The Kentucky Derby is today and besides the various articles about the hats and specialty cocktails, some writers dig a little deeper and bring up the darker side of the sport. They’ll talk about the doping, the horses breaking down and euthanized during races but I rarely hear anything about the age of these animals. The fact is these horses start their careers at age two- way too early to be ridden, much less galloped at full speed down a racetrack. Horses shouldn’t be started under saddle before age three; some breeds mature late and are started at four. Their bodies haven’t fully developed so injuries are common and many of them end up as broken, unwanted horses on their way to the slaughterhouse. Wonder why they’re started so early? Because if the minimum age a horse could be raced was increased to four, that would mean more care and board cost for the owners and trainers. It’s pure greed.
