Horse Racing

Race horses are some of the most pampered and well looked after animals on the planet.

They have larger than average stalls (stables) the best veterinarian care imaginable along with high quality diet and regular exercise (not just racing)

I am more concerned about all the overweight ponies and hobby horses purchased for children which spend most of the year in a field or small stable, minimal care and exercise.

Thelwell books. Fat girls on thin ponies and Slim girls on fat ponies

I totally agree Farview I too think it’s a horrible ‘sport’ I don’t consider it a sport it’s harsh cruel and unnecessary
I don’t care who says they don’t, they do whip the horses (oh it doesn’t hurt !? no sure it doesn’t hurt at all ummmm)
Why should animals be forced to run, jump or do ridiculous tricks (as in dressage) for humans entertainment !
I can’t bear dog racing/ bird shooting/ bull baiting /bull fighting/ dancing dogs / dancing bears or any other form of animal cruelty

No don’t agree I was brought up in Newmarket and and race horses rule there they are extremely well looked after and cared for.

BlueBelle I totally agree. I prefer to watch paint dry to horse racing. I know they are well cared for in the stables, but not when on the field.

GrannyIvy 👍🏻

We are a horsey family, owned ponies (usually nutty) thoroughbreds and crossbreeds.

Far more neglected equines in the family beloved pets than racing, eventing, jumping, Olympic etc.

Racehorses might be well looked after while they are racing but there is a huge surplus of these animals and they end up in poor homes or headed for the abbattoir.

There are numerous charities who try to help, for example, the Racehorse Rescue Centre share.google/nxwXi7MOx0SJNiAKM
The other concern is racing 2 year olds, they really are babies with soft bones and barely developed bodies. Thank goodness, whipping is now heavily restricted but all in all, it's not a very nice sport.

It’s not an argument to say they have wonderful stables and food and vets etc of course they have they are valuable to the owner BUT they are not well looked after when they are having to run or jump their hearts out, whipped to go faster and shot if they are injured

I have ridden horses since I was a child but I have never been to the races & neither would I want to!
The racehorses' are just a commodity, until its time to turn them into dog food.
How would any of us like to be forced to race, whilst being whipped with a crop to the point of absolute exhaustion!
It should be banned. 😒

Majority then think it’s cruel… it absolutely is… disgustingly cruel .. I saw some videos recently and they broke my heart…horses terrified, panicking etc in the starter boxes …it’s all about money… not love for the animals 🥲

It’s abhorrent. People go on about how well they’re treated. Maybe when they’re winning, but many do not have good outcomes. The state of some of them when they’ve been forced to race - sometimes there’s blood coming from their nostrils. Some have terrible injuries on the race course- they really ought to do away with the curtains around them and let people see them being shot. After all, the only reason there is racing is for gambling so let them see what their betting slips have caused. Horses that don’t make the grade go to the knackers yard. Jockeys who break the rules get silly short lived bans when they inflict cruelty such as over use of the whip. Statistics show that 317 horses from the racing industry were sent to slaughter in England in the first five months of 2025. 186 of these were just five years old or less. Over 100 horses have been killed in races so far this year. Thankfully though it’s on the decline, like greyhound racing.

Hear, hear, Gillycats, it's animal exploitation dressed-up as a fancy sport.
Growing-up, I knew of jockies who has left the racing circuit (I won't say sport!) because of the treatment of the poor horses. 😞

Love it, it’s in the blood for me.

Sago

Love it, it’s in the blood for me.

I expect you say the same about fox hunting.

I have been involved in horses most of my life and can tell you that the majority of them actually love racing, whether they are ponies in a riding centre or the best racing thoroughbreds. I used to run a riding school for a farmer and he also had a beautiful palomino stallion and 5 brood mares. Watching them out in the fields you would see them racing and jostling each other , for fun, when there was no one making them race at all. As herd animals they naturally bunch together and run in groups, so actual racing is something we add on to their natural ways.

We also had a particular horse that really loved jumping, and if you put him in a field with a bale of straw or any small jumps left from some training, you would see him going round jumping the jumps and then turning round and jumping in the opposite direction.

Hate it, went one my hubby and a horse had broken it leg going over a jump so they killed it right in front of me. Cruel is a very mild word for it.

Absolutely agree. Horses love to run and jump when free to do so, but horse racing per se is different. The horses are forced to run beyond the norm, often to the point of exhaustion and many die during or after a race. Whipping DOES hurt - otherwise why do it? It's what makes the poor horse go faster as they are trying to run away from the hurt.
Likewise greyhound racing or any animal sport for human entertainment. It's all about money, definitely NOT the welfare of the animal.

I am not at all a fan of horse racing (I would never bet in a million years) but I do wonder in races like the Grand National why the horses keep on running and jumping even if the jockey has been thrown off.

...and probably racist too.

Oh gawd!

orly

...and probably racist too.

Oh gawd!

Quote I was responding to was not copied across - the one about "probably enjoy fox hunting too"

Ridiculous comment. Ignorance cause these unfounded comments. Perhaps attend one of the Racing Yard open days to see the horses and speak to the trainers and the staff to get a balanced, true and professional view of this?
I won’t comment again on this thread as unfortunately most comments will be made from having no idea of the industry.

Never seen a horse turned into dog meat - bit of a fallacy. All the bits of the poultry, and other parts of the animal that we will not eat, but not see horses going into the factory.

Gogo84

I am not at all a fan of horse racing (I would never bet in a million years) but I do wonder in races like the Grand National why the horses keep on running and jumping even if the jockey has been thrown off.

Because they are herd animals Gogo84. Staying with the herd is the difference between life and death for them. Horses who are racing are in a heightened state of arousal and running on adrenaline. It is pure instinct and nothing to do with enjoyment.

I won’t comment further on this thread, I’ve posted many times in the past on other threads about racing but opinions are entrenched and I see no point in saying any more. There are always comments that show a profound lack of understanding about horses’ needs and a fundamental disagreement about what ‘living a life of luxury’ or being ‘treated like kings’ actually means when it comes to animals.

Oh of course they love it Madelaine just like the bulls love bull fighting
Of course they run and jump in their fields they are free it’s a very different story having an iron thing in your mouth and a person on your back and a smack to make you go higher and faster….. but you keep kidding yourself it’s the same thing

If a child runs and dances and jumps in a field it would be very different if they had a lead put on that child and smacked it if it didn’t jump high enough

Anybody defending horse racing or bull fighting or greyhound racing or bear baiting is totally fooling themself that ‘they love it’
Let the horse foaming at the mouth panting and sweating tell me ‘it’s great I love this’