A horse race is a contest of speed among horses that are either ridden by jockeys or pulled by sulkies and their drivers. This sport has entranced spectators for centuries and today, a day at the races offers a dazzling mix of racing and betting. It’s also a dangerous sport for the horses, as the recent ABC 730 investigation discovered. Many people who watch and place bets on a horse race have never stopped to consider how cruelly the animals are treated. While it’s impossible to guarantee the safety of any animal, a zero-tolerance drug policy, turf (grass) tracks only, a ban on whipping and competitive racing after their third birthdays could make the sport safer for the horses.
The earliest records of horse races date back to the Greek Olympic Games, when riders wore barebacks and hitched their horses to chariots. In these early races, the winner was whoever had the fastest horse. Later, the sport became more organized. Match races between two or at most three horses were held by licensed tracks, and agreements about the terms of the wager were recorded in books called match books. These were maintained by disinterested third parties who came to be known as keeper of the match books. One such keeper, John Cheny at Newmarket in England, began publishing An Historical List of All the Match Races Run (1729). Other match books were maintained in other centers.
In modern times, a horse race can feature large fields of runners and sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment. Nevertheless, the fundamental concept is unchanged. The horse who crosses the finish line first is the winner. The runner who comes in second is the placer, and the horse who finishes third is the show. The winners’ earnings are shared by their owners and the track operators.
Horse racing has been a popular pastime for centuries, but it’s not without its critics. Many people support the sport because it’s exciting, but others are concerned about the welfare of the horses. For example, a study published in 2022 found that the number of horses killed at racetracks had declined by 30% since 2000. The decline was attributed to a rise in gambling and a decrease in popularity.
Many horses in the race industry are bred for speed at the expense of bone mass and general health. In the course of racing, they’re often pushed far beyond their natural abilities and suffer debilitating injuries such as bleeding lungs and broken backs. Even when they retire from the racetrack, the industry doesn’t have a good plan for them. Some are euthanized, but the vast majority are slaughtered for cheap meat. People who support horse racing need to reconsider their priorities and take steps to ensure that the sport is humane. The best way to do that is to support PETA’s efforts to reform the industry. A zero-tolerance drug policy, turf tracks only, a ban on whipping, and competitive racing after the third birthday of all Thoroughbreds would be just the start.