Horses & Canines are kept only as long as they win money for their owner (s); once an Owner comes to believe the animal has peaked they will find a way to sell, trade or barter the animal away forgetting about all the previous winnings, the phony and superficial " I love you's" when all they ever really cared about was making a buck from using an animal for archaic entertainment.  Why are we letting these archaic institution exist? So mankind can wager? Let mankind wager on human racers at varying track lengths so as to play to each individual runners strengths! Some human runners will excel at short distances while others will excel at longer distances! The equines/canines NEVER had a say in whether they wanted to be a hero one day and fed the best foods - only to become unloved and barely fed because they no longer place in first, second or third! Race tracks should have DIED OFF in the 20th Century along with rancid traveling circuses that cage wild animals as an attraction! Horse racing is NOT the sport of kings anymore...it is a business though that could easily adapt to hiring human racers! We choose not to see the horrible endings to these animals- only their brilliant, shining beginnings when they are in the winner's circle! The owner, jockey, trainer et. al., all get paid! The horse/canine gets a nice meal! As soon as they slow down a little and stop ' placing ' they are quickly sold or traded only to be used up for whatever they may have left by the new owners or worse- met with a convenient accident that remunerates the owner with a tidy insurance settlement!

We turn a blind eye to these archaic races because they are animals! But if they were humans, the owners would have to provide for them as they would have contracts and agents and be properly represented! So if we must have race track betting; why not let it be humans who race?  We celebrate the great equine winners! We fail to realize the thousands upon thousands of equines/canines for each great winning horse/dog to stand upon the pile of mistreated, ill-fed, and forgotten equines and canines to get there because mankind wants some wagering entertainment at the cost of the animals running. Let the humans run! It will provide a whole new dynamic to racing as humans vary in their desired distances and some will prefer shorter races while others will prefer longer races; either way, the racing owners can still make millions and have much less ovehead and we as a nation can put to rest an abusive wagering event that has always been at the expense of the animals!  Make the racing owners adapt to the 21st Century! Their winning purses may be less but the owner's will survive and thrive as will the runners! Have a heart....sign the petition and lets move into the 21st century with professional human runners! Everyone wins in the human races and the animal abuse is finally terminated! Make a difference- sign and please pass along to your friends! Thank you!