The term horse race has been used for centuries to refer to a close contest. As the political season heats up, the phrase seems to be shifting again in meaning.
With all the mudslinging, name calling and attack ads, it’s easy to get lost in the presidential horse race, but the real issues are at stake. The election could have far-reaching implications for America’s economy and the world.
While some people enjoy betting on horses in the horse races, others are concerned about animal welfare and the morality of the sport. The fact is that horse racing involves cruelty and violence to the animals. The animals, including the jockeys, are subjected to whipping and other methods of physical abuse, which cause serious injuries. Many of the injured horses die. After the death of Eight Belles during the Kentucky Derby, a large number of people called for a ban on the sport.
Many people love to watch the drama of a horse race in the grandstands or on television. Spectators often wear fancy outfits and sip mint juleps, while watching the horses run by. However, behind the glamorous facade of Thoroughbred racing is a dark world of injuries, drug abuse and gruesome breakdowns. The animals are forced to sprint—often under the threat of whips and illegal electric shocking devices—at speeds so fast that they can suffer from a variety of injuries, such as grotesquely broken bones, fractures in their long pastern bones, and hemorrhage in their lungs.
In addition, many horses are injected with cocktails of legal and illegal drugs that mask the injuries and improve performance. The most common medications are a pain reliever and a diuretic. A common practice is to inject the drug Lasix (or Salix), which reduces bleeding from exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. A common problem for racehorses is a spiral fracture, which occurs along the long pastern bone, or the short pastern bone, where it connects to the fetlock.
In the early days of organized racing in America, horses were trained to win by concentrating on endurance rather than speed. By the 1860s, however, speed became a priority and race rules were standardized. Horses were given weights based on their past performances, and the best horses received more weight than those with lesser records. This handicapping system is now known as a Beyer figure. The sex, birthplace and age of a horse were also factors in determining eligibility for certain races. In the early days, most races were restricted to six-year-olds carrying 168 pounds over four-mile heats. The races were later reduced to two-mile heats. This kind of racing lasted until the mid-1920s. Then, the sport began to evolve and expand into different types of races.