Should horse racing be banned?

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Jennifer Baker

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Hi,
So I am currently in the process of writing my EPQ for college and my title is "Should horse racing be banned as a sport?" which I know is quite a controversial topic. If anyone has an opinion or comment on whether it should or not, it would be greatly appreciated as I have to get as big a spread as possible and figured this would be a good place to start! Thank you!
 
I would actually just like to see some of the rules changed - no racing anything under four years old and all whips totally banned.
 
I think you need to research how many jobs would be lost of the industry were to go. Include all the background stuff like farriers, bookies, vets etc etc.

And the contribution to the economy of the industry and everything connected with it, including massive taxes from betting.

In an ideal world I'd personally ban jump racing completely and flat racing of anything under four years old, but we don't live in an ideal world.
 
Jennifer Baker said:
Hi,
So I am currently in the process of writing my EPQ for college and my title is "Should horse racing be banned as a sport?" which I know is quite a controversial topic. If anyone has an opinion or comment on whether it should or not, it would be greatly appreciated as I have to get as big a spread as possible and figured this would be a good place to start! Thank you!
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No. Any more questions?
 
And what about the impact that very expensive racehorses have on veterinary technology, that then gets passed on to the "normal" horse owner...
 
Personally I find horse racing tedious, but there are no reasons that I am aware of to ban it. If everything that someone else disliked was banned, nobody would do anything, ever.
 
tescoexpress said:
there are no reasons that I am aware of to ban it. .
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In a world where there were no other considerations, I would ban jump racing for the disproportionate number of deaths per horse hour of the activity. For the horse, relatively, it's a very dangerous thing to do. But people like EKW owe their job to it, as do a vast army of supporting industries, and without the taxes the government gets from it we'd have even less money for the health service. That's without even going into whether these animals would choose to be alive and die young rather than never be alive at all. It's a very, very, very complex question that the OP has been given to answer.
 
You need to study the economy of the racing industry and its place in the world/UK economy depending on what scale you are looking on. Total economic impact to UK is something like £3+ billion, contributes almost £300k in tax... there are loads of figures I'm sure you can find somewhere. How many jobs will be lost? How much of the money put into racing actually helps elsewhere? Think perhaps of its link to other sports - eventing perhaps?

Look at its place in society - Royal Ascot, Cheltenham Festival, Grand National... television ratings and viewing figures. If it didn't exist would there be a gap? What would replace it?

Then look at welfare concerns etc, even both sides of the argument - if racing was suddenly banned, what would happen to the millions of horses bred for racing?

My opinion is that no, it shouldn't be banned (and I don't believe it ever will be). I'll let you do the research and form an opinion from it yourself if you have to conclude the project. If not perhaps create a survey on certain aspects that you are interested in and get some stats from that?
 
Ah....... perfect: a nice controversial thread where everyone can get all steamed up and dogfights will develop.

Ringside seats offered, place your bets folks - there's not been anything like this on here since "The Big Fix". Roll up roll up.

Sorry OP, being very flippant.

Basically agree with "hcm88" above: also think maybe about British Culture and its association with racing? ie Royal Family etc??? Plus history of racing in the UK and abroad - all kicking-off points.

Also look at the comparative age of horses racing compared to other equine disciplines, e.g. 2 yo's as opposed to a much later starting point in say SJ or eventing. Also what happens to many racehorses after their racing life is complete. Its like greyhound racing, don't ask too many questions coz people can't stomach the answers.

Not making any comment or judgement here; just giving you some jumping-off points hopefully. Good luck!
 
Racing- Pros:

It provides hundreds of thousands of jobs in the UK - work riders, jockeys, stable staff, trainers, stud staff, vets, racecourse staff, groundsmen, bookmakers, betting shop staff, transporters, auctioneers, sales staff, sales agents, staff in pre-training yards, farmers, feed merchants and so on and so forth.

The money involved gets put back into the sport and most importantly into vet medicine. All these drugs, operations, knew knowledge - funded mostly by racing.

The horses are looked after superbly well - we expect them to give us their all on the track so we treat them, train them, feed them and look after them like the priceless animals that they are.

