The Darker Side of the Horse Race
Horse races have grown from primitive contests of speed and stamina between two horses to become one of the world’s largest public-entertainment businesses, yet their basic concept remains relatively unchanged: the horse that crosses the finish line first is considered victorious. Technology has advanced many aspects of this sport from sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment to tracking horses with 3D printing or MRI scanners – but even with these advancements race day remains grim for Thoroughbreds: behind its romanticized facade lies drug abuse, horrific injuries or breakdowns as well slaughter among other disturbing issues that lie hidden within.
Horseracing Wrongs reports that since 2014, over 10,000 thoroughbreds have died at tracks and training facilities across America since 2014. Many were killed from serious race-related injuries; others from illegal drugs like Ephedrine or amphetamines being used during training sessions to keep horses in top condition; this should never have happened but is accepted within horseracing as necessary part of drawing fans to betting windows.
Outsiders to horseracing see it clearly: the abuse of horses used for racing has become an embarrassment to all Americans. With fans and revenue dropping away, racetracks are cutting back their schedules and offering less prize money, leading to reduced entries and ultimately races being cancelled altogether – such as Pimlico only booking 13 races on Preakness Day last year (three fewer than pre-pandemic years), which led to smaller crowds and lower betting handle, as well as canceling several midafternoon Chick Lang event which featured second largest prize pool available that day – as evidence of horseracing’s horrific abuse is clear.
Many scholars who study elections and news coverage have argued that when reporters focus on horse race journalism – where reporters primarily discuss who’s ahead or behind in an election race – voters, candidates, and the news industry as a whole can suffer as a result. In this roundup of research on its effects we explore some of its latest studies.