A horse race is a contest of speed and stamina between two horses, usually on a grass covered course. The winner is the first horse to cross the finish line. It is one of the world’s oldest sports and has evolved from a primitive wager into an entertainment business involving enormous sums of money. The basic concept has remained the same over the centuries, though the sport has developed into a complex spectacle featuring large fields of runners and sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment.
Horses are bred for racing from a very young age and are thrust into intensive training as youngsters. The equine body is not built for the rigors of the sport; the 1,000-pound thoroughbred, with its massive torso and spindly legs, does not reach full maturity until around age 6. A horse that is forced to run before it is ready is prone to injuries, most commonly bone fractures in the ankles and shoulders. It is also common for a horse to experience a condition known as exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, which causes bleeding in the lungs. This can lead to death. To lessen the risk of this happening, trainers often use a cocktail of legal and illegal drugs to mask pain and enhance performance. One of the most common medications is furosemide, which is sold under the brand name Lasix. The drug is a diuretic with performance-enhancing qualities.
In addition to the physical injuries that can occur, many horses are mentally and emotionally distressed by the savagery of the sport. As a result, it is not uncommon for them to display repetitive and compulsive behaviors such as cribbing—biting on the gate or contracting their neck muscles while pulling backward and grunting. Jennifer Sully, a Maryland organizer with the anti-racing group Horseracing Wrongs, says she sees such behavior among racehorses at Laurel and Pimlico most weekends.
The phrase “dark horse” is derived from the fact that many races are won by horses that are not considered favorites. The expression was popularized by Benjamin Disraeli in his 1831 novel The Young Duke, but it soon began to be used as a metaphor for political candidates who win elections that are not seen as theirs to win.
Despite its claims to be the sport of kings, horse racing is actually a rather brutal affair under present rules. According to the website Horseracing Wrongs, which draws figures from state racing commissions, at least 10,311 horses have been killed at US racetracks and training facilities since 2014. Not in any other sport would so many deaths of “athletes,” as the industry calls them, be tolerated.