It provides people with a good day out and is exciting to watch.



Cons:

Horses die. Simple fact BUT they are dealt with very quickly, 9/10 they are gone before the adrenaline has worn off and they feel pain.

Whips - many people don't like them but they don't realise that the whips are air padded, jockeys are trained in how to use them and they more make a noise than hurt a horse. Carrying a ship is compulsory in a race for safety reasons - to help keep you horse running on a true line and not drifting in front of another potentially causing an accident. Same for jumping - to keep the horse true and forwards into the jumps.

Horses are started at a young age. If really immature they will be left a bit longer but these horses are designed to mature quicker and start work earlier.

Over breeding - There are far too many tb's being bred every year but there are restrictions - no AI, only natural coverings which does limit the number of foals a stallion can have a year.

In-breeding - becoming more and more frequent. They really need to outcross to get a non-tb but many won't because the horse will be slower and it will take a few generations to get the speed back in.



I think I have covered most areas that I can think of off of the top of my head.
 
Another who wouldn't want to see it banned, jobs, economy... All the other things people have stated already. Plus I love a good day at the races.

But I would also love to see some rule changes, namely the age thing, nothing under 4 to he raced would be much better. I hate seeing horses that are clearly still (in my mind) babies about to go race.
 
Lots of good points already raised here so you have plenty of work to do OP! Pro's include advances in veterinary medicine, surgery, rehabilitation post-injury, and our understanding of equine fitness. Then there's equine nutrition, money from taxes, all manner of jobs... Con's are the over-breeding of TB's, the risk of injury and fatalities for the horses and jockeys, gambling addiction for punters, associated criminal activities...
Best wishes with the course :)
 
Having worked with racehorses in Australia (can't say its the same over here) I think the biggest con for me is the lifestyle. I found the horses seemed very stressed as they were stabled for the whole time they weren't being trained or raced and pumped up with high energy foods. During my work (involved visiting lots of different yards) I found a considerable number of horses with stereotypical behaviour issues which in my opinion, is partly attributed to the lifestyle.
 
EKW said:
Horses are started at a young age. If really immature they will be left a bit longer but these horses are designed to mature quicker and start work earlier.

.
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Not true - TB's do not mature skeletally any faster than other breeds. http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

However I would not like to see racing banned. I do believe that welfare standards should be improved wherever needed, but that applies to everything that humans do with animals.
 
I wouldn't want to see it banned but I can't bear seeing the young horses race, makes me feel sick. They are so young, little and gangly, and I can't see how that can be considered sport. It's like asking children to race each other to near exhaustion then building an entire economy on it. In general I dislike flat racing, doesn't do it for me but must admit I do enjoy jump racing, but am not a Grand National fan.

It wouldn't be possible to ban horse racing and I don't think it should be. I just think there are some huge issues (over breeding, training and racing too you IMHO, use of the whip) that need to be addressed which could improve the sport.

A few years ago I kept my horse on a yard that was half pre-training yard (so basically the youngsters), and half livery. I saw some horrific sights there and it left a really nasty taste in my mouth. Thankfully that particular trainer has, I believe, lost his licence now but I can't believe that was the only training yard which treated its horses so badly. I look back now and am embarrassed and disappointed in myself that I didn't call the welfare organisations...
 
No, I don't think it should be banned.

Rules should be changed, but not a total ban.

As many have pointed out, there are several pros and cons to racing. As there is with any equine-related industry.
Racing is the sport that gets the most media attention, so it gets the most criticisms even if some are very unfair.

Yes, horses do die, but I think a lot of the deaths are due to how downhill the breeding of Thoroughbreds has gone, errors from the jockey and freak accidents (like heart-attacks, which happen in all sports equestrian or not)
The UK's racing rules are a lot 'kinder' in some respects to the rules in other countries, as far as I'm aware. America especially has always surprised me on how a lot of horses were (still are?) allowed to race whilst drugs like bute are in their system.

