Of course horses and animals are abused and mistreated at farms and homes and wherever. You're missing my point because, perhaps, you're "much closer to the situation than" I am.
My point is, I would love to watch the Preakness, I would love to watch the Derby, I would love to watch all the big races, I would love to go to Finger Lakes like I used to, but I chose to give it all up because I don't want to watch athletic events where too often the curtain comes out and a vet offs a beautiful animal or takes it out of view and whacks it after the animal hobbles around on three legs with one dangling.
I was a sportswriter for eight years, loved covering boxing because of the rich characters and great copy. I got sprayed with blood one time at press row at a fight in Cleveland, might've been one of Don King's first shows after he came back from "college." I became close with some world-class boxers, saw their faces up close after fights, saw over time what happened to their minds. Don't watch any more. Avoid the UCF like an STD. I choose to eschew violence and death as much as humanely possible. That simple.