Killing Race Horses

This was written by Riley, one of our summer interns. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue.

Horse racing is often seen as a rare occasion. Once a year, there are Kentucky Derby parties where everyone wears hats straight out of the Hunger Games capitol. Rich people show up, make bets, and then leave, only to really think about racing until the next year. However, there is a much darker side of the industry that is just now coming to light. 

Last year, a low estimate of 500 horses were killed on the race track, and 70 received deadly injuries. That’s not even counting the horses that died in their stalls, or during off-track training. The number of deaths really occurring are likely much higher than these, because there is no federal organization to monitor or keep track of all the horse racing deaths that happen nationwide. One non-profit counted over a thousand horse deaths during races and training last year. Numbers like these are not new and have been unchanging for years. These horses tend to die from running so fast and hard that they break their front legs, fall over into the track walls. Due to these kinds of injuries, the only humane thing to do is to put the animal down. 

In any normal environment, a horse would stop running before they break their legs, just like any other animal. However, the drugs given to racehorses both legally and illegally cause them to lose the feeling in their legs, so the horse does not know when to stop running. Medication can be given to horses to treat illnesses anytime before a race, giving owners ample time to drug their horses. Drugs like Viagra and cocaine are illegally used for this purpose, but some legal drugs are seen to enhance performance as well.

A common drug in the US is furosemide, often called Lasix. This drug is used to treat a disease called EIPH, where bleeding in the lungs occurs from excess exercise. Lasix makes horses urinate to lower their blood pressure, reducing the bleeding. However, this drug also slightly changes the pH of a horse’s blood. A slight change reduces the production of lactic acid in the muscle. Lactic acid is what is produced when you workout, making you tired and sore later. Therefore, the reduced production of lactic acid caused by the Lasix reduces the horse’s fatigue allowing them to run more. Lasix also acts as a laxative, for a horse to get rid of any past evidence of illegal drug use. 

Those in support of the Lasix drug claim that without it, horses would die just as often from EIPH, and trainers would resort to drawing and muzzling. Drawing and muzzling are when a trainer denies horse food and water 24 hours before a race in order to reduce their blood pressure. However, these claims have been proven false. All racing countries,  but America and Canada, have outlawed the use of Lasix. In those countries, they have only a quarter of the number of horse deaths and report no drawing and muzzling. In a video called “Death, Drugs, and Controversy: Is This The End of American Horse Racing?” a trainer in France, Gina Rarick, clarified that, “ I have never heard of a trainer withholding water 36 hours before… I have not seen it done in the 20 years I have been here.” Rarick also stated that she had never had to euthanize a horse in all her time as a trainer.. Lasix is therefore proven unnecessary. 

In order to keep the horse racing business safe and alive, the most humane option is to make the use of Lasix illegal in horse racing. With this added restriction, hundreds of horse deaths could be prevented. Many bills have been introduced in the US Congress to outlaw Lasix, but they have never made it out of the House. This is because some powerful equine organizations that support the use of Lasix want it to remain legal. In order to support the horses, and their humane treatment, contact your representatives to inform them of your support in outlawing Lasix.