Horse races are longstanding sports events that pit horses on an oval track against one another with organized betting taking place on the outcome. One of the oldest forms of competition, its core concept has changed relatively little over time. Nowadays, races often include large fields of runners equipped with sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment as well as vast sums of money at stake for the winner, determined by who crosses the finish line first.
Horse races can cause severe and often fatal injuries, including heart failure, pulmonary hemorrhage (bleeding out of the lungs), broken necks, severed spines, ruptured ligaments and shattered legs. Many horses who cannot complete the race are euthanized – often before age two has fully matured to manage such rigorous physical demands as racing on hard surfaces at high speeds.
Animal rights activists and advocates often express concern over the grueling and brutality of horse racing, which has been one of the primary draws to HBO series Luck, set within this arena. Anti-horse racing demonstrations take place every weekend at both Laurel and Pimlico Race Courses in Maryland.
At these demonstrations, activists raise signs and discuss the cruel conditions racehorses are subject to during racing. According to Maryland organizer with Horseracing Wrongs Jennifer Sully estimates a typical day of protest at either Laurel or Pimlico involves between 30-40 participants – some might feel intimidated by such large numbers while others find comfort with it all.
One of the key issues surrounding horse racing is its unregulated status under federal or state law, making it hard to monitor how racehorses are trained, bred, handled or sold. One way of increasing protection of these animals would be for pressure on industry leaders to implement changes necessary for protecting them.
Witnessing a young horse die in an animal race without feeling any sense of regret is testament to horse racing’s dehumanizing effect. If we cannot find a way to reform this sport so as to not exploit these beautiful animals, justifying its existence on any ethical basis will be impossible. To achieve this goal would require an intense ideological examination at both a macro business and industry level as well as within individuals who work in it. Idealy, this would mean restructuring from breeding shed to aftercare that prioritizes horses at every decision-making stage, including caps on how often a horse can run and limitations on years of service before offering more natural and horse-friendly lifestyle options post-track.