Every 2025 Kentucky Derby Horse Related to Secretariat
“Every horse running in Kentucky Derby 2025 is a descendant of this racing legend,” according to a Louisville Courier Journal May 3 article on the first day of Triple Crown racing season.
The headline caught my attention, as my own Charlie is also related to Secretariat, five generations back.
Why is this important? It highlights the inbreeding that’s among the most critical but least discussed reasons the horse racing industry is so brutal to the horses themselves.
Thoroughbreds are bred for characteristics that help them run fast for a few years, not for characteristics that contribute to overall health or longevity.
Among Thoroughbreds’ most common traits are thin soles and small hoof-to-body-mass ratio. I’ve seen these traits manifest in my Charlie, who raced for 4.5 years as Charlie’s Quest before I worked with PETA to rescue him at age seven in 2016.
Healthy horses can live well into their 30s — but when Charlie was just 13, he developed severe laminitis which can often necessitate euthanasia.
It is only thanks to world-class farrier care from Daisy Haven Farm, including the latest glue-on shoe prosthetics, that Charlie is still able to live a good quality life today at age 16.
