Day: May 7, 2024

A horse race is a competition for horses, usually over an oval track, where betting on the winner takes place. It has evolved into a spectacle involving large fields of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment and immense sums of money. Its essential feature, though, remains the same: The horse that crosses the finish line first is declared the winner. The term can also be used to refer to a close and highly competitive contest of any kind, including a political race.

The New York Times has gathered secret documents, covert recordings and exclusive interviews in an investigation that explores why so many horses, supposedly in peak physical condition, break down and often die. The findings—which are the basis for a documentary streaming on Hulu called “The New York Times Presents: Broken Horses”—have placed a multibillion-dollar ecosystem in peril and put one of the world’s oldest sports at risk of losing its social acceptability.

Reckless breeding and doping practices, compromised veterinarians and trainers, decades-long resistance to changes that could save horses’ lives, and the industry’s refusal to acknowledge the existence of a deadly disease have all contributed to the crisis. In the film, The Times shows how an American Thoroughbred named Havnameltdown died from a debilitating illness that he and his trainers never knew about. Havnameltdown was a six-year-old horse that raced in a 3-mile (4-km) heat, and his death was the result of the excessive wear and tear on his body from repeated runs and jumps.

Havnameltdown was a “bleeder,” which means he had lesions in each of his fetlocks, a condition that is caused by repetitive stress injury. Bleeders are prone to exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), which can be fatal. To mitigate this hazard, many horses are injected with a cocktail of legal and illegal drugs designed to mask injuries and enhance performance. As dash racing became the standard, a few yards of advantage in a race quickly became a matter of life or death for horses.

Horse racing sells a narrative that depicts a gritty group of horses locked in a gripping pursuit of Triple Crown glory. But trophies, money and adulation are human-made abstractions that mean little to horses. The main concern of any horse is survival, which means avoiding pain and fear. The instinct to flee from human-induced stress is what makes it so hard for horses to resist the demands of handlers.

A lottery is a form of gambling wherein numbers are drawn at random to determine a winner. Many governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse them and regulate them at the state level. In the United States, a state’s lottery division is responsible for selecting and licensing retailers, training them to use lottery terminals and sell and redeem tickets, paying high-tier prizes, assisting in the promotion of the game, and ensuring that both players and retailers comply with lottery laws and rules. The state’s lottery is also responsible for establishing the size and frequency of jackpots and other prizes.

Despite the fact that it is a form of gambling, the lottery has gained widespread acceptance in most of the world’s societies. This is partly due to the perception that it raises money for a specific public good, such as education, rather than being merely a tax. This argument is particularly effective in times of economic stress, when the prospect of higher taxes or cuts in public programs would tend to dampen support for a state’s lottery.

The most popular type of lottery is the multi-state Powerball, which draws numbers to award a prize of up to $1 billion. In addition to the grand prize, Powerball has many secondary prizes of lesser amounts. Players can choose their own numbers, or they can opt for a “quick pick” that lets the ticket machine select a random set of numbers. Many people believe that if they keep playing, their chances of winning will eventually improve.

In order to ensure robust ticket sales, the vast majority of lottery revenue goes toward prize funds. This reduces the percentage that is available for state revenue, which is the ostensible reason for having a lottery in the first place. This situation can sometimes give rise to controversies, such as when the heir of an estate used the proceeds of a lottery to buy an expensive mansion.

There have been many instances of lottery winners committing crimes or attempting to cheat the system. These include Abraham Shakespeare, who committed suicide after winning $31 million; Jeffrey Dampier, who was kidnapped and murdered after winning $20 million; and Urooj Khan, who ingested cyanide after winning a comparatively modest $1 million. However, these cases are rare, and the overall safety of lottery participants is generally regarded as high.

Many, but not all, state lotteries post detailed statistics on their websites after each drawing. These include the number of applicants, demand information for specific entry dates and breakdowns by state and country. These figures are important in judging the fairness of a lottery, as they show whether the results were unbiased or not. For example, if the plot shows that an application row received its position more than the average, this indicates that the lottery was not truly random. This is why it is so important to play responsibly and only use a reputable lottery. NerdWallet recommends playing only in regulated states.