PETA Plans Preakness Protest

As much as anything else, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is known for its outlandish protests. So the fact that PETA is planning a protest at the Preakness Stakes can't be welcome news for the organizers of the next leg in the Triple Crown.

From William C. Rhoden of the New York Times:

PETA staged protests Tuesday in Lexington, Ky., outside the offices of the state's horse racing regulators, and it plans to have a presence May 17 at the Preakness and again three weeks later at the Belmont. The goal is to make celebrities and vote-conscious politicians reluctant to attend the high-profile Triple Crown races.

"If we suddenly make it kind of tainted, it will not be really the place where you want to be seen," Newkirk said. "We want other politicians, other people, not to wish to be associated with it."

The death of Eight Belles gave PETA a huge opportunity to make its points about horse racing. Some of PETA's points are valid, some are not, but right now, PETA is doing almost all the talking. If the people involved in horse racing aren't willing to step forward and engage in conversations about safety concerns in their sport, PETA's loud voice will be the only voice most people hear.

Latest Horse Racing Photos

Jockey Gabriel Saez rides Beyond Ready (8) to a second place finish in the seventh race at Delaware Park, Tuesday, May 6, 2008, in Stanton, Del. Saez was the jockey on Eight Belles, the filly who was euthanized after breaking both front ankles following a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones waits to saddle a horse in the paddock before the start of the eighth race at Delaware Park, Tuesday, May 6, 2008, in Stanton, Del. The filly was euthanized after breaking both front ankles following a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Jockey Gabriel Saez waits in the paddock for his mount before the start of the seventh race at Delaware Park, Tuesday, May 6, 2008, in Stanton, Del. Saez was the jockey on Eight Belles, the filly who was euthanized after breaking both front ankles following a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Trainer Larry Jones, right, leads jockey Gabriel Saez in the paddock aboard Royal Diana before the start of the eighth race at Delaware Park, Tuesday, May 6, 2008, in Stanton, Del. Saez was the jockey on the Jones trained Eight Belles, the filly who was euthanized after breaking both front ankles following a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Frank Stronach, Chairman & Interim Chief Executive Officer Magna Entertainment Corp, speaks at the company's annual general meeting in Toronto May 6, 2008. Magna Entertainment Corp , which counts a number of prestigious U.S. horse racing tracks among its holdings, swung to a first-quarter loss on Tuesday, hurt partly by a poor performance at its Gulfstream operation. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (CANADA)

Reuters