Behind the Glitz of a Horse Race

Horse races have entranced spectators for centuries. Today, people go to the track for all kinds of reasons—to wager on “the favorite,” to drink mint juleps, and to watch the magnificent animals run with such hypnotic smoothness. But behind the glitz of Thoroughbred racing lies a world of injuries, drug abuse, and slaughter.

During the first two centuries of organized racetracks, the sport focused on stamina rather than speed. Most races were run at distances of two miles or more, with three or four turns. The top horses of the day were chestnut colts such as War of Will and Mongolian Groom, who possessed great speed and tremendous endurance.

Racing officials struggled to enforce rules. Horses were not subject to the same rigorous physical testing as human athletes, and racing officials lacked the ability to detect many of the drugs that were being used to mask injuries or enhance performance. Powerful painkillers designed for humans and anti-inflammatories that were injected into the horse’s system bled easily over into race preparation, as did powerful growth hormones and blood doping.

By the mid-18th century, the sport had developed a number of rules and regulations that made it more open to the public. Rules governing the age, sex, and birthplace of racehorses, as well as the eligibility of owners and riders, were established. Many races were restricted to a specific township or county, and only horses that had not won a certain amount of money were allowed to compete in them.

Most racehorses are pushed beyond their limits, and even the best ones will sometimes suffer from exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. In order to decrease this bleeding, most are given cocktails of legal and illegal drugs that mask the injury and add to a horse’s speed. The drugs also have side effects, including gastrointestinal discomfort and weight loss, which can be difficult for the horses to tolerate.

As a result, the majority of horses are not able to complete a race, and many die before they can even reach the starting gate. Those who do finish are often put down after a short stint in a slaughterhouse, where they will be turned into glue, dog food, and, in some countries, human meat.

Some racehorses are rescued by organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, but most will be sent to slaughterhouses in Canada, Mexico, Japan, or China. In the latter, most end up as dog food and glue or, in the case of those sold for meat, as a delicacy called horseshoe crab. A few are rehabilitated and returned to the tracks, where they become popular show horses. But for the vast majority, it’s just another bloody and gruesome chapter in a long history of cruelty.