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Originally Posted by my miss storm cat
I know what you're saying but the whole if we ignore it it'll go away thought... that can be a little dangerous, no?
Some people complain, call racing a dying sport. We wonder how to bring in new fans, how to change the way it's perceived.....
The only effects of this damned thing / statue / whatever will be a. to give the "artist" more press and b. to perpetuate the thought that racing equals cruelty.
A passerby who doesn't know, who has heard the name Barbaro but who didn't follow his long struggle... I think there's more of a chance they'll walk by, take one look at this thing and be swayed.
So yeah, we can ignore it but the more we don't take any chance to put it right, the longer we let verious groups talk about horse racing while we sit back and do nothing?
Well... it just seems like this would be the perfect opportunity to do something, anything.
I don't know what exactly..... a fundraiser for various thoroughbred retirement charities in the park the day before? Something like that? Something positive?
Forgive me for being in So Cal and not knowing off the top of my head which NY track is open then but a Meet Funny Cide day? (I'm just trying to think of possibilities here)
Some little boost to give racing some positive spin.....
Rambling... sorry. It just makes me sick.
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No need to apologize.
I see your points, but, as many people on this board have said, racing doesn't need or depend on fans; it depends on gambling money, and, judging from many posts also on this site, many gamblers couldn't care less about the thrill of the sport; only on the odds of the races (I'm not criticizing, just observing- the comments from some of the DTers on the thread about Curlin coming back in '08 come to mind). So the sport will be in no danger from this, anymore than Christianity was threatened by Chocolate Jesus (not that that kept some right-wingers from throwing fits anyway).
I love horseracing for the thrill of it, but honestly, I'm not encouraging friends to watch the sport because I tire of my favorite horses being retired and rushed off to the breeding shed- I don't particularly want to share that disappointment. So, while I think the Barbaro statue is a stupid attempt to stir up controversy, I don't see it doing any damage to racing in any noticeable way. Racing does a fine enough job on its own insuring it stays a fringe sport to the casual fan. The statue won't affect that.
And honestly, to fully get it, the viewer will have to stop and read the little plaque that always accompanies the art at Central Park South, and frankly, I don't think the average American has the attention span. And the print is kind of tiny.
But like I said- good post, and good points. Generally, when I've had discussions with people who feel racing is cruel, I ask if they eat meat (usually the answer is yes), and then go into a graphic description of how feed animals are kept. That usually shuts them up.
