A horse race is a competition in which a person or animal tries to win a bet by running faster than another person. Horses have been used in racing since ancient times, and the sport continues to thrive around the world. Despite its romanticized façade, however, horse racing is a dangerous and cruel business. It is riddled with drugs, injuries, gruesome breakdowns and slaughter. The race itself is a brutal contest in which horses are forced to sprint, often under the threat of whips and illegal electric shock devices, at speeds that frequently cause them to break down or hemorrhage from their lungs. Often, trainers use performance-enhancing drugs to improve their horses’ ability to compete against others and to win wagers.
In 2022, a year after the video was published in The Times, Congress passed legislation that requires the horse racing industry to implement and enforce rigorous safety standards. The rules, which take effect this month, will make it more difficult for trainers to conceal injuries and deaths from the public, as well as from state and federal officials.
As a result, the death rate has declined significantly. The number of horses that are killed per race has fallen to a record low. But the problem is far from solved. In addition to the humane aspects of the new rules, it will be important to ensure that the underlying business model of thoroughbred horse racing is restructured to prioritize the safety and welfare of the horses. This will require a profound ideological reckoning at the macro business and industry level, as well as within the minds of those who run and train the horses.
The day Mongolian Groom died, Nick Alexander had a filly competing in the Senator Ken Maddy Stakes at Santa Anita. She was a top contender in his stable, favored to win by many bookmakers and bettors. Before the race, he stood her in the walking ring and looked at her coat. It was bright and rippling with sweat, and she appeared ready to race.
But in the final furlong of the race, she began to fall off the lead and was soon relegated to last place. Her jockey, Abel Cedillo, tried to keep her going. But he was having trouble with her breathing, and the horse was bleeding in her nose. The horses had all received the race-day drug Lasix, which is noted in the betting form with a boldface L. Lasix is meant to prevent pulmonary bleeding that hard racing can provoke. But it also functions as a diuretic, causing the horses to unload epic amounts of urine. This caused a slurry of urine that made the track slippery, and the horses began to slip. The horses ran too fast to recover, and the one behind Mongolian Groom was dead before the finish line. The other, the small-framed McKinzie, finished a half-length back in third.
