Horse racing is one of the world’s oldest sports, but behind the fancy clothes and mint juleps lies a grim world of injuries, drug abuse, and even slaughter. Horses used for racing are forced to run, often under the threat of whips, at speeds so high that they frequently suffer from a number of serious problems, including pulmonary hemorrhage. In addition to the physical and psychological stress of the sport, horses are sometimes tortured with a variety of drugs.
Despite these gruesome conditions, the sport is very popular. People can bet on a single horse or on the overall winner of a race. The betting system varies from place to place, and some bettors place multiple bets at a time, which is known as accumulator bets. Betting on horse races is a great way to make some extra money and have a good time.
Horse races have been around since ancient times, but they did not become a formal sport until the 5th century bc in Asia Minor and later in Egypt and Greece. The Greeks introduced chariot racing, in which horses were connected to two-wheeled carts called chariots. Later, the Romans and the Greeks created a form of horse racing in which men rode on the backs of horses as they ran. This form of the game became a major part of the Olympics in 664 bc.
In modern horse racing, a group of runners are divided into different classes based on their speed and other factors. A horse’s class determines the type of race in which it can compete, and it must win a certain amount of races in order to qualify for the higher-class races. In some cases, horses may also be transferred between classifications during a race season.
The procedure for a race begins in the paddock, where riders, or jockeys, prepare their mounts for the starting gate. The horses are then paraded past an official, called a steward, for inspection. Then the horses are led to the gate, which is usually electrically operated at most tracks. Once the horses are in the gate, the stewards and patrol judges, along with a motion-picture camera, look for any rule violations. The race is then timed to the nearest tenth of a second, and the winner is announced when the last horse crosses the finish line.
Before the race, many horses receive an injection of a drug called Lasix, which is marked on the racing form with a boldface “L.” This helps prevent pulmonary bleeding, which is caused by hard running and can be fatal for the horse. For decades, nearly every thoroughbred has received a race-day dose of the diuretic, which can cost as much as $60,000 per horse. Some breeders have also opted to use the drug in their brood mares. This practice has gotten some criticism.