The Real World of a Horse Race
A horse race is a sport that brings together thousands of people to watch horses run for their lives. Behind the romanticized facade of Thoroughbred horse racing, however, is a world of injuries, drug abuse, gruesome breakdowns and slaughter. Every week, an average of 24 horses suffer fatal injuries or breakdowns during races. This is in addition to the many that are discarded by racing authorities when they stop making money, as well as those euthanized because of severe health problems.
Despite their physical prowess, horses do not like to be pushed beyond their limits. As prey animals, they are naturally social and prefer to stay in groups to keep safe from predators. But when a horse is forced to run too fast, it can be injured and even die from exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, or bleeding in the lungs. To compensate for this, horses are injected with cocktails of legal and illegal drugs to mask injuries and increase their speed. Many of these horses bleed so much that their legs swell, leading to laminitis, a painful inflammation of the hoof.
Jockeys are also hurt often during races. One study showed that jockeys suffered 184 injuries out of 360 reported falls in California horse races. The most common injury was to the leg, and the second most frequent was to the head. These injuries are caused by whips, the use of electric shock devices on horses and the constant urging to run faster. Jockeys also suffer from a variety of back problems, and in some cases are even killed by falling horses.
As a result of these issues, some race tracks are starting to crack down on the treatment of horses. Newer technologies and better track conditions are helping to make racing safer for both the horses and the spectators. Some racetracks are also banning the use of the popular blood-thinning drug Lasix, which has been shown to cause a dangerous condition called exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage in horses. Nevertheless, most owners and trainers still have only short-term financial interests in their horses, leaving them vulnerable to serious injury and neglect throughout their lives.
Regardless of its many flaws, horse racing continues to draw millions of fans. The spectacle of horses running in front of a packed grandstand is mesmerizing, and the possibility of winning a small sum (or, for a lucky few, a large fortune) can be enough to lure gamblers to the betting window. Whether they’re hard-core daily bettors or casual visitors, the majority of fans connect with and cheer for their favorite horse, as seen in the famous picture of Seabiscuit being paraded around the racetrack after his victory in the 1939 Belmont Stakes. But even though these connections are based on deep affection and empathy for a living creature, they’re often built on an underlying relationship of economic exploitation and power. The racehorse is nothing more than a piece of property, and a horseman can run it into the ground and, ultimately, death with near impunity.