The Ugly Side of Horse Racing
Horse races are a spectacle of beauty. A well-trained horse, ridden by a skilled jockey, is beautiful to watch as it sprints toward the finish line with all its might. Despite its enduring popularity, the sport has an ugly side that is largely ignored. The sport’s crooks are a small, feral minority that still manage to stain the industry for everyone else. Then there are the dupes who labor under a fantasy that the sport is broadly fair and honest. Finally, there are the masses in the middle-neither naive nor cheaters, but honorable souls who know that the industry is more crooked than it ought to be and yet do little or nothing to fix the problem.
In 2020 Congress decided that it would no longer allow horses to die for the sake of entertainment and passed laws requiring safety standards to be applied on a national basis. The new rules, which have only recently been implemented, are having a positive impact on horse racing’s injury and death rates. But serious reforms are needed if horse racing wants to live up to its billing as the world’s most prestigious sport.
A horse race is a sporting event in which competing horses are guided by jockeys over a prescribed course, including any hurdles or fences that may be present. There is a designated distance that the race must cover, and the first, second, and third place finishers receive a certain amount of prize money.
Before a race begins, the horses are placed in stalls or behind a starting gate. Once all the horses are ready to begin, the gates open and the race starts. The jockeys aid their horses by guiding them along the track and jumping any hurdles that are encountered. The stewards will determine who finished the race first, and if it is impossible to decide the winner of the race, it will be declared a dead heat.
The rules of horse races are different between different national racing organizations, but the vast majority of them share similar guidelines. The most important ones include:
Horses are pushed beyond their physical limits on a regular basis. Many are injured and, in some cases, bleed from their lungs during the race. This condition, known as exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, is dangerous and painful for the horses, so most of them are doped up with a cocktail of legal and illegal drugs designed to mask injuries and enhance performance. This leads to an increase in speed, but also to the exploitation of these animals. In the end, the vast majority of racing’s horses are bailed by private owners who then ship them to slaughterhouses in Mexico or Canada. Many die there from the stress of the journey, and others are killed by inhumane methods, like neck-pulling. A few of these horses are saved by a handful of independent nonprofit rescues and individuals who network, fundraise and work tirelessly to help them find a good home.
Horse races are a spectacle of beauty. A well-trained horse, ridden by a skilled jockey, is beautiful to watch as it sprints toward the finish line with all its might. Despite its enduring popularity, the sport has an ugly side that is largely ignored. The sport’s crooks are a small, feral minority that still manage to stain the industry for everyone else. Then there are the dupes who labor under a fantasy that the sport is broadly fair and honest. Finally, there are the masses in the middle-neither naive nor cheaters, but honorable souls who know that the industry is more crooked than it ought to be and yet do little or nothing to fix the problem. In 2020 Congress decided that it would no longer allow horses to die for the sake of entertainment and passed laws requiring safety standards to be applied on a national basis. The new rules, which have only recently been implemented, are having a positive impact on horse racing’s injury and death rates. But serious reforms are needed if horse racing wants to live up to its billing as the world’s most prestigious sport. A horse race is a sporting event in which competing horses are guided by jockeys over a prescribed course, including any hurdles or fences that may be present. There is a designated distance that the race must cover, and the first, second, and third place finishers receive a certain amount of prize money. Before a race begins, the horses are placed in stalls or behind a starting gate. Once all the horses are ready to begin, the gates open and the race starts. The jockeys aid their horses by guiding them along the track and jumping any hurdles that are encountered. The stewards will determine who finished the race first, and if it is impossible to decide the winner of the race, it will be declared a dead heat. The rules of horse races are different between different national racing organizations, but the vast majority of them share similar guidelines. The most important ones include: Horses are pushed beyond their physical limits on a regular basis. Many are injured and, in some cases, bleed from their lungs during the race. This condition, known as exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, is dangerous and painful for the horses, so most of them are doped up with a cocktail of legal and illegal drugs designed to mask injuries and enhance performance. This leads to an increase in speed, but also to the exploitation of these animals. In the end, the vast majority of racing’s horses are bailed by private owners who then ship them to slaughterhouses in Mexico or Canada. Many die there from the stress of the journey, and others are killed by inhumane methods, like neck-pulling. A few of these horses are saved by a handful of independent nonprofit rescues and individuals who network, fundraise and work tirelessly to help them find a good home.