A horse race is a competition between two or more horses over distance. It has been practiced since ancient times and is one of the oldest sports in human history. It has evolved from a primitive contest of speed to a modern spectacle involving huge fields of runners and sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment. However, its basic concept has remained unchanged. The horse that crosses the finish line first wins. This is why horse racing remains a popular sport for millions of people around the world.
Behind the romanticized façade of horse racing is a world of injuries, drug abuse, and gruesome breakdowns. While spectators show off their fancy outfits and sip mint juleps, horses are forced to sprint-often under the threat of whips and illegal electric shock devices-at speeds so fast that they can sustain injuries like bleeds in the lungs (exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage).
Horses used for racing have to be pushed to these limits because they are prey animals and want nothing more than to run away from danger. To do this they are given cocktails of legal and illegal drugs intended to mask pain, increase performance, and cover up injuries. As a result, many of them will break down and die during the race.
When horses are not able to compete anymore they become a burden for their owners. When they do not bring in enough money, they are sold at auction and sent to slaughterhouses in Canada, Mexico, and Japan, where their flesh is turned into glue and dog food. Some of the horses are also exported to China, where they are eaten as a delicacy.
This is a cruel sport for these beautiful animals. When a horse is injured or dies, it is often euthanized by injecting them with a lethal dose of corticosteroids. However, these steroids can cause severe degenerative joint changes, such as osteoarthritis and bone cysts, and also lead to a fractured limb. Despite the fact that the use of these drugs is against the law, they are still widely used in the industry. Random drug testing is not conducted on all horses, and the results are often shocking.
Horse racing is a multi-billion dollar business that is heavily dependent on government subsidies. It is a shame that New York state taxpayers are putting their money at risk by subsidizing this losing form of gambling. As Noah Shachtman argues in Opinion Today, horse racing is essentially a scam that tries to con New York state taxpayers by arguing that a losing form of gambling should be subsidized by a profitable form of gambling.