Racing's Lows and Highs

This week has been something else for the racing community.

It saddens, maddens, infuriates, and frustrates me to learn about Ernie Paragallo's treatment of the horses at his farm. That the industry let this happen with a big name operator should tell us something about the state of the industry. Can you imagine what some smaller guy in the industry, operating under the radar, may be getting away with? I'm not niave. I know they are out there.

I'm angry these "bad apples" are out there because it's been my personal experience that the nicest, most caring people I know in the equine community come from racing. And I feel badly that the kind hearted, caring members of the racing community are being dragged through the mud because of idiots like Paragallo.

Just look at this video of the horses that were brought to Another Chance 4 Horses that brought this to light:



There's no excuse for what he has done and I hope the fragmented racing community will join together to take action and protect the image of the sport and the good people involved in it.

In the meantime, I celebrate people like Graham Motion and his staff at Herringswell Stables for the care they give their horses. I celebrate people like Liane Davis who cares for the horses in her stable straight through to finding them good homes when it's time for them to retire from racing. These trainers are great examples of the good people the sport of racing has to offer. And there are so many more out there who are doing right by the sport and its athletes.

So I'm going to end this post with a link to a slide show of my morning with Liane Davis from this past weekend. Liane, her husband Hirschel and their son Chris made me feel very welcome and are fantastic examples of the good people the sport of racing has to embrace.

Don't their horses look fantastic?!