Time for the United States to set rules for horse racing
Horses should only be running with hay, water, and oats in their systems on race day, and there should be no injury-masking or performance-enhancing drugs in their blood streams. Photo by iStockphoto
Even though there is no intentional injury brought upon its equine competitors, the horse racing industry has long been an outlier in the humane economy. It has resisted reforms of any kind for decades, and its popularity and resonance with the American public has sharply declined. That’s partly because so many in the organized horse-racing world are not properly caring for the creatures at the center of the enterprise – the fleet-footed animal competitors who carry the jockeys, draw admiration and attention from the fan base, and show off their dazzling speed in every race.
In today’s New York Times, veteran sports columnist William Rhoden writes persuasively about problems in the industry, and why we need a federal response to the incidence of breakdowns on America’s horse-racing tracks, which too often are turning into crash sites.
The HSUS is now partnering with the Jockey Club, one of the key groups within the racing industry, to support H.R. 3084, the Thoroughbred Horseracing Integrity Act of 2015. Introduced by Rep. Andy Barr, R-KY, and Paul Tonko, D-NY, this legislation would put an independent, non-financially-conflicted third-party player in charge of setting the rules regarding the same-day medicating of horses. Our view is clear, and it’s gaining rapid currency with leading track owners, horse owners, trainers, and other industry insiders: Horses should only be running with hay, water, and oats in their systems on race day, and there should be no injury-masking or performance-enhancing drugs in their blood streams.
As Rhoden notes, there are other problems in racing – the two biggest in my view are breeding for speed rather than soundness, and the disposition of poor-performing horses, who are often sent off to slaughter. We are working on the slaughter issue through other federal legislation, and there’s no easy fix or obvious legislative pathway on the breeding issue. That leaves the issue of doping — not tolerated in baseball, tennis, cycling, or any other sport, but something of a free-for-all in horse racing, and one that places both the horses and jockeys in danger.
H.R. 3084 would put the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency — a non-profit organization that runs anti-doping programs for U.S. sports, including the U.S. Olympics and the Pan American Games — in charge of a program to set one national uniform set of rules. There are 38 racing jurisdictions and each one has a different set of guidelines – a contradictory policy quilt in an world where horses are moving from state to state.
“We write quite a bit about the danger of participating in high-risk sports and recreational pursuits,” notes Rhoden. “Human beings take risks, whether we’re jumping out of planes, climbing mountains, playing football or boxing. We go into them, more or less, with our eyes open. But race horses are involuntary participants in a tough sport; they need protection now more than ever.”
Indeed, that’s the crucial distinction. We take risks and we assess them when we participate in sports. The horses are conscripted into the sport and it’s our responsibility to minimize those risks. (To say nothing of the matter of cheating, which erodes confidence in any sport with a fan base.)
“We’re not unlike any other sport,” Jim Gagliano, the president and CEO of The Jockey Club, told Rhoden, “except we’ve got a competitor — the horse — whose responsibility and welfare is really entrusted to us.”
The big gains we’ve seen for animal protection in recent years have often involved animal protection groups collaborating with industry to drive reform. We saw that with the recent passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act in Congress, which contained anti-animal testing provisions supported not only by The HSUS but also by the American Chemistry Council, a trade group for chemical manufacturers and sellers. And in the food realm, The HSUS has worked with Walmart, McDonald’s, and so many other key players in the food industry to phase out the extreme confinement of animals on factory farms. We worked with SeaWorld to end its breeding of orcas and to institute other reforms.
Those are all examples of the humane economy – when businesses realize that there’s no future in being involved in severe forms of animal exploitation, and make course corrections.
If we are going to secure meaningful legislation in this Congress, we must work with the horse racing industry. The union between The HSUS and The Jockey Club offers us the first real shot of federal horse racing reform. Let’s seize it, and thanks to William Rhoden for including it as a necessary move in our march toward creating a humane economy.
