Sunday, May 22, 2005
It's Funny Cide leading Funny Cide By A Nose...
That may not be as far fetched a race call as you might think.
You know, when you think about it, that is a really ugly ethical side effect of cloning. What will it mean in the great movement towards equality and away from excellence in our world. Now instead of "dumbing down" so no one feels insignificant, we'll do a little gene manipulation and voila -- you're a superstar. Sound problematic to me.
After winning the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, Funny Cide should be making multimillionaires of his owners in stud fees alone.I have to agree with this
After all, the colt Smarty Jones was sold for $39 million shortly after his Derby and Preakness victories last year and now fetches $100,000 for every offspring he fathers. Similar riches await the owner of this year's Derby winner Giacomo if he can capture the Preakness on Saturday.
Funny Cide, unfortunately, was castrated shortly after birth, so breeding the gelding is impossible. There is, however, an intriguing -- if still remote -- possibility of extending Funny Cide's dead-end bloodline: through cloning.
"Part of the intrigue, part of what makes horse racing so appealing is the challenge and the art of breeding a better animal,'' said Dan Rosenberg, president of Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky. , which breeds Smarty Jones and a stable of other blue chip runners.And if we do it with horses, why not human athletes as well? Imagine every NBA team with a Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul Jabar -- Coached by A Bob Knight.
"It will become less appealing if it comes down to which owners and breeders can hire the best scientists,'' Rosenberg said. "Do we really want races that pit 10 Secretariats against each other?''
You know, when you think about it, that is a really ugly ethical side effect of cloning. What will it mean in the great movement towards equality and away from excellence in our world. Now instead of "dumbing down" so no one feels insignificant, we'll do a little gene manipulation and voila -- you're a superstar. Sound problematic to me.
