Horse racing conjures images of gorgeous thoroughbreds, swanky people in hats, and the rolling, green hills of Kentucky, but it’s not as refined as you might think. There’s a dark side to horse racing in America, thanks largely to an industry driven by big money and hindered by few regulations.
The New York Times recently investigated the horse racing industry and found shocking rates of injury and death among both horses and jockeys all across the country, and the problem seems to be getting worse, not better.
Horse racing has always been a dangerous sport, but the increased availability of performance enhancement and pain medications that can keep sick or injured horses in a race, the lack of federal laws and regulations, and the increase in casino-based racetracks have combined to make the sport into a bloodbath in the United States.
The History of American Horse Racing
Horse racing began in America in 1665 at a thoroughbred track on Long Island, and by 1868 it was an organized sport in the U.S. Though prohibitions on gambling in the late 19th and early 20th centuries almost killed the sport altogether, the introduction of parimutuel betting in 1908 allowed horse racing to take off. It was a wildly popular sport until World War II, then interest dropped off until after American horses began winning the Triple Crown. In the last several years, racetracks have seen a drop in customers, but casino operations in many states have bumped the popularity of horse racing again by increasing purses to historical highs. In 2010, the horse racing industry brought $1.2 billion to Virginia’s economy alone, and it generates about $4 billion per year in Kentucky.
Death and Injury
The New York Times story, “Death and Disarray at America’s Racetracks,” uncovered the horrors of modern horse racing. It reports that an average of 24 horses die at racetracks every week, and most are unceremoniously dumped without investigation. Many tracks refuse to report how many horse fatalities they have and, although regulations vary by state, most aren’t required to by law. The Times investigation analyzed data from over 150,000 races, plus injury reports, drug test results, and interviews. The number of breakdowns (horses who go down during a race) is steadily increasing at most tracks, which means not only are horses being treated almost as if they are disposable, but jockeys are paying the price as well.
During a race, horses can reach speeds of up to 50 mph. When a horse goes down, the jockey goes down with it, which puts him directly in the path of other racing horses. If a jockey is lucky enough to be thrown free of the disaster, he is still likely to sustain serious injuries from the impact. Currently, the Jockey’s Guild provides assistance to more than 50 permanently disabled jockeys. Many others have died. Sometimes a jockey is able to adjust his ride if he becomes aware that his horse is injured, but most often, breakdowns are a sudden and unavoidable event.
Drugs
The Times article concludes that most of the fault lies with drugs given to injured or weak horses to get just a few more races out of them. The casino link has increased horse racing purses to the point where owners and managers are willing to run horses that would have been considered unfit in the past. When horses are given painkillers, it masks the signs of injury a vet looks for in a pre-race examination, so the horses are okayed to run even if they aren’t physically able to withstand the demands of the race. In California, researchers found that 90 percent of horses that broke down during a race had some kind of prior injury.
Though some regulations around drugging exist, labs aren’t yet able to detect the latest performance enhancing drugs, and many horses are drugged before they even get to the track.
Regulations and Penalties
When threatened with federal oversight, industry leads promised to restrict the use of drugs, increase reporting of fatalities, and implement an accreditation program for tracks and drug testing labs. Little has come of their promises. Meanwhile, even when laws are broken, penalties are lax. New Mexico is the worst state for devastating horse racing fatalities, but the racing industry there has done little to respond to the problem. Regulators in New Mexico and other states don’t have to punish lawbreakers because there are no federal laws regulating drugs in horse racing. While some states are better than others, the majority of trainers go unpunished or get little more than a slap on the wrist even when caught for drug violations. Until the federal government steps in and comes down hard on the industry as a whole, it’s likely that the number of injuries and fatalities among horses and jockeys alike will continue to grow at racetracks across America.
