Rabbits in racing

What are your thoughts on rabbits?(a rabbit is a subpar but speedy horse entered to run the hooves off of the competition for his/her better stable mate.) To me it shouldn't be allowed. I ask because there will be a rabbit in the Breeders cup Longines Turf. Shining Copper is a rabbit for Big Blue Kitten.Same connections and since BBK and copper have been entered in the same races, BBK has improved tremendously. If you look at Shining Copper's race record he went from finishing 3-4 in AOC's to finishing 4-5 in G1
Shining copper's race record:http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=8873820®istry=T
BBK race record:http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=8331418®istry=T
Shining copper's race record:http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=8873820®istry=T
BBK race record:http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=8331418®istry=T
Comments
There are a lot bigger ills that need to be addressed and regulated before rabbits even break the top 20.
Well, there is the original Triple Crown winner who went in the Derby as a rabbit...
At three, Sir Barton made his season debut as a maiden in the Kentucky Derby. He was supposed to be the rabbit (pacemaker) for his highly regarded stablemate, a horse named Billy Kelly. However, Sir Barton led the field of 12 horses from start to finish, winning the race by five lengths.[3] Just four days later, the horse was in Baltimore and won the Preakness Stakes, beating Eternal by four lengths. Again he led all the way.[4] He then won the Withers Stakes in New York and shortly thereafter completed the first Triple Crown in U.S. history by easily winning the Belmont Stakes, setting an American record for the mile and three-eighths race, the distance for the Belmont at the time. Sir Barton's four wins were accomplished in a space of just 32 days. He has been retrospectively honored as the 1919 Horse of the Year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Barton
BTW, Shining Copper has run 3-5 since he's become BBK's rabbit. Finishing in front of multiple G1 winners, and running 3rd in the Million.
Rabbits in races is a delicate balancing act. The rabbit has to genuinely fit the race conditions or at best you're courting the scorn of your peers, at worse a discussion with the stewards/racing secretary.
This was true in the Pacific Classic for sure. Bayern and Midnight Storm finished next to last and last.
The point is he DID tire them out. If he had been entered as a... oh I don't know, real competitor... wouldn't he have done the same thing? Isn't that the whole point of racing? Out run and out last the other horses? Maybe he had just as much "right" to be there as any other horse.
I'm pretty sure BBK is retiring post-BC, so hopefully this talented guy can shine on his own. He's only 4 after all.
http://www.horseracingnation.com/blogs/furlong/The_Race_of_the_Century_123#