Article "They carry out barbaric acts in the name of horse racing." Horse racing is one of the most popular sports in the world with thousands placing bets and going to watch horses race for their lives each year. However, spectators are often shown the glamorous side to horse racing and not the side which breaches animal welfare. Horse racing has a reputation for elegance and attracts many well off owners and audience members. News coverage is filled with women in fancy hats and designer dresses and men in suits that cost more than most peoples’ rent for the year. All of this can often hide dark secrets, though, the reality of horse racing is as far from glamour and elegance as you can get. The Grand National became a cultural experience – a truly national event – because of its unconventional nature. The question is whether the rising death of horses' lives is a price worth paying to continue this 175-year-old sport. Horses are raced to the point of exhaustion where they often collapse from a combination of things – drugs, whipping, stress, fear and injury – all for entertainment. The infamous Becher’s Brook at Aintree race course is known as the world’s most dangerous jump and has caused many deaths, yet authorities won’t remove it. Racing 40 terrified horses at a time makes accidents far more likely, while the so-called “improvements” to the course are simply not good enough. It’s the very danger of the race that draws in crowds and lines bookies’ pockets – while horses have to pay with their lives. …show more content…
Often trainers and jockeys are aggressive and cruel to the horse as they do not see it as a living animal." According to Animal Aid, around 1,000 horses from the racing industry are killed in slaughterhouses in Britain each year, to be turned into dog food or horse