It’s Time to Talk About Horse Racing

Only weeks after the infamous ‘Ladies Day’, the buzz and publicity horse racing encourages is still at a high. The seemingly innocent sport can be easily seen as both fun for the horse, jockey and spectators. However, the sinister realities horse racing couples itself with are becoming more and more evident to the general public, causing multiple demonstrations, boycotts and cases of injustices to be unearthed.

So why, you may wonder, is horse racing so bad?

Horses are huge animals. They aren’t naturally designed to run at the high, intolerable speeds of a racecourse by themselves, never mind with a fully grown human on their back. So how does the sport overcome this? Drugs.

Ketamine, ecstasy, steroids. All illegal in horseracing, however commonly used with little consequence. Trainers and vets use such drugs to speed up horses, make them grow faster and stronger and primarily to mask a lot of the pain they feel during racing unnaturally. Anti-inflammatory drugs are also used to reduce the swelling of joints frequently suffered by racing horses. So, next time you innocently assume a horse wants to race, remember all the drugs it was likely to have been given before making its way onto a track.

What are the consequences of heavy drug use? Death. Something that isn’t nearly uncommon enough in the manipulative, lying and abusive horse racing industry. Win or lose, many horses will be put down once they become too old to race or as soon as they suffer an injury. Even an industry earning billions somehow can’t afford to retire healthy horses to pastures once they’re not profitable.

Instead, they end up in slaughterhouses located all around the globe where they’re often made into dog food or glue. Many horses die on the track too, with an estimated three thoroughbred horses in the USA dying daily of injuries acquired from racing.

Now you know the truth about horse racing. Though in reality, this small article is only a scratch on the surface of the Machiavellian industry. There is much more to be said and done about the injustices of the ‘sport’, so don’t place your bets because horseracing may soon be a dying industry.