Horse racing is a sport that’s steeped in time-honored traditions and combines an elegant sense of style with the excitement of placing a bet. But beneath the glitz and glamour lies an industry where horses are treated as disposable commodities that can be run to the ground with impunity.
As a result of growing awareness, many fans have stopped going to the racetrack and have prompted racing to rethink some of its practices. A 2014 New York Times report found that trainers routinely abused and forced injured horses to run, over-drugged them and even used shockers—an illegal practice designed to buzz a horse’s head for training purposes. Horses are also expensive to keep alive, and if they don’t make it through an entire race season, their owners typically kill them.
The most common type of horse race is a dirt track with an average distance of 6.91 furlongs (a half mile raced around one turn). Grass and synthetic all-weather tracks are also used. In addition to the traditional races, many horse breeders and owners specialize in a particular discipline or niche, such as breeding for speed, distance, or endurance. Breeding is a high-dollar business, and many stables have long-standing methods they follow to ensure their horses are in peak condition when competing.
In the United States, there are about 12,000 horses that compete in over 600 different races each year. This includes a wide variety of conditions such as maidens, allowances, optional claiming races, and stakes. The majority of horses in the US are Thoroughbreds, but other breeds, such as Arabians and Quarter Horses, are used for some events.
When it comes to predicting performance, there are numerous factors that can be considered, including the surface, the number of horses entered in a race, and the amount of money paid to win. However, a horse’s raw speed figures are the most important consideration. These are calculated by comparing a horse’s performance to the other horses in the race and then making adjustments for the quality of the track and weather.
To determine a horse’s speed figure, Timeform assigns each horse a mark based on how much faster he ran than the horse that won the race. The higher the mark, the more likely a horse will finish first or second in a race.
The speed of a horse is also dependent on its age. From 3 1/4 years to 6 1/2 years, a horse improves its speed by an average of 22.2 points and then starts slowing down. During this period, the best horses are often two or three lengths faster than their career average for 6 and 9-furlong sprint and route races respectively.
The enduring appeal of horse racing has led to the establishment of numerous international competitions, as well as a thriving betting market. But, while some horse races are a spectacle to behold, the vast majority of them are nothing more than a form of animal abuse.