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By ELIENE AUGENBRAN Inbreeding in Thoroughbreds has increased significantly in the last 45 years, with the greatest rise in the last 15 or so years. Every Thoroughbred horse alive today is descended from three stallions and a larger selection of mares in 17th and 18th century England. Since then, no horses outside this lineage have… Continue reading Thoroughbred horses are increasingly inbred
BY VIVIAN FARRELL "She [Eight Belles] ran with the heart of a locomotive, on champagne-glass ankles." Blaming the breeders and investors, sports writer Sally Jenkins claimed, "thoroughbred racing is in a moral crisis, and everyone now knows it." "Our horses are sick. Our thoroughbreds are thoroughly inbred. They are locomotives sitting atop toothpicks. They are… Continue reading The slow and merciless death of American horse racing
by JANE ALLIN Int'l Fund for Horses Special Report PART 1, THE BLOOD THE North American Thoroughbred racing industry is rife with the natter of race day and other medications where polarized delegations continue to vehemently argue in defense of their convictions one way or another. Lasix (furosemide), now renamed Salix for use in animals,… Continue reading Blood Money: Salix and Beyond – Part 1, the Blood
By JANE ALLIN Research Analyst, Int'l Fund for Horses “As the 20 horses were being loaded into the starting gate for the (2008) Kentucky Derby, with Eight Belles -- standing in post position five -- poised to make her bid to become only the fourth filly in history to win America's most important race, Ellen… Continue reading Horse Racing: Breeding for Trouble
Tuesday's Horse 