had been amongst the favourites to win the Melbourne Cup.  The horse became distressed during the event, and died of heart failure shortly after the race. Araldo meanwhile had to be put down by vets after breaking its leg. Araldo kicked out after being spooked on the way back to weigh in.

Following the deaths, racing officials have already put measures in place in a bid to prevent such a tragedy happening again. Horses will now be led down to the mounting yard via the clock tower gate rather than the pathway directly to it, with other runners following closely behind. Furthermore flags will be restricted to a size of 1m v 1m, and banned altogether from the immediate vicinity of horse movement areas. It is believed to have been a flag which spooked Araldo.

One further point of contention is the continued use of whips in horse racing; the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses called for an outright ban on this, as well as a ban on the racing of two-year old horses.

Spokesman for the group, Ward Young, stated: “We believe that pushing horses beyond their physical limits through use of the whip, and racing horses while underdeveloped at two years of age are significant factors as to why horses break down on the racetrack.”

Dr. Brian Stewart, who carried out the autopsy on Admire Rakti, confirmed that the horse died of heart failure. He also said that whipping did not contribute to the death, though he did state that a defibrillator could have saved the horse. Equine defibrillators are not used due to the rarity of such a condition.

The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses has campaigned publicly against the racing industry, including at the pre-Cup parade in Melbourne. The group has said that 125 horses have died on Australian racecourses in the year up until July 31st. The Australian Racing Board responded by saying that, if these figures were correct, then it represented a tiny minority of the 189,259 horses to run in the 2013-2014 season.

Jamie Lovett, a co-owner of Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist, also responded to the protestors’ claims over the deaths of the horses by saying that they did not understand the industry

“I wish these guys would go to the track at five o’clock in the morning and see how these people care for their horses,” Lovett stated. “There would be no argument if you could see.”

 

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