I like this view on the sport it is from another forum:
......... The only things that need to be done are to toughen up these horses and prepare them for battle, as far as I'm concerned what needs to be done is, better breeding, no roids, performance enhancers, bute, etc., and NO POLYTRACK (must I say it again.
Now to elaborate on each part, since the use of steroids, bute, enhancers on horses, that started on horses in the late 60's early 70's as being legal in racing, the breed has steadily gone down hill, up untill the 90's were it was at a second all time low in the number of horses racing. My point is any inhancer helpful or not, weakens a horses immune system, anything that will help a horse, human, etc. will eventually lead to untold plague weakness in the immune system. The body can not constentley keep taking steroids, etc. without getting weaker especailly in sports; its proven. Anything that is chemically helpful to make a better performance has setbacks, a statistic I heard on humans is that if a human is given "performance enhancers" cough cough "roids" the person's immune system will weaken and may eventually lead to a fatallity by the time the person is twenty-three and they started using the enhancers at twelve. To me this seems true, some say it isn't but it is supposedly proven. This will most likely if not 100% likely will have the same effect on horses or any athletic animal, but that isn't done to horses daily. In 2005 of the twenty horses that ran in the Derby only two didn't use steroids. Those two are still racing at the highest levels - Don't Get Mad and someone else (I forgot). My point is lets go back to when horses were sounds a.k.a NO ROIDS/BUTE ALLOWED BEFORE RACES OR WITH ALREADY SOUND HORSES.
Now onto the "toughness" it is a proven fact if a horse is raced as a young horse {2 year old} he will be stronger throughout his racing career, obviouslly this doesn't work with all horses, but on average it is the right way to do it. They ran more in the olden days and didn't use roids, MORE SOUND.
Now onto breeding, this will be short and sweet. BREEDERS WHO ARE SMART SHOULD STOP INBREEDING SO MUCH AND SHOULD STOP BREEDING SPEED TO SPEED, EXCEPT FOR A FEW.
And finally one of the most talked/argued things in the horseracing world -- polytrack. Working a horse on harder ground will toughen it up. If we start working horses on this "polytack" then they will get weaker, no doubt in my mind. Anytime you take naturals out of a "natural sport" bad things happen. A great example of this is steroids, enhancers, etc. Come on people it is staring us in the face, and yet we can't wake up. We did something we thought would help the horse, and it did bute, etc. was allowed starting in the late 60's early 70's, I am throughly, 100% convinced that the bute, enchancers, etc. has destroyed a lot of the breeding and horses. It was used to "soften up" it helped for 20 years, thats it 20 years and now look at where we are at. Horses are breaking down a lot now aren't they, ever since the enhancers finally kicked in and back fired on the breed. There has never been this much falling apart on the track never ever ever happened nearly as much as it does now, and you have to be blind not to notice it, the people in New York were smart they waited to buy in and they knew it could wreck the breed, but since every one was doing it they felt forced to. The point is polytrack most likely will do the same thing, you are taking a synthetic material and making the thing to help make horses not break down as much. Bute, etc. was the same until it back fired. Yet people still are scratching there heads, shows me something they still haven't figured it out. It isn't that hard to phathom. Karen Taylor once said if I'm correct that racing should go back to the old ways of no use of "enhancers". If I'm also correct her horse Seattle Slew only used bute, etc. once in his 2,3 year old career and that was becuase he was sore after running at Churchill so they gave it to him for the Preakness. She was smart not to boost him up becasue he has surely has left a mark on the breed. Storm Cat is another great example: great sire becuase he wasn't "juiced up" his offspring are mostly strong, fast, and SOUND runners. My point is if we "soften up" again in the long run we will mostly likely look back in 20 years or so and say "Where did we go wrong?"
Keep in mind these are just my opinions and that I'm not trying to offend anyone.