So to sum up, I don't think racing should be banned. If racing is banned, what's going to happen to all the racehorses? What's going to happen to the grooms and stable lads at the bottom of the chain? Where is the money for the veterinary and science advances that are discovered and then made accessible for all horse owners? Will the media coverage of all equestrian events stop completely? What will the effect have on every other horse owner?
 
No unless you want ban all horse sports in which case you would have a lot of unhappy, unemployed people and a lot of dead horses.
 
The subject is divisive, but also it is obvious it won't be banned. Personally I would discuss something more specific, eg the development of racing welfare over a certain timescale, so could cover developments in whips, pubic attitudes, changes in rules, medication, vet science, surgery, industry attitudes and so on. Easier to compare and contrast and develop a reasoned argument.
 
Certainly not banned. Horse racing has given us pleasure riders so much in advanced technology from feed to hi tech vet care.

I too would like to see the minimum age changed to 3yr olds rather than 2.

I don't really believe that there is too much overbreeding, TB's have to be bred by live cover which limits the number considerably. Also the cost of the service fees are extremely high.

In the Standardbred breeding industry where AI is permitted one semen sample can cover many mares. I know at the stud I worked on in NZ a very fertile stallion covered 16 mares with one sample. Stud fees are considerably lower and homes for them when they are done with racing far harder to find especially if they are natural pacers.

As one who has spent 20 or so years working with racehorses I would have been most upset to lose my chosen employment.

Here in New Zealand the equine Industry brings in millions of dollars in revenue for the country.
 
Lots of animals die in the food industry too and we don't want to ban that. Minimizing suffering is more important (imo) that the fact of death, which is unavoidable except by not breeding in the first place.

Re air padded whips. I asked someone to give me a good whack with one and it hurt. If they capable of producing weals/bruising if overused, they are surely capable of hurting, I'd have thought.
 
fburton said:
Lots of animals die in the food industry too and we don't want to ban that. Minimizing suffering is more important (imo) that the fact of death, which is unavoidable except by not breeding in the first place.

Re air padded whips. I asked someone to give me a good whack with one and it hurt. If they capable of producing weals/bruising if overused, they are surely capable of hurting, I'd have thought.
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All horses are inspected after racing and jockeys penalised if marked, they are trained in the use of the whip, the use of which is regulated, things are the best they have ever been, really no one should complain that action has not been taken to stop abuse.
 
chestnut cob said:
I wouldn't want to see it banned but I can't bear seeing the young horses race, makes me feel sick. They are so young, little and gangly, and I can't see how that can be considered sport. It's like asking children to race each other to near exhaustion then building an entire economy on it. In general I dislike flat racing, doesn't do it for me but must admit I do enjoy jump racing, but am not a Grand National fan.

It wouldn't be possible to ban horse racing and I don't think it should be. I just think there are some huge issues (over breeding, training and racing too you IMHO, use of the whip) that need to be addressed which could improve the sport.

A few years ago I kept my horse on a yard that was half pre-training yard (so basically the youngsters), and half livery. I saw some horrific sights there and it left a really nasty taste in my mouth. Thankfully that particular trainer has, I believe, lost his licence now but I can't believe that was the only training yard which treated its horses so badly. I look back now and am embarrassed and disappointed in myself that I didn't call the welfare organisations...
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I worked in racing and would have not done so if abuse and cruelty was endemic. Good staff are valuable, they can easily find a new job, so reporting is not an issue. Horses that have been broken by force will not be easy to train. TBs are valuable animals and trainers usually select good pre training yards. The fact he has lost his licence may or may not be significant, a pre training yard does not have to be licenced by the BHA.
I don't know about young and gangly, yes they are not fully mature but not many owner/riders wait till their WBs are 5/6/7 and fully mature before breaking.
 
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Bonkers2 said:
All horses are inspected after racing and jockeys penalised if marked, they are trained in the use of the whip, the use of which is regulated, things are the best they have ever been, really no one should complain that action has not been taken to stop abuse.
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Yes, and I'm very glad that things have changed in this way. I was just questioning the assertion one hears occasionally that the new whips don't/can't hurt the horse because of their design.
 
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