The Dark Underbelly of Horse Race

Horse race is a sport in which horses are whipped, drugged, and pushed beyond their limits. Despite this, they are still beautiful animals. In the wild, they run freely and joyfully. However, they are not designed to win races.

The winning horse is the one that crosses the finish line first. If no winner is determined, the race will be settled according to dead heat rules.

Humans perch on horses’ backs

The sport of horse racing has entranced spectators for centuries. Some of the earliest records of horse races date back to the Greek Olympic Games. But today, horse racing is more than just a race for the best jockey or driver. It’s also a spectacle that involves a large crowd of spectators and costumes.

Many horses are suited to specific types of races, and it’s essential for trainers to match their horses with the right races. For example, a filly or mare should not run in a race for older males. In addition, a horse must be fit to race on a wet track.

Claiming races are designed to maintain as level a playing field as possible, so runners that are not fast enough for higher levels can compete with each other. However, the claiming system creates a risk-reward situation: winning in a claiming race can help a horse earn more prize money than it would have otherwise.

Horses are forced to sprint

The horse racing industry is notorious for its use of animals in cruel training practices, drug abuse, gruesome injuries and breakdowns, and slaughter. Growing awareness has led to some improvements, but more must be done. PETA’s investigations have exposed abusive training techniques for young horses, the use of drugs and sedatives on race day, and the transport of countless American racehorses to foreign slaughterhouses.

In a horse race, a jockey can use his hands or whip to urge the runner to run faster. This urging is called ‘hand riding’ or ‘scrubbing’. A horse that is being scrubbing will be running at less than its best pace and may be considered “hung.” During an inquiry, the race is reviewed to check for possible infractions. An inquiry also refers to a sign flashed on the tote board to indicate that a foul has occurred. This is often an indicator that a horse was being whipped excessively. A hung horse is unlikely to win.

Horses are pushed beyond their limits

Behind the romanticized facade of horse racing lies a world of drugs, injuries, and gruesome breakdowns. Many race horses suffer from a variety of ailments including lameness, broken bones, and pulmonary hemorrhage. Trainers often push horses to run beyond their limits, leading to devastating breakdowns and injuries. Some horses are so severely injured that they cannot be saved, even with a cocktail of legal and illegal drugs. These horses are then discarded and slaughtered.

In addition to pushing their horses to run at high speeds, trainers often use cocktails of legal and illegal drugs to mask their injuries. These drugs also enhance performance. Many race horses are prone to exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, a condition in which they bleed from their lungs when they run too fast.

In order to prevent this from happening, horses are given drugs such as Lasix and Salix. Despite this, the death rate among race horses is still high. Most are discarded once their owners have decided they are no longer profitable. The vast majority of discarded horses are killed for meat.

Horses are drugged

The romanticized world of Thoroughbred horse racing is hidden from the public by a dark underbelly of drugs, injuries, and gruesome breakdowns. Trainers use a variety of medications to enhance the horses’ appearance, behavior and performance. They can also mask pain and fatigue.

Stimulants, like amphetamines, give a horse a temporary energy boost while narcotics can mask pain. Other medications, like furosemide, known as Lasix, can prevent exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage by causing the horse to eliminate excess fluids.

In March 2020, a sweeping set of federal indictments charged several trainers, veterinarians and drug distributors with using drugs such as “monkey juice” and cobra venom to make horses run faster. These substances are considered illegal under racing regulations, and they can put horses at risk of serious injury or death. However, the racing industry is working to clean up its act with new rules, centralized testing and uniform penalties. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act will replace the patchwork of state regulations with a national program.