thoroughbred industry | Horse Racing Free Tips

Thoroughbred industry participants and animal welfare advocates often have differing views over how natural racing truly is. Those involved in the racing industry often say that “horses love to race,” even when presented with equine behaviors that don't support this idea. Industry enthusiasts also tend to claim that horses are hardwired to run if given the opportunity. This claim is unsubstantiated as horses in the wild spend the majority of their time grazing and walking, rarely galloping, researchers report.

University of Sydney researcher Dr. Iris Bergmann notes that the equation between horses moving freely and the regimented training protocol many racehorses undergo seems to be flawed. Bergmann created a study, recently published in the peer-reviewed, open-access journal Animals, in which researchers interviewed nine Thoroughbred senior and executive-level industry participants from the United States and Australia, as well as from one international organization. Seven people affiliated with animal advocacy groups also participated. They were from Australia, Britain and the United States.

Bergmann showed each participant four racing-related images (which can be seen here) and sought their opinions. She found that the people involved in the racing industry used assumptions of Thoroughbred nature as explanations for their expressions and behaviors; for example, that the horses are “hot” and needed various methods and means to control them.

For Bergmann, this implies that those involved in the industry normalize and occasionally downplay the behavior and expression of Thoroughbreds. Industry participants viewed the images they were shown more as visual issues than equine welfare problems, holding to the idea that the horse is actually excited and ready to race. Bergmann notes that this reaction is consistent with the view that racing is a natural activity for Thoroughbreds.

Study participants from the animal welfare organizations felt that Thoroughbreds have become a product of human breeding. These individuals viewed the images as expressions of stress and anxiety. They reported that they felt these horses were “hot” because of the practices used on them to encourage them to race. These advocates also cited a problem with the images, but they feel it involved the lack of public visibility of other welfare issues facing racing Thoroughbreds.

Bergmann's study concluded that the way “naturalness” for horses is viewed directly impacts the welfare of racing Thoroughbreds; the problem is much broader than what those involved in the industry consider attention-worthy. Bergmann believes that the industry's limited interest in addressing common handling, training and racing practices poses significant threats to Thoroughbred welfare and questions the legitimacy of the industry as a whole.

Read the full study here.

Read more at HorseTalk.

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As many people in the United States and around the world question their personal views on diversity and racial inclusion, we decided to look inwardly on our industry, and we found it wanting. So we asked a tough question to several industry members- How do we make racing at its highest level more diverse?

ALICIA HUGHES, Director of NTRA Communications

As a person of color in this sport, this is a topic that is extremely personal. This is my life. When you talk about what racing can do to be more diverse, in my mind, racing needs to start by acknowledging the issue of a lack of diversity in positions of power and influence. That is something that we have yet to do. I have pulled transcripts from symposiums and round tables, but there has been no discussion. The issue of the lack of diversity in this industry has not even been brought up.

And it’s not just with people of color- it’s women, the LGBTQ community, and so many other forms. The sport needs to look itself in the mirror. You can’t fix the problem until you acknowledge its existence.

If you look at all of our boards in this sport, from one organization to another, they all have a homogenous makeup. There’s little representation from women and an even smaller representation from people of color.

In racing, we talk about wanting to be seen as a mainstream sport. Well every other mainstream sport worth its salt has already taken measures to try to reflect the nation’s demand for greater inclusivity and diversity, while racing has remained largely stagnant. So if we’re going to make any progress, we need to get with the times and have the hard conversations that make people uncomfortable. And then we need to start taking action to make meaningful change. It’s not just about filling quotas, you have to value people’s experience and knowledge that they bring to the table, and allow them to make your sport better.

The power of representation is huge. We’ve seen that in many other different venues.

We have a generation of tennis players- Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens, and Naomi Osaka, who would not be in the sport if they did not grow up watching the Williams sister and thinking, ‘I could do that someday. That is a road that is open for me.’

Where is our representation for people of color in this sport? On our boards, or for track announcers, bid spotters, auctioneers? Where can somebody of color look and say, ‘I could do that.’

I’m a big fan of hockey, and the NHL has many similar socioeconomic challenges as horse racing. To its credit, the NHL looked themselves in the mirror and acknowledged that they have a problem. They asked themselves how they could become more inclusive and more diverse. They’ve been working on their Hockey is for Everyone initiative. They hired Kim Davis, who in 2012 was ranked in Essence magazine’s “28 Most Influential Black Women in America,” as their Executive Vice President, Social Impact, Growth Initiatives, and Legislative Affaires. They are trying.

We’re also seeing it play out in real time right now with NASCAR. Everybody knows NASCAR’s roots with the Confederate flag. NASCAR is now saying that they’re done with that, they want to change, and they’re banning the Confederate flag. A couple weeks ago, they stopped the cars before a race and NASCAR president Steven Phelps came out and delivered a speech acknowledging their issues. It’s been a long time coming for them, and something they probably needed to do a long time ago, but they are now working to solve their issues.

Anyone who has a problem with what these organizations are doing is probably part of the problem.

We need that representation, and until we address the issue, nothing will change. We wonder why nothing changes in this sport, but we’ve been recycling the same people in the same positions over and over again, and we act surprised when we get the same result.

It’s high time that our sport has its feet held to the fire on this. I love this sport, but as a person of color you want this sport to love you as much as you love it. There’s been very few organizations and entities in this industry that have spoken up during all of this. Don’t think that the silence has not been unnoticed.

I am grateful to work for an organization in the NTRA that has stepped up and spoken out and is taking meaningful action toward improving these issues through our work with the Legacy Equine Academy.

This issue does not have to be political, it is an issue of humanity. If we can’t stand up against racism, what does that say about the sport? Every other sport is figuring this out, why can’t we? If we want to be treated as a mainstream sport, here’s our chance to be part of the mainstream conversation.

There’s a reckoning coming for the world right now, and racing needs to figure out what side of history it wants to be on.

Do you have an idea that you would be willing to share for this series? Email the TDN’s Katie Ritz at katieritz@tdn.com.

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