What is a Horse Race?
Horse race is a sport that involves running horses at high speeds. The winner of the race takes a sum of money called prize money. The sport has a long history, dating back to the ancient world. There were chariot races in Asia and bareback horse races in Europe. In modern times, thoroughbred horse racing is a popular sport in the United States. The sport is regulated by state and federal laws. In addition, there are several betting options. People can place bets on a specific horse or the overall winning team. In addition, they can also bet on the speed of a particular horse.
Despite the romanticized facade of horse races, behind it lurks a dark reality of drug abuse, gruesome breakdowns, and slaughter. Horses that compete in this cruel sport are forced to sprint for their lives on hard tracks at such a high rate of speed that they often sustain injuries and break down in the final laps. They are often whipped and even subjected to electric shocks by jockeys. And even when they aren’t injured, the sheer pressure of running at such a fast pace can cause them to hemorrhage from their lungs.
The sport is rife with corruption and cheating. Some trainers bribe jockeys to sabotage the opposition’s horses. Other trainers illegally use drugs to improve their horses’ performance and boost profits. In addition, many horses are put into training or racing at too early an age to be able to handle the demands of racing. This puts them at risk for serious injuries, including fractures and laminitis.
In recent years, horse races have been improved by technological advances. New safety protocols require necropsies when a horse dies on-track, a review of contributing factors, and interviews with the animal’s owners. Some states, such as California and New York, maintain public databases of equine deaths.
Although the sport has been able to improve its safety measures, horse racing still has some issues that need to be addressed. A recent article by the Atlantic reveals a disturbing video showing horse training at two of America’s most prestigious racing venues. The video supports what animal rights activists have been saying for decades: that the treatment of horses at elite horse races is appalling and inhumane.
The race results section brings you the fastest results from today’s UK and Irish racecourses, plus selected French, US, Hong Kong Dubai and other overseas fixtures. In the race results you can see the finishing order, starting price and expert analyst comments from each race as well as full course replays of every race. You can watch race replays by clicking either the Watch Race Finish button or the Watch Full Replay button.