Horse racing is an ancient sport with a rich history and has been practiced in civilizations across the globe. Originally a primitive contest of speed or stamina between two horses, the game has evolved into an elaborate spectacle involving a huge field of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment and immense sums of money.
But for all the pomp and pageantry of races like the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, there are many things that should give racing pause. For one, there’s the fact that the sport is losing fans and revenue. Another is the growing awareness of the dark side of racing — including abuses in training, drug use and the fate of countless American racehorses that wind up in foreign slaughterhouses. The latter has been fueled by investigative work by animal rights groups, most notably PETA.
The sport is a complex affair with a variety of stakeholders — from the crooks who dangerously drug their horses and countenance such behavior from their agents, to the dupes who labor under the fantasy that horse racing is broadly fair and honest, to those masses in the middle who know it’s more crooked than it ought to be but don’t do enough to fix it. Despite the efforts of trainers, owners and their supporters who try to do the right thing, horse racing remains a for-profit business that is predicated on exploitation of young horses.
As for the new board, its members are a good mix of people with experience in horse racing and other industries. Their backgrounds include investment banking, law enforcement and government. They bring a diversity of perspectives to the table that can help guide the industry in a time when public attitudes toward animal welfare are evolving rapidly and the for-profit nature of the industry means it will need to adapt to changing consumer and cultural expectations.
For example, a key issue is whether the new board will support a proposal by PETA that would make the sport’s breeding and training practices more transparent to the public. Such a measure could have significant ripple effects, affecting the entire industry.
It’s time for horse racing to embrace the future by addressing its many problems. That includes establishing a national authority that can monitor and regulate the training and care of racehorses, and take action to prosecute those who commit cruelty or other violations. It also involves ensuring that more than just the wealthy owners and breeders who make up the top of the rankings have the opportunity to participate in the game, and that horses get the best possible care and treatment. It isn’t too late to make these changes, but they won’t come easy. In the meantime, let’s remember what’s at stake for racehorses such as Eight Belles, Medina Spirit, Keepthename and Creative Plan — and those who will come after them. They deserve a better life. And they deserve it sooner rather than later.
