By Katie Oreskovic Staff Writer
The pounding of horse hooves deep into fresh, United States soil has been the rhythmic heartbeat of the country for centuries. The bouldering, unyielding animals provided the earliest of Americans with transport through the thick of the land, enabling the exploration of new territories and the relocation of nomadic dwellings. Later on, horses aided in the production of crops that would feed populations across the United States. To claim these creatures are a crucial part of American history would be an overstatement. Perhaps the most iconic and long lasting of relationships between horses and the American public, however, is horse racing. As racetracks sprouted across the United States in the late 1600s, the sport planted itself into American culture. With its rise came increased economic motivations, and today, horse racing is a multi-billion dollar industry. While the love United States citizens hold for horses is ongoing, the priorities within the horse racing industry have become misdirected. What once was driven by a passion for equine ability has been overtaken by economic motives, often at the expense of the horses’ welfare. The industry’s focus on winning and profit has led to careless overbreeding, a failed training system, and a growing problem with performance drugs. Once horses inevitably face injury or cease to earn a profit, they are discarded by the industry, usually facing the gruesome fate of slaughter. It is crucial for those involved with horse racing to educate themselves in order to combat the normalization of mistreatment. Many individuals in the industry do indeed care for the horses they handle, providing them with a specific diet, exercise plan, and emotional bonds. While these horses seem to receive elite care on the surface, deeper issues regarding the morality of the sport come into play when it comes to long-term care. Past exercise rider Elizabeth Banicki explained her conflicting relationship with her identity in the industry. According to Banicki, “I started my near two-decade career as an exercise rider when I was 15 years old… Even now at almost 40, my innermost identity is still tied to my track life. But I work to come to terms with whatever damage I may have done to horses in the name of the sport. In the name of my own legacy. I left racing because as I grew older, I began to recognize the track as an abusive place for horses”. Due to careless overbreeding, a failed training system, and an ongoing drug problem, the lack of prioritization of animal welfare leaves horses in the racing industry susceptible to the vile fate of slaughter.
Racing prospects first begin training as early as two years old, a year before their bones are prepared to bear the impact of consistent high speed runs, which heightens their risk of injury. In one study by horse health researcher S. Wilscher, it was found that out of 1,022 foals monitored in the study, 52% of the animals entered training at just two years of age, and 61% of the two year olds competed one or more times at this age. The study also found that most of the animals developed joint problems and inflammatory airway disease, both performance inhibiting issues.
“High non run and non placed rates, high incidence of injury and cost-ineffectiveness of 2-year-olds in flat-race training were confirmed.” Wilscher said.
Starting horses at two years of age may predispose them to injury, increasing the chance of wastage.
Wastage refers to horses that were intended for racing but never made it to the track, or those that exit the industry, often due to injury. Rushing a horse into training allows owners to accumulate more race earnings in a shorter amount of time, and it has become standard practice to do so.
“When a two-year-old future racehorse goes through a sale before ever debuting in a race, they might ‘preview’ for buyers. Anyone looking to purchase a racehorse is clearly looking for a fast horse, so what better way to determine how efficiently a horse moves then to watch it run at its peak speed. ‘Good’ two-year-olds might preview an eighth of a mile in just over nine seconds, or a quarter in maybe less than 20. These works are called ‘bullets’, and it must be recognized by the public that they are done on the lightweight, soft, undeveloped bone and tissue of a baby horse” Banicki said.
These horses at their young, fragile age are pushed to their physical capacity in order for buyers to pick out potential winners as early as possible. The industry’s eagerness to exploit horses at a young age often results in a cycle of injury and wastage that reflects a pattern of negligence within racing. With economic motives taking the lead, the actual well-being of the animal is ignored, and horses leave the mere preview track with injury.
The early onset of physical strain is exacerbated by the use of drugs to numb pain and push horses beyond their limits. An investigation on renowned trainer Steve Asmussen, conducted by PETA, revealed misuse of medications in race horses, including high doses of painkillers, sedatives, hormones, and found that their legs had been burned with liquid nitrogen. These practices not only unlevel the playing field and push other owners to resort to drug use, but also endangers the horses’ health and well-being. Following the release of PETA’s findings in 2018, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act went into effect, the first federal plan to regulate drug use and other forms of abuse within the racing sector. In an industry where cheating and cruelty has become regularized, the media has had a crucial place in not only exposing issues to the public, but holding those in the industry accountable. Still, owners continue to drug horses in order to get as many races as possible out of an animal before injuries inevitably are pushed beyond the capacity to be temporarily numbed. According to the New York Times report, “Breakdown: Death and Disarray at America’s Racetracks”, 23 horses die on U.S. racetracks every week. When a horse is on high doses of painkillers, pre-run assessments by veterinarians fail to detect suppressed injury. As a result, unsound horses run the track, forcing their bodies to the point of sudden death, euthanasia, or injury, leading to premature retirement.
