Right: Lee Freedman, the trainer of Mummify, pats his horse after winning the Yalumba Stakes during the Caulfield Guineas Race Day in 2005. The horse died tragically a year later.
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Arguments in favour of banning horseracing
1. Horseracing is losing popularity in Australia
It has been claimed that demographic and cultural changes are making horseracing less appealing to many Australians.
It has been suggested that a growing aversion to risking human and animal life and an increasing number of immigrant and first-generation Australians without a cultural connection to the sport is leading to Australia losing its attachment to horseracing.
In an opinion piece published in The Guardian on October 31, 2014, Johnathan Horn stated, 'The realities of horse racing contrast starkly with 21st-century life in Australia's big cities. Ours is an increasingly urbanised and risk-averse society. In many Australian schools, somersaults, cartwheels, swings and ropes are banned. From this, racing expects are expected to draw the next generation of fans and participants to a sport where the spectre of equine and human fatality looms large. What's more, 25 percent of our citizens were born in countries where they don't have public holidays for horse races and get misty eyed about champion thoroughbreds.'
In a comment published in The Guardian on November 2, 2019, Calla Wahlquist has similarly claimed that cultural shifts in Australia are leading to a disaffection with horseracing. Wahlquist suggests there is a waning enthusiasm for The Melbourne Cup. She claims, 'Anecdotal evidence suggests the tide may be turning among a broader public. Dozens of people Guardian Australia spoke to - many previously neutral or mildly positive towards the race - say they plan to boycott the office sweep this year. Others say they were already appalled by the cultural cringe of seeing dozens of well-dressed adults vomiting into port-a-loos at 2pm, describing the spectacle of horse racing as both insufferably stuffy and unbearably gauche.'
Calla argues that part of the apparent disillusionment stems from concerns regarding animal safety which have led to the withdrawal of some corporate sponsors. She notes, 'Supermodel Megan Gale, a fixture of the cup carnival for the past decade and brand ambassador for the race's major sponsor, Lexus, says she won't attend because of animal cruelty concerns. Some companies have cancelled their annual Melbourne Cup lunch.'
Wahlquist argues that events like the Melbourne Cup have moved away from the egalitarian position they once occupied. She cites Professor Fiona Nicoll, who argues that The Melbourne Cup continues to embody less positive historical values that are no longer endorsed by most Australians: '[It was] defined in the era of the White Australia policy, Nicoll says. Racing played into both the celebration of Anglo-Saxon heritage and broader narratives around purity of blood, which were used to justify the removal of Indigenous children.'
University of Sydney history professor, Carole Cusack, has similarly stated, '[It was] a story about Australia that doesn't take account of the people who were here before the whites came and also doesn't stretch out to be particularly inclusive towards the people who came after the white story was established."
On October 18, 2019, new research released by Roy Morgan shows horse racing is battling a significant decline in interest from Australians, with just over 5.2 million people, or 25 percent of the 14+ population, watching horse racing on TV - a drop of nearly 700,000 since 2015. The Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth face-to-face interviews with over 50,000 Australians each year in their homes has found: 'Australians are increasingly turning to other entertainment choices at the expense of horse racing...Only a quarter of Australians are now watching any type of horse racing on TV, down from over 30 percent just four years ago. Perhaps the biggest concern for the industry is that interest in horse racing is relatively shallow and event specific. Only 10 percent of Australians watch any type of horse racing on TV outside the Melbourne Cup.'
2. Horseracing causes injury and death to jockeys
Among those who believe that horseracing should be banned are those who stress the risks faced by jockeys and others who work directly with the horses.
Horseracing is statistically Australia's most dangerous sport, eclipsing motor racing for number of injuries per 1000 hours of competition.
In October 2018, John Payne's 'Their Last Ride - The Fallen Jockeys of Australia' was published. The book reveals that since the beginning of horseracing in Australia through to the date of publication, 950 jockeys have lost their lives while taking part in the sport.
In 2015, an Australian Jockeys' Association (AJA) study revealed that 873 riders had died in race falls throughout Australia.
In 2014, another national survey of jockeys by the AJA revealed that 79 percent had had at least one concussion in their career and a quarter (25 percent) had had four or more during their time in racing.
More than one in five (22 percent) indicated they had had a concussion in the past two years. The survey also revealed that concussions were more common among females and apprentice jockeys.
Jockeys are considered to be at high risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). It is a brain disease caused by repeated head injuries that may include concussions. It mostly happens in athletes who play contact sports.
Recently retired jockey Dale Spriggs, who suffered more than 20 concussions during his racing career, has agreed to be part of a study of the incidence of the disease among Australian jockeys. Spriggs presents with symptoms of the condition. His consulting neurologist has stated, 'Dale's symptoms have worsened since his last major fall and concussion in 2013. At first, they were confusing and vague - lapses in memory, particularly short-term memory, that began affecting his daily life.
