Horse races are competitive events in which horses race against one another over set distances and, depending on the type of racing, over obstacles as required. Horse races have long captivated spectators, including events such as the Greek Olympic Games or Odin’s battle between Hrungnir and Hruni in Norse mythology. Nowadays, this multibillion dollar industry includes breeding, training, gambling and live races across several countries.
Flat racing is the most well-known form of horse racing, where horses are guided by jockeys riding them and prize money is divided evenly among first and second place finishers. Other forms include steeplechases and sulky races that adhere to different rules; steeplechases often employ sulkies instead of jockeys as part of their ruleset.
Horse races must abide by a series of regulations in order to guarantee both the safety and fairness of the race. Some of these include:
At times in horse races, multiple horses may end in a dead heat finish and must be studied to ascertain who crossed the finish line first; otherwise it is declared a photo finish winner.
While these rules differ between national horse racing organizations, most follow the original rulebook established by the British Horseracing Authority. Furthermore, riders and horses must meet various regulations in order to compete; riders must have been trained and certified, while horses must meet specific age and sex criteria in order to race.
Horse racing was experiencing a boom time until recently, with TVG, an all-racing channel included in most sports cable packages, providing 24/7 live racing coverage. Outside of private suites and grandstand upstairs, however, working-class men gathered around banks of TVs at tracks’ bowels, sometimes spitting cherry pits out while shouting betting picks or cursing in English, Spanish or Chinese when horses ran their stretch runs – creating an international language.
But as public awareness has increased about the dark side of racing – abusive training practices, drug abuse and animal cruelty such as overbreeding and slaughter – enthusiasm for horse racing has diminished significantly. While still having some of the highest wagering levels in North America, horse racing is also losing fans, revenue and race days.
This collection of research examines the repercussions on voters, candidates, and journalism when journalists focus mainly on who’s ahead or behind in horse race coverage rather than policy issues – an issue long discussed and debated among academics and journalists alike. This problem has been discussed for decades now.