show some spunk

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by ShadowRoll

Interesting article, especially towards the end.

http://www.american.com/archive/2008.../triple-threat

So my question is this: is there some validity to the proposal to end the ban on artificial insemination? I admittedly don't know a lot about why this ban exists. I know they artificially inseminate standardbreds.

Is it to protect the breeding industry? If so, doesn't seem like a good reason -- would definately be a new paradigm, but the breeding industry would still exist.

Is it to assure control over and absolute certainty about the bloodline? If so, also doesn't seem like a good reason -- there's plenty of ways to put security measures in place, and then there's always genetic testing.

If sperm could be harvested, wouldn't that allow the star horse to continue racing, develop a following, and generate some long-term enthusiasm about the sport with a new fan base?

What if the gelding starts to lose a la funny Cide? Then what is the sperm worth? A whole lot less? What happens when one of these horses breaks down? Doesnt that just give the crazies another argument to use against us?