The highly anticipated documentary “The New York Times Presents: “Broken Horses” will premiere on FX Network on Friday at 10 p.m. ET and will begin streaming on Hulu the following day. Here is a review of the documentary.
Maybe you haven't seen the FX documentary “The New York Times Presents: “Broken Horses” Not yet, but, again, you do. Can from 60 minutes, by HBO Real sportthe Washington Post or in the pages of New York Times, the story of horse racing's problems has been told many times. Not that these aren't serious problems or things the sport should eliminate. It's just that after a while, people get tired of being told ad nauseam that the sport is corrupt…especially when the positive changes that racing has created are consistently underrated and many of the things that make the game special are conveniently overlooked.
But when it was announced last year that FX Network and New York Times have teamed up to produce a documentary about racing and its woes, it's time to get concerned. Thanks in large part to the relentless coverage and criticism of sportswriter Joe Drape, no news outlet has been tougher on race than the newspaper. time or cause more damage to its image. That time is now bringing the story to the small screen, and the fact that Drape and colleague Melissa Hoppert are listed as producers on the documentary is a concern. The time there appeared to be an anti-racing bias and two of their reporters were given free rein to use their vast resources to scuttle horse racing. This promises to get ugly.
Broken Horses is no match for racing, but what's really surprising is that after all the time and effort that was clearly put into creating this work, the documentary feels a bit dated.
The gist of the story is that racing has become a huge business that revolves around money, and that greed has led those in the industry to put the almighty dollar above the welfare of horses.
“I've been covering racing for 25 years and I've seen the money and the economy blossom,” Drape said. “It's a 'win now' culture and I'm afraid it will overshadow the 'let's take care of our horses first' culture,” Drape said.
“Drug use in horse racing really came about in the 80s and it was largely about money,” he continued. Purses are exploding, stallion rights are exploding. And you saw more dead horses.”
Arthur Hancock said this: “Willie Nelson said that greed is a curable disease and I think you see that a lot in this business, in every aspect of it.”
When an argument arises, they don't miss a step. There were so many incidents at Churchill Downs and then Saratoga. Jorge Navarro, Jason Servis, Dr. Seth Fishman. The FBI must investigate to take them down. Bob Baffert is the bogeyman. The use of even legal drugs has gotten out of control. Super coaches are ruining the sport. Things got so bad that the government needed to step in and set up the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Their story is supplemented by a predictably bloody montage, scene after scene of horses falling, collapsing and struggling helplessly on the track until they are put out of their misery.
With all the controversy he's been involved in, Baffert is an especially easy target.
The fact that Churchill Downs banned him after the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby is a big part of the story. The Broken Dreams team deserves credit for inviting Bill Caratsanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Inc., who rarely gives interviews, to appear on camera. He explained the rationale behind banning Baffert saying, “We needed to take action because we were actually running a racetrack. We must ensure our products are fair and safe.” Carstanjen went on to say that the ban was extended until 2024 because Baffert never accepted responsibility or apologized for his actions after Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for betamethasone after last year's Derby 2021.
Broken Horses also addressed the subject of the trouble of the Baffert-trained Havnameltdown (Uncaptured) in the GIII Chick Lang S. on the undercard of the 2023 GI Preakness. They concluded that the horse entered the race with a multitude of problems that any trainer or vet would have realized and that he had no business racing that day. Their “smoking gun” was the horse who allegedly had corticosteroid and hyaluronic acid injections into both pasterns and both carpal tunnels. Or at least that's the conclusion reached by Dr. Sheila Lyons. The problem is that Lyons is not a track vet. This is from her own website: “Doctor Lyons' international private consulting practice includes elite racing, dressage, show jumping, combined training, endurance and polo horses.” Lyons has been attacking racing for many years and her lack of direct involvement in the sport makes her less credible.
It will be interesting to see how the industry reacts to the documentary. Afterward 60 minutes aired his piece last November, the reaction was harsh and largely directed at the Jockey Club and its president Stuart Janney III. (Janney was also interviewed in FX production but probably didn't say anything that would anger his critics).
While this review may raise concerns that we are attacking the messenger, that is not necessarily the case. It's as much a critique of the body of work and how it leaves a lot to be desired as it is of reporting extreme laziness. Much of what it says is true, even if we've heard it all before.
What they get right is that horse racing has serious problems, to the point where its very existence is in danger. The industry has a tendency to cycle the wagons when things don't go their way, and that doesn't do the sport any favors. You don't have to like Drape, New York Times, The New York Times introduced: “Broken horses” or Dr. Lyons. But ignoring what they say is not the answer. Yes, this documentary is hardly enlightening, but that doesn't make things any better. The way to silence critics is not to scold them but to address the issues they seem so eager to bring to light.
