Issues in the Horse Racing Industry in the United States

By Ashley Ferrato

University of Florida

Figure 1. A horse race at Monmouth Park Race Track in New Jersey

Miller, P. (2012). [Online image] Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y5uvp52f

I’d like to begin with a very relevant statement by Milan Kundera, "Humanity's true moral test, its fundamental test, consists of its attitude toward those who are at it mercy: animals." I'm sure many of you have heard of greyhound racing, with its outlaw on the most recent ballot in Florida, but you may or may not be familiar with equine racing. It is a current industry under scrutiny in the U.S. and it relates to the issues of animal welfare.

Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport with two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for the fastest speed, usually 1 to 2 miles in length. There is evidence of it being 10,000 years old and in 2018 the U.S. held 36,5000 races. Large races like the Kentucky Derby are televised, draw around 157 thousand spectators to the event, and involve the betting of over $200 million dollars. It plays a large role in the United States’ economy but recently more people are becoming concerned with how the horses are treated.

An article was published in the Journal of Animal and Natural Resource Law entitled, “Transgressing Trainers and Enhanced Equines: Drug use in racehorses, difficulty assigning responsibility and the need for a national racing commission.” It is written by Kjirsten Lee who is an equine lawyer with over 20 years of experience in the industry. In her article, Lee discusses the top three major issues that the horse racing industry currently faces with a legislative perspective: Over-breeding, Physical Limitations, and Drug Use.

The horse breed used for racing is called Thoroughbred, there is now an unfortunate common saying: Thoroughbreds are thoroughly inbred. Its true, and Lee explains how people in the industry were in search of the most successful blood line so they began inbreeding and this led to genetic weaknesses as a result of a lack of genetic diversity.

In addition, due to the search for only the most superior horses, the over-breeding has caused overpopulation. It is a commonly known industry fact that only 5-10% of the horses bred actually get to race, because the rest “aren't good enough”. I hope you’re wondering where the other 90-95% of the horses go… and the answer is that they have nowhere to go. Horses cost thousands of dollars to maintain so when they aren't seen as profitable by the trainers they are abandoned, auctioned, left to rescues or shipped out of the country for slaughter.

The next issue Lee addresses is that “soundness has been traded for speed”. Soundness is a term that means the horse is comfortably able to walk and move with no pain anywhere in its body, specifically its feet or legs. Lee explains that horses are raced at the age of 2 so they aren’t fully developed and their joints haven’t yet closed. Their musculoskeletal system simply isn't ready for the stress and athletic rigor of racing, with the weight of the jockey on their back. Tying everything together, these race horses are bred for maximum speed and size, not durability or longevity, and combined with the fact that they are forced to perform at such a young age, it directly causes a very high risk of injury. Once a horse is injured they’re most commonly euthanized because treatment is too expensive or would still lead to the end of their racing career. However, if the horse is valuable enough or performed especially well, once recovered it will continue to race but this typically involves a heavy reliance on drugs.

The third issue of drug use is arguably the biggest. Lee states that “Tragically, the sport has been tainted by the use of steroids and pain killing drugs, the administration of which masks injury and creates an unfair advantage by allowing horses to race that are not physically up to the challenge,” and they have been proven to make the horse more susceptible to injury (2015). Some of the most widely used and approved drugs are Lasix, which prevents bleeding in the horses lungs, and Bute, a legal painkiller. Lee explains that often these drugs are given at a much higher dose than regulation allows, so the pain can be hidden and injured horses can continue to race. In addition, these drugs can weaken the horse’s joints, prevent growth, and a 2002 Ohio State University study reported that Bute suppresses healing and bone formation. The horses are also subjected to severe withdrawal symptoms as a result of drug use.

All three of these issues are very pressing and the reform of the horse racing industry currently carries great significance. It has become no longer an enjoyable sport but a horse racing horror, there is no reason that a mile and a half sprint for a Horse should be a death sentence. At the Santa Anita race track in California, 28 horses have died since this December. That story made CNN, FOX, and the New York times because is is unforeseen to have that many deaths at a single location, however, for every one thousand horses that race in the U.S., two will die which is twenty-four a week on average. I am an equestrian, there is great enjoyment of competition for both people and the horse, but this is not acceptable.

There are solutions like a zero-tolerance drug policy, competitive racing only after 4 years of age, and racing on turf (grass) tracks only, instead of dirt where horses were found to have a 32% higher chance of fracture. Culminating Lee’s critique of the current lack of standardized regulations in Thoroughbred horse racing, is her call for a national organization overseeing the industry, similar to the NCAA. Her solution is for a national racing commission to be created by congress to implement programs, legislation, and a uniform policy that will rectify these tragic shortfalls. And on that note I will leave you with the words of Albert Einstein, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”

References

Lee, K. (2015). Transgressing trainers and enhanced equines: Drug use in racehorses, difficulty assigning responsibility and the need for a national racing commission. Journal of Animal and Natural Resource Law, 11(4), 23-70. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/janimlaw11&div=5

Miller, P. (2012). [Online image] Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/pmillera4/7659509020/in/photolist-cEQZbm-scJSrK-fPSoxz-4yT9pJ-a114Yq-eXiyxv-4TZmJ3-4VGL7x-63qBea-4Kjscp-cFkAbh-cCpT7J-4VGJTr-fP31Uh-82pNNA-4J7mxk-bnMFQL-bLfeiH-JdpwB-nHDsjL-Nn3qaf-auPDEy-aojLGU-5jbwrC-hxXZPu-cEQYGo-i5Ud4k-pDu3MP-xY79Zf-pNioxn-nUcEXs-hwy5rP-9hijqo-7sGJFh-9hfene-5M2fJB-9G4Gpp-4VM6hA-5ydVvu-4VGP3v-4VM5pG-ntFhmA-NYNPir-5ydUf9-C1Frtk-9G7D1h-fwuSFJ-kCqbze-5oCWok-4Urnzm