What about Tennesse Walking Horses Horrific Abuse
Abuse of Tennessee Walking Horses needs to stop. I owned two of these horses years ago, but did not show them under saddle. In California, using caustic chemicals on horses’ feet to enhance performance was fairly well-controlled. Now, here, flat-shod Walkers are popular-they wear the same shoes as other breeds, such as Quarter Horses. The shoes are not built-up. I own a Missouri Fox Trotter now and there are regulations about soring these horses also, but I do not believe it has become a problem.
Please include links to relevant petitions for us so we can do something other share and read.
Absolutely! Rules against doping need to be instituted and enforced. Horses are animals that love to run, but should not be forced to run, especially when unsound and full of drugs. I am a life-long pleasure horse owner, and I believe all horses should receive good care, no matter what discipline they participate in. The slaughter issue is another tragic by-product of the racing industry. While some owners have retirement plans for their horses, I would bet most do not. People where I live frequently take ex-racehorses that people want to get rid of or have dumped at auctions, where they are usually bought by meat dealers. It is against the law in California, where I live, to ship a horse to slaughter, but that law is easily circumvented by shipping horses to another state first, then to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.
Don’t forget about the “nurse mare foals”. Google that and you won’t sleep for a few nights
How about waiting to ride these horses until they are older. That goes for cutting and reining horses, also.
LOVE&PEACE
As usual, when money is involved, reform is an uphill battle. Thanks, HSUS, for fighting it. I long for the day when all animal “sports” like this, where cruelty is involved, are relegated to history.
Another thing about horse racing is that these horses are raced years to soon, any horse that is only two years old is not fully grown their legs are not as sturdy as a three or a four year old horse. This is why their bones break and they go down some times with grave injuries to the rider and broken legs for the two year race horse which is a death sentence. The over breeding of these horses is something that needs to be dealt with because some horses are simply not runners no matter what their bloodline is. These owners make no arrangements to find a buyer for the horse that is not winning enough to support it, instead of really looking for a person that could give the horse a home and train it for another job such as horse shows or just as a saddle horse. They prefer to give the local kill buyer a call and once the horse is gone to slaughter they never think twice about it.
I agree on racing age but this is the start to possibly changing that. Currently the Jockey Club has a rule that states if a horse hasn’t won a race by age 5 they must be retired. This is in place to protect horses from over racing but it prevents you from being able to start them later. So maybe instead of an age maybe saying a horse who hasn’t won a race and is over a certain number of starts woyld be better. Already a lot of trainers are having their horses run their first race at 3 or even late 3 or early 4 which has shiwn to make a big difference just with that small amount of extra time. By setting up a nationalset of rules it could help us get to waiting to start horse until they are older. We see geldings that race until they are older like Ben’s Cat who is 10 and still racing. He was started later and it has made a big difference in his physical health. Also we see a lot of mares who race until thet are ilder and when we see horses who race into their 5,6, or 7th years we see them getting better and better. This is a step in the right direction and I think we’ll see a change in age sooner rather than later.
We do not just call up the kill buyer’s, or send to the auction. Every trainer/owner I know tries to take the time to get their horse placed in a proper home.
Thank you for trying to make this industry a cleaner sport. As a trainer and owner, both on the track and once their race career is over, this is needed.
Republican Blackburn co-sponsored legislation to keep the EVIL sport of SORING / THE BIG LICK rolling. These horses( Tennessee Walking Horses ) suffer big time torture as nails sunk into their hoofs, burning their ankles, strapping chains on their burns so they will lift their legs higher during exhibitions/ competitions!! What people will do for profit. Can’t they make an honest living? Instead they hurt the most innocent, the most vulnerable, the animals. Go for them HSUS. I’m with you.
It’s about time your organization is trying to add better treatment to the horse racing regulations.
The Preakness in MD a few months ago resulted in one dead horse after the race and one with a broken leg. This inhumane treatment must be stopped.
The greed needs to stop to save these beautiful horses.