Horse racing is cruel

Dear Editor: Every year, more than 150 helpless and innocent racehorses die grotesque and painful deaths at New York tracks. The unrelenting greed and cruelty of the multibillion-dollar horse racing industry causes unspeakable suffering to thousands of horses.

Horses enjoy eating, socializing and sleeping. They run at top speeds to escape danger and only race on the track because they are terrorized, whipped, kicked and yelled at by jockeys and screaming crowds. They do not run because they have “the heart of a champion” or a “desire to win”; they run out of naked fear.

Criminal elements in the racing “game” have smashed legs with crowbars to collect insurance money on crippled horses, and drugged and killed horses to fix races.

Gamblers love the thrills; governments enjoy the tax revenues; breeders and owners get rich.

The innocent animals suffer years of cruelty, abuse and intimidation. Even the highly prized horses die agonizing and gruesome deaths on the track. The vast majority of racehorses end up injured; retirement is a terrifying truck ride to the slaughterhouse and violent death on the bloody slaughterhouse floor.

The horses have no voice and are completely helpless. Horse racing is not “the sport of kings” — it is a cruel and ugly business. Readers should not go to the track, bet on the races or believe the nonsense about how well these animals are treated. The brutality will only end if we take action to make it end.

Eli Kassirer, Gardiner