I think that horses are magnificent animals.  They can give us absolute trust and work extraordinarily hard in exchange for very little but food, water and shelter from the elements.  More than four million Americans are involved in the industry as horse owners, service providers, employees or volunteers and tens of millions more participate as spectators.  There are said to be as many as 9.2 million horses in the United States including horses used for racing, showing, competition, sport, breeding, recreation and work both commercially and for pleasure.

HBO’s original programming this season includes a series called Luck which revolves around the world of horse racing and includes owners, gamblers, jockeys and others.  The network had temporarily suspended the Dustin Hoffman/Nick Nolte drama earlier this week when a horse reared, flipped over and struck its head on the ground. Two other horses were euthanized earlier in the production of the show and, after the third horse died, the network decided to cancel the show.  HBO issued the following press release.

It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series 'Luck,'  Safety is always of paramount concern.  We maintained the highest safety standards throughout production, higher in fact than any protocols existing in horseracing anywhere with many fewer incidents than occur in racing or than befall horses normally in barns at night or pastures.  While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won’t in the future.  Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision.

I believe HBO has done the right thing.  Canceling Luck before any more horses are harmed is a decision that everyone will understand.