Too many disposable horses

Question
I know that horse racing and breeding is BIG business.  As I watch from the sidelines,hearing stories,...knowing about horrible accidents (Barbaro), and tragic endings (Fredinand),I wonder.  Might it be morally wrong to simply breed for speed, and then discard an amimal that has a possible 30 year lifespan,only to, as most do, end up as meat?  
 There are so many bred and raced, and so few who get to retire and live a full life, just being a horse.  This is troubling.  I would not think that someone who is "in the business" might care less about the money,and more about the individual creature. Is a site where a "horse person" might be interested in answering?
I certainly mean no disrespect in asking this.  It's just that there ARE too many of these beautiful amimals, simply bred and born to run. They are used up. They suffer inferior care because they have under-run or out lived their "usefullness." Then they are sold and sold and sold, to suffer and die in a slaughter house. There are too few real homes for them.  Yet, each year, more and more are bred in persuit of "that one really big money winner". It is a very sad testimony for the industry and for the horse world. Isn't it?

Answer
Linda,

Horse slaughter is a horrible thing that really should be abolished, and the sooner the better.  But Thoroughbred racing is a very small part of the slaughter problem.  The simple fact is that most Thoroughbreds most certainly do not ?end up as meat.?  

First, consider that not all Thoroughbreds are actually bred for racing.  Many are bred by backyard breeders for riding and sport purposes.  So not all Thoroughbreds that end up at a slaughterhouse are actually ex-racehorses.   Most ex-racers are fairly easy to place in new homes when retired.  They are already broke to ride, and make excellent sport horses.

Secondly, Thoroughbreds make up a very small part of the total percentage of horses sent to slaughter each year.  By far the largest number of horses sent to slaughter are Quarter horses.  After that come PMU horses and grade horses.  

In 2005 alone, the total Thoroughbred foal crop numbered 37,000.  The American Quarter Horse Society on the other hand, registered 165,000.  There are an estimated 2, 900,000 registered Quarter horses in the USA today, or 1/2 of all horses in the USA at this time.

As a point in fact, more and more Thoroughbreds are not being bred every year.  Actually, since 1995, Thoroughbred registrations are up only 6.3%, while Quarter Horse registrations in the same time period are up 53.8%.

It is very easy to point fingers at the racing industry simply because we are so visible to the public at large.  But facts are facts, and a little research will prove that the racing industry is largely innocent of the charges leveled against it where horse slaughter is concerned. Most racehorses live quite well and get the best of care, since their owner?s livelihood depends on their health.  When their racing career is over they are either sold to show horse homes, or retired to their owner?s farms.  The few unfortunates that have gotten such huge press by ending up at slaughter  (Ferdinand, Exceller), wound up at slaughter overseas after having been sold for stud duty by unsuspecting owners here in the USA.  No attempt was made to contact the original owners in either case, or the outcome would have been very different.  Unfortunately, many residents of foreign countries have a different view regarding horse slaughter than we do in the USA.

As a breeder myself, I know that my horses are all very special to me, and should anything happen to one of them, I would be devastated.  I am certainly not in the minority, either.  There are always bad apples in every bunch, but most people associated with Thoroughbred racing love their horses and are utterly devoted to their welfare.