Horse race is a sport and a business where horses compete over short distances on dirt, grass and synthetic all-weather tracks. The most famous races include the Triple Crown and the Dubai World Cup.
The sport is a multibillion dollar industry, but there’s also a darker side to horse racing: cruelty and abuse. Would-be racehorses are torn from their mothers and herds as babies and broken, an industry term meaning they’re made pliable and submissive. They’re then bred and sold, and for some, the racetrack is their life. Patrick Battuello, founder and president of the nonprofit Horseracing Wrongs, explains what’s really going on behind the scenes.
Most people are familiar with the concept of horse races, but for those that don’t know much about it, there are a few important terms to learn. These include:
Speed figure: A number calculated by an algorithm that takes into account a horse’s ability to run fast and its experience level. A higher speed number indicates a faster horse while a lower one means a slower horse.
Odds: The probability of a particular horse winning a race, as determined by the oddsmakers at the track. A good odd is an overlay, while a bad odd is an underlay. Parimutuels: French system of wagering where winners get all the money wagered by the losers, after a deduction of a percentage by the track (Take Out). Pick 3 (or 4, 5, 6, etc): A type of exotic wager which requires the player to select the winner in successive races.
Trip: The course followed by a horse during a race, including the difficulty encountered. A good trip is a smooth, trouble-free one while a bad trip might be a wide race or being boxed in by other runners.
As the presidential election approaches, you might notice something familiar creeping back into the news – polls, data, statistics and reporters endlessly parsing them. This is known as horse race journalism, and it can hurt candidates and voters. In a recent article for Poynter, journalist Annie Aguiar had some fun by asking real horse-race reporters what they thought about the practice. Their responses are worth a read.
