This diary is not your typical fare here. There will be no health care debate (at least not as regards humans); there will be no deep discussions of racism, of global warming or war.
This is simply a plea to take five minutes and contact the California Horse Racing Board on behalf of the legendary racehorse Lava Man.
Please follow to the finish line.......
Horseracing is now an obsure and sullied sport, left to the gamblers and those who love horses too much to turn away. Very few racehorses are any longer famous but Lava Man is surely one. Lava Man - a former claiming horse and 8 year old gelding, has earned $5.2 million for his owners and is the most storied California-bred in U.S. racing history.
From his wiki bio --
Lava Man won 7 Grade 1 races ranking him as the all-time leader among California-breds. Lava Man earned nearly $5.2 million, placing him third in the list of leading California-bred earners, right behind Best Pal ($5,668,245) and Tiznow ($6,427,830). He is the only horse to win the signature race at each of Southern California's major thoroughbred racetracks in one year and equaled Native Diver's previously deemed unmatchable record of winning three consecutive Hollywood Gold Cups. Lava Man was the first horse in a generation to win a Grade 1 race on dirt and turf in the same year, and he is the only horse to win a North American Grade 1 race on dirt, turf, and on an artificial racing surface. Lava Man is the all-time leading earner among claimers and is arguably the greatest claim in racing history.
Lava Man was retired last year due to increasing age and problem ankles for which he receieved stem cell therapy in the hopes of regenerating damaged cartilage. He was to retire to Old Friends Equine, a Kentucky retirement facility for acccomplished racehorses.
Just this week, news leaked out of Lava Man's return to training. First internet rumor, then announcements in racing publications such as Thoroughbred Times eventually verfied that yes -- his owners - Steve Kenly and STD Stables - were planning a comeback for Lava Man.
This is a recipe for disaster. Horseracing is a brutal sport that claims the lives of at least 3 horses per day - Barbaro, Eight Belles, Inesperado, and tens of thousands of nameless more. It is rife with drugs, risk, and tragedy.
Lava Man was one of the lucky ones to make it out alive - he has earned his retirement. Jeremy Plonk for ESPN in Not so Favre-lous agrees.
Word came this week that the all-time great California-bred Lava Man had returned to serious training at Doug O'Neill's Hollywood Park barn with hopes of once again making the starting gate. Owners Jason Wood and STD Racing (Steve, Tracy and Dave Kenly) need to re-think their decision before something goes terribly wrong.
Win a race with Lava Man and put a few smiles on some faces. It's a nice story. Break down the great horse and put the horse racing industry another 10 lengths back in the court of public opinion. Not a single national media outlet will cover Lava Man's comeback race. But rest assured, every single one would cover a disastrous outcome, even if it were to come during morning training hours. Pick your letters: ESPN, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, or, worse yet, PETA.
Is that worth the risk? Really?
Lava Man, on his best day, was damaged goods. With notoriously bad feet, trainer Doug O'Neill struggled and juggled to keep him healthy and best-aimed at a mixture of turf and dirt races. Now, after more than a year in retirement, what good possibly can come from this emotionally charged decision?
I speak for Lava Man because he cannot speak for himself. He is a noble racehorse that has sacrificed himself to enrich others and he deserves to retire. Plonk concurs -
But Lava Man didn't write his script; the humans did.
I don't care how many quotes I read about how much happier Lave Man is now than when residing in a paddock somewhere. No doubt a good horseman can read his animal's emotions to some degree; but until Lava Man inks the contract himself and tells us all just exactly what he really wants to do, this is just another case of humans putting themselves before the animals they claim to love.
Obviously the connections of Lava Man will say they'll only run the old guy if they're 100-percent sure he's healthy and capable. And the truth of the matter is they will have no clue. Consult the spirits of Barbaro, Eight Belles, Pine Island, George Washington and Ruffian.
Why do I care about Lava Man? And why should you?? For reasons too lengthy and mysterious to reveal here, others and myself have spent the past three years tracking the deaths and injuries of racehorses at tracks across the nation - the toll is unbearable and so often avoidable.
This time it is ..
You can never save them all but sometimes you can save one.
Please join me in taking a moment to contact the CHRB Board of Directors, Equine Medical Director Dr. Rick Arthur, and Director of Public Relations Mike Marten
You can also contact O'Neill Racing
Please urge them to use their authority to let the The King of all Claimers just rest.........
UPDATE The Lava Man story has blown up -- Lava Man comeback talk spurs debate
This diary is also linked on today's Paulick Report - a leading horseracing blog. Here's Paulick's title - DAILY KOS: Lava Man's return is a recipe for disaster
Thanks for your support of Lava Man here