If you're not a horse then maybe you're a rabbit

[blackthroatedwind]

I don't see anyone disputing the value or fairness of rabbits. Certainly they are used constantly in European races and, as you mentioned, they have been used in the US at different times.

The problem in the Woodward was twofold. First of all the rabbits were neither owned by the same people that they were helping and they were a seperate betting interest than that horse. It is one thing to look to help yourself and another for different owners to effectively gang up on another horse in a given race. Once again, this was not Dutrow's fault, it was the fault of the track and the powers that be for allowing this situation to occur. If nothing else, the owners of Saint Liam should have bought at least a partial interest in both rabbits prior to the race. The second situation was, IMO, Dutrow's fault, and that was the manner in which the rabbits were ridden. It is one thing to ensure an honest pace, or even duel a speed horse into submission if that one is unable to rate, but an entirely different thing to look to physically intimidate another competitor. Any unbiased view of the head-on shot down the backstretch would have trouble defending the notion that the two rabbits were ONLY trying to ensure a fast or honest pace that day.