If you follow me on Twitter, you’re going to get – in addition to tweets about New York City, politics, feminism, and the New York Rangers – lots of tweets about cats. And cat rescue. And the treatment of animals in factory farms. And cruelty-free products of various sorts.
You’re also going to get a lot of tweets about horse racing, because when I’m not teaching high school English in Brooklyn, that’s usually what I’m writing about.
Recently NPR’s sports show Only A Game asked me a question that I get asked a lot: if you love animals so much, how can you love horse racing?
I tried to give an answer in this segment for the show last month, and I try to answer it every time someone from my non-racing life finds out what I do in most of my spare time. The short answer is that, like a lot of relationships, it’s complicated.
Continue reading at The Guardian…
Photo: NYRA/Adam Coglianese
Brooklyn Backstretch 
This is the most well-thought-out article I’ve seen on the subject. Yes, indeed, it is complicated, as with other sports. Vast numbers of people are passionate about the NFL and professional soccer even though there are well-known side effects to richly compensated players. Nothing Teresa says will placate some critics of using animals to perform, but her reasoning is sound and her response is honest, unlike some of the comments by critics.
Long overdue response here, but thanks, Bill. Appreciate your comment, and your reading.
Long overdue response here, but thanks, Bill. Appreciate your comment, and your reading.