Horse racing is one of the world’s oldest sports, having existed for hundreds of years. With its popularity decreasing, many online bettors would rather wager on NFL Odds than horse racing. Although horse racing still draws a lot of attention in some areas, public sentiment against it is mounting.
The recent pandemic affected almost every industry in 2020, including horse racing, which lost more than $5 billion. The industry had already been in a slow decline since its popularity in the 1890s when the U.S. had more than 300 race tracks. Anti-gambling sentiment caused an even faster decline early in the 20th century when most states outlawed bookmaking.
Horse Racing Ups and Downs
Horse racing gained more favor during the Great Depression in the 1930s, as it was legal to bet on horse races again in the U.S. Two famous horses, Seabiscuit and War Admiral, had several battles that intrigued not only racing fans but the public in general.
The fact that people no longer desire to watch horse racing as much as they used to has only helped the cause of animal rights activists who call for its banishment. With the wave of recent deaths of thousands of horses in U.S. racetracks since 2019, calls are even louder to put an end to the horse racing industry.
The main reason horses have been dying in record numbers is that doping has become more prevalent in the sport. Some trainers argue that it’s the only way to stay competitive with drugs so commonplace in the industry.
One of the most familiar drugs used is Lasix. It prevents pulmonary bleeding in horses that run hard for long distances and is given to almost all horses on their race days. The drug is banned in Asia, Australia, and throughout Europe.
Opposition Continues to Grow as Deaths Increase
At the 2019 Breeder’s Cup at Santa Anita in California, animal rights activists gathered outside the track to protest the events. California Governor Gavin Newsome had also recently announced that if horse racing did not go under reforms, “time is up” for the industry in his state.
The controversy began with over thirty-five horses that died at the track since the beginning of that year. During the final race on this day, a horse named Mongolian Groom broke his left hind leg and had to be put down later, further strengthening the case for the animal rights activists whose goal is to end horse racing.
Issues surrounding how horse racing is regulated can sometimes be confusing because many different jurisdictions are involved. Having each state regulate the sport keeps all parties from being on the same page. It also seems unlikely that one central body will ever regulate the sport.
Many others feel the sport is losing popularity because of the recent surge in other types of betting due to the legalization of sports betting and online casinos in the U.S. Many racetracks now provide casinos on their premises. Known as “racinos,” these tracks look to counteract this effect of legal sports betting and take advantage of the additional revenue.
Trying to Turn Things Around
At Santa Anita, they hope technology can help better monitor horses and decrease their chances of injury. They are currently using facial recognition to track each horse’s workouts and high-resolution cameras to detect things such as the horse’s stride to detect inconsistencies in their gait before they become a problem. The track also monitors various other metrics much closer than it ever did before.
Everyone agrees that changes are needed for horse racing to recover its reputation and once again become the beloved Sport of Kings. U.S. racetracks have no choice but to change if they want to survive in the future. Whether betting on horse races is a part of that future remains to be seen.
