RACELAND—And we thought Measure B was intrusive! In the international world of horse racing, it turns out the horse has shit to say about how s/he can give birth to a foal that will be recognized by international racing authorities as worthy of the thoroughbred designation. Of course, in this case, condoms are not the issue, but artificial insemination most certainly is. Despite advances in technology that have improved the identification of horses (and their semen), a legal challenge to the years-old rule that states a foal can only become a thoroughbred if it is conceived through sexual intercourse has been struck down by an Australian judge.
In other words, no fucking = no thoroughbred status, no races, no glory, no stud farm, no fun.
The ruling was handed down yesterday in Australia. According to Bloomberg News, "Federal Court Justice Alan Robertson in Sydney... dismissed a bid to make the country the first to allow artificial insemination for thoroughbreds, following a trial that spanned four months and concluded Dec. 19, 2011. He cited potential international consequences as a reason for his ruling."
Indeed, the suit was brought by a relative commoner seeking an even playing field, so to speak. "Bruce McHugh, a former chairman of a Sydney racing club, sued thoroughbred authorities to legalize the use of artificial insemination, arguing the ban on the practice was an illegal trade restraint as he seeks to start a breeding business," added the news outlet.
Tony Bannon, the lawyer for the defendant Australian Surf Club explained what was at stake when he remarked that a victory by McHugh would have upset traditions behind horseracing’s appeal to kings, queens, sheikhs and billionaires. The judge agreed, and added that a change to the status quo would have “downgraded” the status of thoroughbred races held in Australia.
Robertson also rejected McHugh's claim that "the ban violated the country’s competition and consumer act," arguing that "McHugh can set up a separate register for horses bred artificially."
Bloomberg continued, "The law requires that the plaintiff must show trade restraint was unreasonable when it was established for it to be illegal. Since the rule was imposed many decades ago, it was reasonable at that time, Robertson said."
The judge concluded that at issue was not "whether thoroughbreds bred by artificial insemination should or should not be permitted to race. The application fails on the legal grounds on which it was brought.”
Still, the ruling will impact Australian breeders, the majority of whom are small operations that have an average of three mares only. According to McHugh's lawyer, those operators would benefit "from not having to ship their mares to stud farms and gaining access to the sperm of top-rated horses worldwide," Bloomberg reported.
More importantly, if allowed to use artificial insemination, small breeders with champion-quality stallions would be able to extend the effectiveness of their horses' sperm indefinitely.
Bloomberg cited the example of New Zealand breeder Janice McDonald, who "said her business came to a standstill when her Australian race horse Heroicity died at stud in the U.S. in 2005."
In an email to Bloomberg News, she wrote, “Being able to use his frozen semen would allow me to continue what I set out to achieve and surely everyone is entitled to have their dreams, not just wealthy folk. I do not feel Heroicity was given a true opportunity to show what he was capable of producing.”
While changes to these international regulations may yet happen as more small breeders try to make their mark, for the moment the sport's elite appear to have a firm grasp on the industry's gonads, literally.
As with Measure B, however, one can't help wondering why the main actor in this play, the horse, was not consulted.
