Fine clothes and bubbly may have their appeal to some, but for the horses, there’s a side to racing that is far from glamorous.
It’s race day. Young beautiful horses are paraded about. Crowds are dressed up like minor royalty, and the champagne is flowing. It’s a day of eveningwear in the morning and drinks before noon, high bets and high spirits. They say that fortunes can be won and lost on days like this. But so can lives.
Have you ever considered what is really being wagered at the races?
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Thousands of horses are bred in Australia every year in the relentless search for ‘winners’ – up to half of these young horses will never see the track. And of those who do make it to the track, not every single one of them can be a ‘place-getter’ and achieve ‘success’ for their owner.
‘Wastage’ is the term used by the industry to describe these horses who aren’t ‘up to scratch’ – and their fate is grim. Every year thousands of thoroughbreds are sold at auctions for a few hundred dollars, only to be ferried away and ‘processed’ into ‘pet meat’ – horses like Nature’s Child who was still listed on the website of Racing Victoria as ‘spelling’ (ie. resting) when she was brutally killed at a Victorian knackery.
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Horses not fast enough for elite-level racing are sometimes ‘retired’ to jumps racing. Jumps racing is 10 – 20 times more dangerous than flat racing, and the injuries sustained can be horrific with horses suffering broken legs, backs and necks.
With Racing SA announcing the cancellation of the 2022 jumps racing season, Victoria is the only state in Australia allowing this cruelty to continue.
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They may try to flee from danger, but horses can’t escape the person saddled to their back – which makes whipping tired and defenceless animals all the more unconscionable. Whips hurt. There are no two ways about it.
An RSPCA-commissioned review by the University of Sydney found that whipping horses does not make them run faster. The study found that how a horse runs in the first part of the race – when they aren’t being whipped – is the most critical factor in determining “racing success”. So horses are flogged near the finish line, when they are at their most exhausted, for no ‘benefit’ whatsoever. One veterinarian and horse behaviourist has described whipping as “the most public form of violence to animals in Australia today”.
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While it has traditionally been taboo to consume horse meat in Australia, records revealed that hundreds of horses every month are slaughtered here for the export market. Many of these horses are young and healthy thoroughbreds who simply didn’t make it on the race track. Watch ABC’s 7.30 exposé here.
There are lots of things that may be appealing to some about the culture of racing: the chance to dress up, have fun with friends, and open the bubbly at midday — but it’s time to leave the horses out of the festivities.
