Black Bag Vet: ESPN Writer Follows the Races, Pens the Tragic Final Furlong As Seen Through Vet's Eyes

by Fran Jurga | 29 April 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

We're well into Derby Week now and I think the 135th Kentucky Derby will go down in history as the one with the most words written about it. And they're the same words written over and over, just to appear in different places: in newspapers, in magazines, on blogs, on web sites, on Facebook and this year we're also writing them on Twitter, the 2009 phenomenon of internet communication that squashes your message to the world into a 140-character one-liner.

Everyone is racing to be the first to tell you who has scratched (or, in my case, who has cracked) or which jockey has switched horses but no one that I have read seems to be putting much effort into great writing.

No one except someone I found tonight.

I hope Seth Wickersham wins an Eclipse Award for his article in this week's ESPN Magazine. In The Final Furlong, he rides along with veterinarian Lauren Canady as she trails the field in the first race at The Fair Grounds in New Orleans. He witnesses a catastrophic breakdown immediately.

Wickersham's attention to detail is admirable, as is his historical research into the transition from death by gunshot to death by pink syringe...and why many veterinarians wish that a gunshot was still the way to go.

Veterinarians have been getting a bad rap lately. Most of the vets I know work very hard and do care about horses, and they care very much. The job of the track regulatory vet on a week day at the racetrack is so far from the romantic dream of a high school girl who wants to go to vet school to save all the beautiful horses that it makes a perfect premise for a narrative magazine article during Derby week.

When the idealistic girl grows up and carries a pink syringe between her manicured nails, the story takes on quite an edge.

Unfortunately, it is also true, and a real racehorse died that day.

I don't think that this story is anti-racing. It will take you somewhere at the track that you would otherwise never go and it may help you see the track vets in a new light.

We need more stories like Seth's, and fewer Tweets. A horse's life--or, in this case, death--just doesn't fit into 140 characters.

Click here to read The Final Furlong. It should also be on the newsstands by now, as it is in the May 4 edition of ESPN Magazine.


© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Churchill, Arlington, Calder and The Fair Grounds All Ban Toe Grabs

Trainer Steve Asmussen paid close attention to how Steve Norman was trimming his filly Pocahontas during Derby Week at Churchill Downs in 2004. (Thanks to Dan Burke of FPD for this photo.)

This press release was issued today and is printed below verbatim, so that I don't possibly misquote the fine print of what is and is not allowed. I know that this verbiage is still a little confusing, but eventually the what-is-legal-and-what-is-not parameters will sort themselves. The bold terms are mine, to help keep the main points straight.

Brief explanation of terms: Toe grabs refer to traction cleats in the toe bend of the shoe (front of foot). Currently shoes are sold with toe grabs of different heights. Turndowns refer to mechanically bending the heels of the shoe in the back part of the foot. Shoes are sold with flat heels. Turndowns usually refers to a steeper alternation of the heel and a "bend" is a minor turndown.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 14, 2008) - Churchill Downs Incorporated has implemented a new horseshoe policy at its four racetracks that bans the use of toe grabs greater than two millimeters. The new policy is effective immediately.

The policy, which will apply to all horses racing and training at Churchill Downs, Arlington Park, Calder Race Course and Fair Grounds Race Course, states:

"Front horse shoes which have toe grabs greater than two millimeters shall be prohibited from racing or training on all racing surfaces at all Churchill Downs Incorporated racetracks. This includes but is not limited to the following: toe grabs, bends, jar calks, stickers and any other traction device worn on the front shoes of Thoroughbred horses.

"Any hind shoe with a turndown of more than one-quarter inch will not be allowed on the dirt courses.

"Hind shoes with calks, stickers, blocks, raised toes or turndowns will not be allowed on the turf courses. This includes quarter horse shoes or any shoe with a toe grab of more than one-quarter inch."

"Our change in policy is another positive step toward improving the welfare and safety of our equine and human athletes, and it's consistent with the recommendations of The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee, TOBA's Thoroughbred Action Committee and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to address safety in horse racing," said Donnie Richardson, senior vice president of racing for Churchill Downs Incorporated.

(end press release)

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. This post was originally published on October 14, 2008 at www.hoofcare.blogspot.com.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online or received via a daily email through an automated delivery service.

To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness, please visit our main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.