Overbreeding is another driving factor that leads racehorses to slaughter. The racing industry produces high numbers of animals to increase the chances of raising a winner without considering the consequences that overpopulation might bring. In 2011, an investigative video released by PETA found that thirty thousand foals intended for racing were produced each year, while 10,000 racehorses were sent to slaughter as a result of wastage. While at a livestock auction in Ohio, investigators were able to identify a known racehorse, Coming Home, who is the granddaughter of Unbridled, a Kentucky Derby winner. The known horse was sold to slaughter for a mere two hundred dollars, although later rescued by PETA.
Due to the careless breeding practices, a lack of accountability, and few retirement sanctuaries, thousands of racehorses can be found behind the rusted gates of auction houses. The slaughter process is a very different experience for horses compared to other livestock. “Killbuyers”, the individuals who cheaply purchase auction horses for slaughter, load as many of them as possible onto trailers. Due to the close quarters and the natural sense of hierarchy in horses, the dominant animals begin to kick and trample the more docile of the group, leaving them to fight for their lives on the trailer floor, writhing helplessly beneath clattering hooves. The horses that do survive injury will have undergone days of transport without food or water before being placed in overcrowded feed lots for months before slaughter. Often located in the US, these holding pens will then transport the horses over borders to slaughtering plants.
Upon arriving at these facilities, the method of killing results in a significantly less humane death for horses compared to other livestock. The most common killing strategy is the captive bolt method, which is also used in the beef industry. The captive bolt gun is a device that essentially hammers a metal rod into the skull of the animal to render it unconscious and insensible to pain. Although this is effective on cattle, horses don’t have the anatomy to receive a quick and pain-free death from the method. Their head shape doesn’t allow the bolt clear access to the brain, and even if horses did have a cow-like skull, there is no proper way to restrain their head that allows for an accurately placed shot. This tragic cycle allows the racing industry to sustain its practices of mass breeding and wastage, since slaughter serves as a route of disposal for unsuccessful prospects.
Facilities that retrain and rehome off-the-track thoroughbreds, as well as retirement sanctuaries take in as many as they can, often without acknowledgement from the animals’ former owners. These facilities are vital in providing a safe retirement for horses who can no longer race, but face challenges when it comes to funding. In the CGTN news story “Racing for Their Lives: An In-Depth Look at Doping in the U.S. Horse Racing Industry” Priscilla Clark, owner of the horse rescue facility Tranquility Farms expressed frustration with the nature of disposal seen in the racing industry.
“He [A recently adopted horse from the rescue] made 1.25 million dollars. We took him out here at the farm. I called the former owner and asked if I could get a sponsorship, and he told me ‘Well my wife has other charities’. We didn’t get a dime for the horse from the former owner that he had made a million dollars for” Clark said.
Clark has witnessed a trend in the industry- no matter the amount earned, some owners abandon their horses physically and financially once they are no longer able to generate profit.
The lack of accountability seen in the industry reduces horses to a profitable item, disregarding the complex ways in which they experience life. In the NPR article “For Some People Struggling with Addictions, Spending Time with Horses is Healing”, T, a patient undergoing treatment for drug addiction discusses the deep emotional impact horses have had on his recovery. The ex-racehorses used at this particular therapy facility come from rough pasts themselves, having been rescued from slaughter.
“These are rescue horses. I believe Willow is a racehorse, yeah, that was going to be slaughtered. So, we all kind of, like, share, like, this trauma really” T said.
Gateway HorseWorks, the rescue and rehabilitation facility that works to heal both horses and humans, is an example of the capacity for emotional connection that both sides can share.
It is undeniable that the “Sport of Kings”, which was once was filled with passion and admiration, has been diluted with cruelty and a disconnection from animal sentience that lands thousands of young lives in slaughter annually. The practices of overbreeding, drug misuse, careless training, and the culture of disposal seen in the racing industry has set animals up for failure. The industry has been entrenched in a cycle of abuse and malpractice that is in dire need of reform, to include regulations on starting ages, breeding, and the prioritization of animal welfare that will keep racehorses out of the slaughter pipeline. As a society, individuals must educate themselves and reevaluate the happenings at the track, not only for the sport but for the livelihood of the animals who have long deserved such justice.
ECC Cornerstone 