A horse race is a contest of speed between horses that are ridden by jockeys or pulled by sulkies. The basic concept has undergone little change over the centuries, but today’s horse races can feature vast fields of runners and sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment. The horse that crosses the finish line first is the winner. Whether you’re betting on a horse or cheering one from the grandstands, the horse race is an important part of the culture of many countries.
The sport’s popularity has grown to the point where it’s now one of the largest sports worldwide, drawing crowds of millions of fans. In the United States alone, horse racing generates over $12 billion per year in revenue, from betting and ticket sales to concessions and hotel rooms. But the industry’s growth has come at a cost. A recent study commissioned by the Jockey Club found that racing was losing fans, race days and entries to other forms of entertainment.
While horse racing has become a global phenomenon, it’s still largely a business built on cruelty. Behind the romanticized facade of the sport lies a world of injuries, drugs, gruesome breakdowns, and slaughter.
During their time on the racetrack, Thoroughbreds are forced to run so fast that they suffer a wide variety of serious injuries. Many horses bleed from their lungs, a condition called exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. They’re also given cocktails of legal and illegal drugs to mask the pain and enhance their performance. And, when their careers end, they’re often sold in a callous process called claiming races, wherein they’re offered to be bought by new owners immediately after a race and may end up anywhere in the world.
Aside from the dangers of racing, horses who are used for the sport spend their entire lives in confinement and are subjected to cruel training techniques. The practice of whipping, which involves repeatedly hitting the horse with a riding crop, is not only painful for the animals but can also lead to sex discrimination and even death.
While some horse race critics have argued that the horse race system is unfair to horses, others say it’s an effective way to select a new CEO from several candidates. Some corporate governance observers are uncomfortable with the horse race approach, however, out of concern that it can create a culture in which executives and employees view the company as a competitive game. They worry that a protracted succession horse race will distract the board and company as a whole from its mission to serve customers. Nonetheless, the horse race has been successful in producing exceptional leaders at companies including General Electric, Procter & Gamble and GlaxoSmithKline.