The Dark Side of the Horse Race
Horse races, long a popular spectator sport, are competitions between Thoroughbred horses — often called equine athletes — and human jockeys. They are generally held on flat racetracks, which are open fields without barriers or fences. The horses, bred and raised by private owners, are entered in races where the winner earns a prize. Bets are placed on the outcome of each race by individuals and corporate entities. A bettors’ chances of winning are dependent upon the skill and judgment of the rider, the horse’s physical condition and the quality of the track. Historically, the races were match races between two or at most three horses, with the winner earning a prize if the owner matched a bet. In the mid-18th century, demand for more public racing led to open events with a larger number of runners. A variety of entrant rules were developed to determine eligibility, including age (two-year-olds compete with more weight than older horses), sex (fillies are given a weight advantage over males), and birthplace. Weight penalties or allowances are also used based on individual horses’ past performance.
Today, many of the most prestigious thoroughbred races in North America and elsewhere are handicaps. During a handicap race, the horse’s racing secretary or track handicapper assigns a weight allowance, or a weight penalty, for each competing horse. The greater the difference between a horse’s actual weight and its assigned weight, the more difficult it is for that horse to win. The weights are adjusted in relation to a horse’s age, sex and past performance.
A great deal of work must be done to correct the glaring inconsistencies and injustices inherent in racing, but there is hope. Growing awareness of the dark side of this sport has fueled improvement, but much more needs to be done. To truly act in the best interests of the horses, it will require a profound ideological reckoning on both the macro business and industry level, as well as within the minds of horsemen and women. Ideally, it would look like a near complete restructuring from top to bottom that prioritizes the horses at every level of decision making – from breeding shed to aftercare, from caps on the number of times a horse can run and its years of service to integrating a more natural and equine friendly lifestyle for racehorses.
On a recent morning in the backstretch of Santa Anita, War of Will, McKinzie and Mongolian Groom lined up for the final furlong of a race for American horses over distances between six and eight miles (two to four kilometers). As the pack raced into the last light of the day, their movements were hypnotic — huge strides, hypnotic smoothness.
But these equine athletes are more than racehorses, and if they are not saved by the small handful of independent nonprofit rescues that network, fundraise and work tirelessly to do so, they will die. Some will be euthanized in order to keep them healthy; others will hemorrhage into the slaughter pipeline and end up, according to PETA’s estimates, in foreign slaughterhouses.
Horse races, long a popular spectator sport, are competitions between Thoroughbred horses — often called equine athletes — and human jockeys. They are generally held on flat racetracks, which are open fields without barriers or fences. The horses, bred and raised by private owners, are entered in races where the winner earns a prize. Bets are placed on the outcome of each race by individuals and corporate entities. A bettors’ chances of winning are dependent upon the skill and judgment of the rider, the horse’s physical condition and the quality of the track. Historically, the races were match races between two or at most three horses, with the winner earning a prize if the owner matched a bet. In the mid-18th century, demand for more public racing led to open events with a larger number of runners. A variety of entrant rules were developed to determine eligibility, including age (two-year-olds compete with more weight than older horses), sex (fillies are given a weight advantage over males), and birthplace. Weight penalties or allowances are also used based on individual horses’ past performance. Today, many of the most prestigious thoroughbred races in North America and elsewhere are handicaps. During a handicap race, the horse’s racing secretary or track handicapper assigns a weight allowance, or a weight penalty, for each competing horse. The greater the difference between a horse’s actual weight and its assigned weight, the more difficult it is for that horse to win. The weights are adjusted in relation to a horse’s age, sex and past performance. A great deal of work must be done to correct the glaring inconsistencies and injustices inherent in racing, but there is hope. Growing awareness of the dark side of this sport has fueled improvement, but much more needs to be done. To truly act in the best interests of the horses, it will require a profound ideological reckoning on both the macro business and industry level, as well as within the minds of horsemen and women. Ideally, it would look like a near complete restructuring from top to bottom that prioritizes the horses at every level of decision making – from breeding shed to aftercare, from caps on the number of times a horse can run and its years of service to integrating a more natural and equine friendly lifestyle for racehorses. On a recent morning in the backstretch of Santa Anita, War of Will, McKinzie and Mongolian Groom lined up for the final furlong of a race for American horses over distances between six and eight miles (two to four kilometers). As the pack raced into the last light of the day, their movements were hypnotic — huge strides, hypnotic smoothness. But these equine athletes are more than racehorses, and if they are not saved by the small handful of independent nonprofit rescues that network, fundraise and work tirelessly to do so, they will die. Some will be euthanized in order to keep them healthy; others will hemorrhage into the slaughter pipeline and end up, according to PETA’s estimates, in foreign slaughterhouses.