A horse race is a competition between horses and often includes human athletes known as jockeys. The sport can be dangerous for the horses as they are pushed to run at high speeds, and this puts them at risk of falls and injury. Cracked leg bones and hocks are common for many horses, due to the enormous amount of pressure put on their legs during races. Additionally, the exploitation of these young animals causes them to feel stressed before they even get to the track, which can lead to behavioral problems in later life. When they aren’t able to earn money, most racehorses end up in slaughterhouses to be turned into glue and dog food, or exported to other countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Japan.
The earliest races were match races between two or at most three horses. The owners provided the purse for these matches, and bets were placed on each horse. Those who won received the entire amount of the bets placed on them, while those that lost forfeited their stake. Matches were recorded by disinterested third parties who became known as keepers of the match books.
Modern horse racing is a multi-billion dollar industry that is centered around breeding and training the finest Thoroughbred horses to win top prizes in major races. Despite this, the industry’s affluent participants often do not treat the horses with the care and respect that they deserve. This is why the horse racing industry needs to evolve into a more ethical business model that places the best interests of the horses at the forefront of its decisions and activities.
There are essentially three types of people in the world of horse racing: The crooks who illegally drug or otherwise abuse their horses, the dupes who labor under the fantasy that horse racing is generally fair and honest, and the masses of people who know that the industry is more crooked than it ought to be but still do not do all they can to fix the problem. Unfortunately, for the latter group of people, it is easy to confuse hostility toward PETA with their work, and to mistake this for an unwillingness to face the truth about their own industry.
When a horse is entered in a race, it is given a number based on its stall and position in the field. Horses in the lead are given the lowest number, while those at the back receive the highest numbers. Then the horses are assigned a starting gate based on the number of other horses in their division, and finally they are assigned a post position within that group. The total of all these factors is what determines the final placings in a race. This information is then broadcast to the betting public through a live simulcast. A live telecast is when the race is shown on TV, while a simulcast is when the races are broadcast from a different location, usually a casino or racetrack.