His mood, too, has declined, with features of depression, anxiety and irritability. He was previously highly easy-going, but now the slightest of life's disruptions can trigger anger and a desire to run away from the situation.'
Professional race riding has been determined as one of the most dangerous occupations in the country. In 2009, the Menzies Institute in Tasmania conducted a study that concluded only offshore fishing was more dangerous, and while other studies place truck driving, manufacturing, and mining work at the top of the most dangerous occupations, race riding is rarely far behind.
The Menzies Institute study found that licensed jockeys fell once in every 240 rides. Of these falls, almost a third caused injury, and one in 620 falls resulted in death. While the Menzies data was race-day focused, the AJA insists that injuries and fatalities do not just occur on race day: they occur during regular trackwork and barrier trials.
There has recently been a spate of deaths among female jockeys. John Payne's publication stated that of the 13 deaths recorded in racing/training accidents since December 2012, 12 of them had been females.
In September 2019, two jockeys had died within 24 hours. Melanie Tyndall died from injuries received in a fall in a race at Fannie Bay in Darwin. Her death came a day after 22-year-old apprentice Mikaela Claridge suffered fatal injuries during routine trackwork at Cranbourne in Victoria. From all areas within the industry, there have been calls to increase safety - reduce field sizes, further improve helmets, re-educate owners and jockeys about congestion on the rails, and vet every horse pre-race. There have been suggestions that tougher suspensions be imposed on jockeys who ride dangerously, and that all riders need to be encouraged to speak up if a horse does not feel right on its way to the barriers.
However, there are others who argue that the sport is so intrinsically dangerous that the only way of removing the unacceptable risk of injury and death to jockeys is to ban it altogether,
3. Horseracing causes injury and death to horses
Those calling for horse racing to be banned stress the number of horses who are injured or die as a direct result of their involvement in horse racing.
The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses has collated data from stewards' documents in each state and territory and found 122 horses died between August 2018 and July 2019. The most prevalent cause of death was catastrophic front limb injury, with 61 occurrences. Other causes of death included bleeds and cardiac failure.
A spokesperson for the Coalition, Kristen Leigh, has suggested that the overall mortality rate may be much higher.
Leigh has noted that the official figures work out 'to one horse on average dying on Australian racetracks every three days.' However, she went on to state, 'It's really important to highlight that this is just the deaths that we're finding on stewards' reports that we track, so there are a lot of deaths that occur if a horse is injured on the track and taken away and then killed a day or two later.
That death doesn't make it into the stewards' report and isn't required to, so there is no doubt that the incidence of death is much higher than we're aware of.'
From July 2016 until July 2017, 137 horses died on Australian racetracks. That was an average of more than two deaths a week.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has stated, 'Racehorses are at risk of harm during races, training and trials with the main types of injuries involving muscle, bones, tendons and ligaments. Serious injuries such as fractures and ruptured ligaments or tendons which cause pain or distress and cannot be treated...result in immediate euthanasia.'
The RSPCA has further noted, 'Racehorses may also die suddenly during or after a race, which may be due to heart failure or other causes such as the condition known as Exercise Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage (EIPH), where bleeding into the lungs occurs. This has been related to over-exertion where horses may be pushed too hard to win.'
When galloping, horses have a high cardiac output, pushing blood through the body and creating high pressure in the capillaries. These can rupture and release blood into the lungs. Vets at the U-Vet Werribee Equine Centre, which is funded by the University of Melbourne, Racing Victoria and the state government, have stated that EIPH is an 'inevitable consequence' of the extremely high cardiac output required by racehorses.
Just over half (55.3 per cent) of starters had some degree of EIPH on post-race examination, a University of Melbourne study of Victorian racecourses found, making it a 'serious condition in racehorses and prevention or reduction of its incidence is an important issue'.
The RSPCA has also stated, 'Considerable pain can be experienced in relation to...acute injury as evidenced by lameness, as well as possible pain endured during the healing process and/or treatment regime. A recent study of Australian racing thoroughbreds found a very high prevalence of bone injury and fatigue, especially in older horses with a long history of racing and training. The authors concluded that this evidence suggests that horses require longer rest periods than what is currently practised in the racing industry, to allow bone healing and recovery.'
It has also been noted that gastric ulcers are common in athletic horses due to diet, exercise, housing or stress, and horses can also suffer from muscle tear, most commonly in the rump or hamstrings of the hind limbs.
