Horse racing is a fascinating sport with a long and rich history. The sport has evolved and changed over time, but it still remains one of the most popular sports in the world. It has adapted to the changes in technology and other industries, but it has kept most of its rules, traditions, and history.
A horse race is a competition in which riders on horses compete for prize money by traveling over a prescribed course, jumping any hurdles (if present), and crossing the finish line before any other horses and riders. The horses are ridden by jockeys, who use whips to encourage their mounts and lash rivals in the face or neck. The crowds of spectators gather in the grandstand or at a trackside fence to watch the contest unfold.
When the horses are gathered in the starting gate, their frightened, anxious expressions and the pounding of hooves against each other create a tense moment. Then the starting rope is dropped and nine impatient horses race into a frenzy of ruthless competition.
The earliest races were match races between two or at most three horses, and bettors placed bets on the outcome. These agreements were recorded by third parties who became known as keeper of the match books and later as a racing calendar.
As the popularity of horse races increased, a class system developed. Horses were ranked by age and pedigree, and races created for horses of certain levels of ability. Horses were also rated on their ability to run the distance of the race and in the prevailing conditions.
Until recently, horse races were rife with corruption. Many horses were pushed beyond their limits and given cocktails of legal and illegal drugs designed to mask injuries and artificially enhance performance. Horses who raced too hard were prone to bleeding from the lungs, a condition called exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. They were also injected with powerful painkillers, antipsychotics, and other medications that were not safe for horses. Testing capacity laggardly kept pace with the introduction of new medications, and penalties were weak for violations.
During the pandemic, a whole new generation of fans discovered horse racing. TVG, an all-racing channel included in many sports cable packages, found itself hopping with people who hadn’t before watched the sport. They were attracted by the high stakes, the colorful language (think “tout,” “weanling,” and “cherry-pit spitting”), and a chance to bet on a horse named Secretariat.
There are essentially three types of people in the racing industry. The crooks who dangerously drug or otherwise abuse their horses, the dupes who labor under the illusion that horse racing is generally fair and honest, and the masses in the middle who know it’s more crooked than it should be but still cherish the fantasy that the sport is honorable. In reality, it’s a cesspool of corruption. Medications designed for humans bleed over into racing preparation, and the ability to mask ailments with powerful painkillers, growth hormones, and blood doping.