The Dark Side of the Horse Race
Seeing thousands of horses thunder past you as they run a race can be a stunning experience. It’s a rush to feel the earth shake and hear the thundering hooves pound the track. It’s a part of what makes Kentucky so special.
But there’s a dark side to horse racing that is often overlooked: Injuries, drugs, gruesome breakdowns and slaughter. Behind the romanticized facade of horse races, where people wear fancy outfits and sip mint juleps, is a world of drug abuse and violence that can lead to equine mental and physical problems. The suffering of racehorses is all too real, and it’s not uncommon for it to manifest in repetitive and compulsive behaviors like biting at the gate or cribbing.
The horse race is a global sport that has been practiced since ancient times. Archaeological records show that it was part of the sports and entertainment of many civilizations, including Ancient Greece, Rome, Babylon, Syria, Egypt, and Arabia.
Today, horse racing is a multibillion-dollar business. In the United States, there are over 500 racetracks, and each year more than 500,000 thoroughbreds are bred.
Races are organized into different divisions based on the size of the field, age and gender of the horses, their birthplace, and their previous performance. To make the sport competitive and profitable, rules were established that allow race organizers to set a minimum purse for each race and regulate the number of horses entered in a given event. To further increase the popularity of horse racing, many races are held as public events and open to anyone who wishes to place a bet.
The sport of horse racing has also become increasingly scientific, as evidenced by the introduction of a number of specialized training techniques and equipment. For example, in order to increase the speed of a racehorse, trainers often use whips and a form of acupuncture called pin firing, which is used to promote blood flow to the muscles. This technique involves using small needles to insert pins into the horse’s body, which send electrical impulses that stimulate nerve cells and help speed up muscle growth.
For those who don’t have the time or resources to train a racehorse, there are a number of veterinary procedures that can be used to enhance a horse’s ability to perform in the races, such as sedating the animal, administering painkillers, and using injections of hormones and steroids. These methods can make a huge difference to the life of a racehorse.
When newsrooms cover elections primarily by analyzing who is winning and losing — what scholars call horse-race coverage — voters, candidates and the journalism industry itself suffer, a growing body of research suggests. For example, many studies have shown that when journalists focus on the likelihood that a candidate will win instead of examining the issues at stake, they may give novel or unusual candidates an edge, even if those chances are slim compared with Republican and Democratic candidates.
