A horse race is a contest of speed or endurance between two horses. It is one of the oldest sports and it has evolved into a huge public-entertainment business, with enormous fields of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment, and immense sums of money. But its basic concept remains the same: the horse that crosses the finish line first is the winner.
As with all businesses, horse racing has benefited from technological advances in recent years. Safety is now a top priority with both horses and jockeys subjected to the highest security measures on and off the track. The sport has also had to contend with the rise of social media and other forms of new competition. But it is the changing nature of modern life that has really shaken up horse racing.
Behind the romanticized facade of Thoroughbred racing lies a world of injuries, drugs, gruesome breakdowns and slaughter. Spectators dress in their finest and sip mint juleps while horses are forced to sprint-often under the threat of electric-shocking devices-at speeds that often cause them to sustain injuries such as broken legs, fractured tendons and bleed from the lungs (exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage). Many are then given cocktails of legal and illegal drugs designed to mask their pain, hide their injuries and artificially enhance their performance.
While the horses are running, spectators cheer, chant and shriek in unison. There is an electric energy in the air that permeates the grandstands and fills the track with an almost tangible tension. This hypnotic spectacle has been entertaining audiences for centuries. But what does it mean for the horses?
Horses in the wild love to run-and they like to run fast. But winning a race is a human construct, and horses-who are prey animals-prefer to run as a group to keep each other safe. They want to move fast, away from danger, not toward it. This instinct to avoid harm explains why horse races must be carefully constructed to ensure their success, which they always do.
It is for this reason that every year in Melbourne, the campaigner Elio Celotto holds a vigil at the site of the race. This year he is joined by members of the Nup to the Cup movement, who will be paying their respects to the 168 horses who have been killed in the 22-23 racing season and the thousands who disappear without trace. The vigil will take place where the Melbourne Cup Parade usually runs, and participants will be wearing white shirts with black lettering that says “Nup to the Cup”. In the meantime, here are some facts about horse racing you may not have known. A horse must be at least four years old to compete in a race. However, it is possible for older horses to run in races designated as “two other than” or “three other than”, which are higher level races than the more general maiden or claiming allowance. However, they must have previously won two or more races to qualify.