Hello all, This thread has a few aims, firstly I want to say how sad it was to see the demise of the talented Rewilding at Ascot yesterday. A terrible loss for Godolphin and a really sad loss to British Racing, which has lost a fantastic Royal Ascot winning horse. I feel for his stable staff who will not have only lost a horse but also a friend. Racing in the UK took another hit with the death, once again distressing scenes were shown on live TV of a horse losing his life in what essentially is a sport that exploits them. This year we have already seen the death of horses at the Grand National and Cheltenham Festivals which were shown on the BBC and C4 respectively and those scenes at Aintree were amongst the most horrific I have seen in the sport. Yesterday we saw a sport coming together to show how humane it is, with Clare Balding doing a great job as presenter and William Buick the winning jockey making the point that the sad loss was at the forefront of his mind even after winning a prestigious race. Then followed the wonderful words from John Gosden who explained what happened and spoke with authority about the lack of pain the horse had felt. All three are great spokespeople for the sport, they did the sport a great service and I would like to thank them for it. I think like all on here that the event shocked and saddened me, but I find it appalling that on the daily thread I am abused for celebrating a winning nap. I don't want any congratulations for my bets, I put them up so people can discuss them with me, but I really feel its wrong that I get abuse for being able to continue with my enjoyment of the sport. If fellow posters feel that the sport sickens them and they are so emotionally attached with racehorses that they feel the need to post such things on this board then I am sorry, but I try to have understanding of what happens to racehorses in their careers. I was lucky to have a tiny share in a racehorse who sadly died of colic and whilst it was a very saddening day when I was told (when at a racecourse incidently), it would have been very easy to be sickened by the sport and turn my back on it, however it reaffirmed my love and also respect for the animals that we watch week in and week out. I think when we have scenes such as yesterday we are going to feel sad and sick, but we should come out of it with more respect and love for the efforts all racehorses are put in and celebrate our winners with greater relish. So to sum up, a day like yesterday should really reaffirm our love for the sport and help us explain it to the wider world, it should not disgust us into not caring about the next race or the next racing event we are going to. Sorry for the ramble, but Ron closed yesterdays thread, probably in fear of an argument. I don't want an argument, I just want Filon to understand why I am still able to celebrate a winner and celebrate this fine sport. Thanks for reading Nass
OK Nass. Very well put together and, until I got towards the end it had "Article" written all over it. I understand where you are coming from as, I'm sure, does everyone else and, of course, life goes on. You're right, I did close it for fear of an argument which would have been totally disrespectful after that sickening incident. I didn't see any abuse though, just Filon remarking that, given what happened, he didn't give a flying whatsit about what or whose selections had won. Some of us are just more emotional about horses than others. So now that Filon has expressed his emotions and you have had your say with a very well constructed piece can we now leave it at that and move on. We have to move on don't we.
Nassau, I have not read any previous comment by yourself on this subject, but your comments above show understanding and a reasonable, humane attitude. Members should applaud you for that.
Nassau: I did not intend to abuse you, far from it. Will delete the "abuse" which was unintended. Just wasn't too interested in winners yesterday.
Nassau: Cannot delete my rogue post as thread is closed for business! Anyway, apologies, abuse not intended as I said.
Mate I don't think that there is a single person on this site who could accuse you of putting a nap ahead of a horse's loss of life. You have sincere feelings for these animals and are just as sicked as anyone else, by events such as those we saw yesterday. Nice piece. I hope it gets posted as an Article so that News Now can post a link.
I think that we can be reasonably certain that most of the followers of this thread are not just punters but are fans of horseracing and horses. Saturday's tragic events do not further the name of the sport in any way but we have to accept this these things happen in the game, more often on the National Hunt scene. Nobody wants to see harm befall any of the animals that provide us with our entertainment and this will doubtless further fuel the animal rights brigade. I was at the running rail when the incident happened, surrounded by a large number of people who could not understand what had happened and I thought it was very shrewd of the authorities to make sure that John Gosden's interview and explanation was shown on the big screen and broadcast over the public address to inform the social set who were there for a fun day out.
