The New York Times Article on Doping in Horse Racing
Horse racing is one of the oldest sports on Earth. It has evolved over centuries from a primitive contest of speed or stamina between two horses to a huge spectacle involving large fields of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment, and immense sums of money. Its basic concept, however, has changed little. The winner is the horse that crosses the finish line first.
Some people criticize the sport, arguing that it is inhumane and corrupted by doping and overbreeding. But others feel that the “Sport of Kings,” as it is sometimes called, represents the pinnacle of achievement for the competitors, and that while it may need reform, it is fundamentally sound.
It’s tempting to dismiss the story in The Times as part of a campaign by animal rights groups to destroy horse racing, especially because the article hitches its wagon to PETA, an organization that many racing insiders hate. But it’s a mistake to confuse hostility to the activists with dismissal of their work. The Times piece, along with a separate video from PETA that has gone viral, allows people to see for themselves some of the alleged cruelty in horse racing.
In the past, horse racing was a relatively insular industry with few rules governing how trainers and owners trained their horses. Powerful painkillers and anti-inflammatories that are safe for humans bled over into race preparation, but officialdom couldn’t keep pace with the drugs and did not have the capacity to test them. Penalties for breaking the rules were weak. Trainers punished for a violation in one jurisdiction could simply move to another.
As the sport grew more popular, a few key rules were imposed to help maintain its integrity. In 1897, the Jockey Club, the breed registry for thoroughbreds, enacted a ban on ‘doping.’ This was less about preserving the health of horses than it was about ensuring fairness to bettors and owners.
But by the time California banned wagering on horse races in 1909, organized racing was already losing its appeal. A few decades later, with the advent of new medications—powerful painkillers, anti-psychotics, anti-epilepsy products, growth hormones—the doping problem became a lot more complicated.
The drug problems have eroded the sport’s appeal. Spectators who once cheered their favorite jockeys, now root for the number on their back, or call their bets over the phone. A generation ago, Seabiscuit was the king of the grandstand. Today, a more skeptic might ask whether the sport can survive at all.
Horse racing is one of the oldest sports on Earth. It has evolved over centuries from a primitive contest of speed or stamina between two horses to a huge spectacle involving large fields of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment, and immense sums of money. Its basic concept, however, has changed little. The winner is the horse that crosses the finish line first. Some people criticize the sport, arguing that it is inhumane and corrupted by doping and overbreeding. But others feel that the “Sport of Kings,” as it is sometimes called, represents the pinnacle of achievement for the competitors, and that while it may need reform, it is fundamentally sound. It’s tempting to dismiss the story in The Times as part of a campaign by animal rights groups to destroy horse racing, especially because the article hitches its wagon to PETA, an organization that many racing insiders hate. But it’s a mistake to confuse hostility to the activists with dismissal of their work. The Times piece, along with a separate video from PETA that has gone viral, allows people to see for themselves some of the alleged cruelty in horse racing. In the past, horse racing was a relatively insular industry with few rules governing how trainers and owners trained their horses. Powerful painkillers and anti-inflammatories that are safe for humans bled over into race preparation, but officialdom couldn’t keep pace with the drugs and did not have the capacity to test them. Penalties for breaking the rules were weak. Trainers punished for a violation in one jurisdiction could simply move to another. As the sport grew more popular, a few key rules were imposed to help maintain its integrity. In 1897, the Jockey Club, the breed registry for thoroughbreds, enacted a ban on ‘doping.’ This was less about preserving the health of horses than it was about ensuring fairness to bettors and owners. But by the time California banned wagering on horse races in 1909, organized racing was already losing its appeal. A few decades later, with the advent of new medications—powerful painkillers, anti-psychotics, anti-epilepsy products, growth hormones—the doping problem became a lot more complicated. The drug problems have eroded the sport’s appeal. Spectators who once cheered their favorite jockeys, now root for the number on their back, or call their bets over the phone. A generation ago, Seabiscuit was the king of the grandstand. Today, a more skeptic might ask whether the sport can survive at all.