Horses to the Slaughter
Published: March 26, 2012
Thoroughbred racing trades on bucolic imagery and glossy beauty, but a report in The Times on Sunday documented the real pillars of its success: the casual and continual mistreatment of vulnerable, overmedicated and ultimately disposable athletes. Reporters who analyzed tens of thousands of races and combed through reports of injuries and medical tests found a culture of rampant cheating and feeble regulation, where injured and fragile horses are forced to run while drugged, to the great peril of both animals and jockeys.
The main reason is drugs — the stimulants, steroids, pain medications, anti-inflammatories and other chemicals used to enhance performance and mask injuries. Veterinarians and racing officials acknowledge that abuses are rampant but grossly unpoliced because tracks and state racing commissions lack the will or money to crack down. Much illegal doping takes place on private farms where horses can’t be tested. No single governing body or federal regulations control the industry’s drug practices, and existing punishments are lax.
(for the rest of the article, please click the link at the top of the page)
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