I confess. About 30 years ago, I spent a pleasant day at the racetrack. My husband and I were visiting family in Miami Beach and we all decided that a day at the races would be fun. It was.

Checking out the parimutuel board, picking horses, placing bets and watching the beasts of burden dash for the finish line were a real rush. Going to the window and getting paid a few dollars for correctly beating the odds was a thrill.

Gambling, though a vice, is perfectly acceptable in most societies. There is something in human nature that rewards us with great feelings of joy and accomplishment when we correctly predict the outcome of events over which we have no real control. And anywhere that a profit can be made, there are bound to be professionals ready to make big bucks. We, the gamblers, occasionally score, but the odds are always against us.

When it comes to betting on sports or even something as unpredictable as the outcome of a political contest, what’s the harm in risking some money on a hunch? If we are wealthy or not, as long as we don’t wager foolishly and put money that is needed to pay for life’s necessities at risk, the government has no business outlawing gambling. Of course, some regulation and oversight is needed to make sure bettors don’t get ripped off. But who are we to take a beautiful animal like a horse and make it do unnatural feats just for our entertainment?

Over the past 30 years since my one day in the grandstand, there have been numerous racing tragedies. The match race between 1975 Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure and filly Ruffian, an award-winning horse that was fondly called “Queen of the Fillies,” had a catastrophic ending. Ruffian hit her shoulder on the starting gate and then, in pain, ran the race but broke her leg in two places. She had to be euthanized and is buried at Belmont Park racetrack in New York.

In 2006, beloved thoroughbred and Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro broke down during the Preakness Stakes in Maryland. Despite valiant efforts to repair his broken leg bones, Barbaro had to be euthanized on January 29, 2007.

With the latest tragedy suffered by Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby last weekend, I’m starting to wonder about horseracing. Was her death the result of just another rare and freak accident? Should horses be bred and trained to carry a jockey on their back and be pushed beyond their natural limits just to entertain us?

Throughout history, horses have been used to help people - provide transportation, pull carts and carriages, and plow fields. But to force them to rush to the finish line just to amuse us and satisfy our desire to pick a winner seems cruel. If people want to wager on contests of speed, why not just allow betting at NASCAR and other people-racing events? Until scientists can read an animal’s mind and know for sure that it is feeling well and up for a sprint, the future of horseracing is in doubt.