Dave Newhouse, Mercury Register, 22 April 2007:

PAM BERG is as forgotten as her horses. The horse-racing world has shunned her and the racehorses she has mended. If not for Berg, most of these beautiful equines would have been euthanized. She is their savior.

But, to the racing industry, Berg is, in her words, "a dumping ground." Broken-down horses are brought to her Glen Ellen ranch in Sonoma County instead of to a slaughterhouse, and she nurses them back to health.

The horse owners show their appreciation by turning their backs on Berg and the hobbled horses who once wore their colors. The owners contribute nothing, or next to nothing, monetarily to their horses' rehabilitation.

"We get their horses," said Berg, "and that's the last we hear of them."

Horses are the lifeblood of the racing industry, until they're no longer of use. Then they're disposable.

The Sport of Kings is misnamed; the Sport of Skinflints would seem more accurate. Doesn't the industry care anything about the horses?

"Sadly, no," said Berg. "If they did, they'd be more concerned about them after they're through racing. In my opinion, it's become a gambling industry."

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