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Jun 26, 2023

It’s money that costs race horses their lives

The real reason a physically immature 3-year-old old thoroughbred, Havnameltdown, was killed on the track was money (”One death, one champ: 2023 Preakness Stakes highlights conflict in beloved, but

The real reason a physically immature 3-year-old old thoroughbred, Havnameltdown, was killed on the track was money (”One death, one champ: 2023 Preakness Stakes highlights conflict in beloved, but deadly sport,” May 20). Horses have had these types of injuries surgically repaired. In the case of this horse, the supposed severity of his injury was deemed to presuppose a poor recovery, though neither circumstance was adequately unexplained.

The bottom line is these horses are commodities. The expense of treating Havnameltdown was not in the offing since he would never run again even he survived the healing process.

Oh, and why I asserted that he was physically immature is that his fracture was likely based on the fact that his muscular development overpowered his immature skeletal system, which matures at 4 to 6 years of age. Plus, all the pounding his legs took in training to get to this level of competition probably negatively impacted his healthy bone development.

So why, race as a 3-year-old? It’s the speed factor. They are faster than the 5- or 6-year-old horses, and that’s what the owners, trainers and spectators want to see. Speed kills, and it always will, and these magnificent animals will continue to be abused.

— Jim Giza, Baltimore

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