The hot-button issue in the world of sports during the past several years has been the proliferation of performance-enhancing drugs. From baseball to track, the concern has been in maintaining the purity of competition — allowing humans to compete against one another based on God-given ability and the efforts of their hard work — rather than the efficacy of their juice.

The sport with the biggest steroid abuse of all is thoroughbred horse racing. Through a series of horrific tragedies during the past couple of years, equestrians have started to realize that the biggest concern with performance-enhancing drugs is the detriment to health and safety, not competitive quality.

In 2006, Barbaro, the then-undefeated bay colt trained by Michael Matz, won the Kentucky Derby by 6 1/2 lengths — the largest margin of victory in 60 years. The elation from this historic victory had people talking about Barbaro potentially being the first winner of the Triple Crown — the most coveted prize in horse racing that requires winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in a period of about five weeks — in nearly 30 years.

These hopes vanished within the first few seconds of the Preakness. After a false start, Barbaro was reloaded into the gate. Unbeknownst to race officials and his jockey, he had just shattered his right hind leg in 20 places. Once the gates opened and the horses were off, it became immediately apparent that something was wrong, and the jockey pulled him to a halt. Several surgeries and a year of slow complications later, Barbaro was finally put to rest.

Last year, the filly Eight Belles became only the 40th filly to run in the 134-year history of the Kentucky Derby. Coming down the stretch, she was neck and neck with the favorite Big Brown. As they approached the finish line, he pulled away and took the roses. But as Eight Belles was cooling down, and her owners were soaking in the moment of coming in second, the mighty girl collapsed. She had shattered both of her front ankles during the race and had to be put down on the track.

The overwhelming issue that has led to these recent heartbreaking stories is that the horses that are being raced are too young. All of the horses in the running for the Triple Crown are 3-year-olds who are far from being fully developed. Even more troubling, these horses have typically been racing competitively since the age of 2. It would be like putting elementary-school kids against one another in the 400-meter race at the Olympics.

After being around horses nearly my entire life, I’ve been able to witness firsthand the physical immaturity that still exists in these young horses. They are still practically babies at this age. In order to overcome these natural barriers, the horses tend to be given performance-enhancing drugs. This does wonders to the muscular development, but nothing to the skeletal strength. This does nothing but put increased strain on bones that are still growing and have yet to fully mature.

Having competed in equine sports for many years, I know the joys that can come from working with these incredible creatures. Deep bonds form between you and your animal partner that allow you to achieve great success. I have no doubt that the trainers, owners and jockeys feel passionate about their horses and hate to see hardship fall upon these friends that have given them so much. But further responsibility needs to be taken by these individuals to ensure the well-being of these animals.

Finally, a display of this arose Saturday at the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby. Jeff Mullins, the trainer of the odds-on favorite colt I Want Revenge, noticed some tenderness in the steed’s left front ankle. After consulting with the staff veterinarian, he decided that there was a risk of injury and scratched the horse from the race. Until the National Thoroughbred Racing Association creates a nationalized standard of conduct and a commissioner position is assigned to oversee the operation of the sport, there need to be more instances of personal accountability.

Events such as the Kentucky Derby are rich in tradition and provide the world with some of the best stories of true underdog glories. Everyone knows the story of Seabiscuit and the uplifting feeling he brought to a nation in depression. Soon, everyone will know the name of Saturday’s winner — and perhaps our modern-day Seabiscuit — Mine That Bird, who was the second-biggest upset in Derby history at 50-1 odds.

The sport can still maintain this prestige and merriment while placing further emphasis on putting animal safety first — by abolishing steroid use and considering an increase in the minimum age of racers.

Reach columnist Jeff Dickson at opinion@dailyuw.com.