A horse race is a competition between horses, usually ridden by jockeys or pulled by drivers (sulkies) on harness racing tracks. The horses are ranked by a number of criteria, such as their speed and previous races, and their owner pays a monetary prize to the winner of the race.
In the United States, horse racing is a billion-dollar industry that has made its mark in pop culture, American history, and society. The sport, however, is plagued with a number of serious problems that can lead to gruesome breakdowns and deaths for the animals involved.
For example, horse races often require horses to run at speeds that can cause severe injuries. Moreover, many horses suffer from what is known as exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, or bleeding from the lungs, which can be fatal. As a result, most racehorses are frequently given cocktails of legal and illegal drugs to mask injuries, enhance performance, and increase their stamina.
As a result, the vast majority of racehorses are killed at some point in their careers. In the United States, horses that don’t win races are usually shipped to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada, where they are turned into glue, dog food, and meat. Many are also exported to countries like Japan and France, where they are considered a delicacy.
Despite these issues, some people still enjoy watching horse races. They say that there is something awe-inspiring about feeling the earth shake as a mass of thundering hooves passes by in a horse race. But there are other ways to experience the excitement of a horse race without endangering the lives of these magnificent animals.
One of those ways is by watching a horse race on TV. In fact, television has become a staple for horse racing fans around the world. However, the practice of airing horse race coverage can have serious consequences for voters, candidates, and the news industry itself.
A growing body of research shows that when journalists cover elections by focusing on who is winning and losing — or, as the researchers call it, “horse race coverage”—voters, candidates, and the news industry itself suffer.
Fortunately, the news media is beginning to recognize the problems with this approach to election coverage. Some critics have even compared the need for precision in polling to a horse race, where 100 horses must finish within a hair’s width of each other in order to determine the winner. As the mudslinging, name-calling, and attack ads continue to fill the airwaves during this election cycle, the real issues at stake easily get lost in the noise. This collection of research aims to shed light on the dangers of horse race coverage and provide tips for more responsible reporting.