Additionally, equipment used to encourage horses to run faster can also inflict pain or injury. The RSPCA wants whips banned. They say whips have the 'potential to inflict pain and injury' and cannot be justified because 'performance is influenced more by genetics, preparation and rider skill'. They quote research from a 2012 study from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Veterinary Science, in which leading equine specialist Paul McGreevy found that the 'unpadded section of the whip made contact on 64 per cent of impacts, demonstrating that padding the whip does not necessarily safeguard a horse from possible pain'.
It also found that many jockeys were breaching the whip rules and stewards were not effectively policing them.
A spokesperson for the RSPCA stated, 'In the Melbourne Cup last year [2018], quite a number of jockeys were fined for the overuse of the whip and the penalties were immaterial compared to what the jockeys stand to make from achieving a good result.' Two other types of equipment used on racehorses, which the RSPCA opposes due to the discomfort and pain they can cause, are tongue ties and spurs. A tongue tie is a piece of nylon or elastic that is wrapped tightly around the tongue and tied to the lower jaw to keep the tongue in place during a race. Restricting the movement of the tongue in this way causes discomfort and can lead to permanent injury. Spurs, which are made of metal and are attached to the back of riding boots, exert sharp pressure when the jockey squeezes or kicks the horse in the flank area.
4. Large numbers of racehorses are slaughtered either before racing or after retirement
Opponents of horse racing in Australia argue that the industry results in large numbers of redundant horses, referred to as 'wastage', that either were never successful competitors or that over time must be retired. Critics state that, despite industry claims to the contrary, the process intended to ensure that these animals are humanely dealt with is not effective and many end up mistreated and sometimes cruelly slaughtered.
It is claimed that one of the entrenched problems of the racing industry is the oversupply of horses, ensuring that many animals will not be retained for track competition and will have to be disposed of. The animal rights group, Animals Australia, has noted that up to fifteen thousand foals are bred for racing every year in Australia. Only 30 percent of those bred every year ever compete in a race. Of those that do compete on the track, their average racing careers are only three years. Horses typically live for 25-30 years.
Reports put the 'wastage' rate for horses in training or racing at about 40 per cent. Many owners are unwilling to bear the costs incurred by horses who are not making them money, so those animals are often sent to the abattoir to be slaughtered.
Each year, around 8,500 horses are retired from the track.
Opponents claim that the very large number of horses bred mean that large numbers will be surplus to requirements. They further ague that this overbreeding is intrinsic to the industry as it is driven by the desire to produce winning racehorses in a sport that is financed by gambling revenue.
Animals Australia has claimed, 'the breeding process is ruthless - in pursuit of finding the rare "champion", thousands upon thousands of horses will be born into an industry only to "disappear" if they don't win enough races to turn a profit for their owners.
It's a huge problem - a systemic one in fact, and it's not one the racing industry wants to talk about because it knows that addressing overbreeding will mean cutting significantly into its hefty gambling profits.'
Animals Australia has concluded, 'Unless the number of horses being bred by the industry drastically reduces, healthy horses and foals will continue to die.'
This position was supported by an editorial published in The Age on October 18, 2019, which stated, 'The numbers tell the story. In the eternal quest by owners and trainers to find a "champion" racehorse that will deliver prizemoney, about 14,000 foals are bred each year. Most horses race for only a few years at most but live for up to 30. That is a very large number of horses needing a new life after racing for more than 20 years, and way beyond any demand for "pleasure riding or therapy" horses.'
It is claimed that the large numbers of unsuccessful and retired racehorses have led to their being routinely slaughtered at some point after their leaving their breeders' hands.
In October 2019, the ABC current affairs program, 7.30, reported on the results of an investigation carried out by ABC investigators and the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses. For two years they have observed practices at the Meramist Abattoir, north of Brisbane. The abattoir slaughters some 500 a month for human consumption. The meat is exported primarily to Europe, Japan and Russia. It was revealed that at one point around 300 racehorses went through Meramist Abattoir in just 22 days. On one day alone, covert cameras record more than 40 racehorses being slaughtered.
The investigation also recorded that before death the animals were cruelly treated. The covert cameras record horses being beaten and abused, bolted to the brain repeatedly and ineffectively killed. Others are kicked and suffer electric shocks while confined in the kill box.
5. Horseracing promotes gambling and illegal conduct
Opponents of horseracing argue that the sport has a socially damaging dependence on gambling which in turn prompts corruption and injury to animals.
A Roy Morgan survey released on October 18, 2019 into popular attitudes to the racing industry, included a measure of popular distrust. The survey found: 'Horse racing has the fourth highest level of Distrust of the 18 key sports measured. The detailed responses we received about why people felt this way highlighted key themes revolving around the influence of gambling on the integrity of the sport.
Gambling is vitally connected with racing as it serves to fund the industry. It generates around 90 per cent of Racing Victoria's annual revenue and there was more than $7 billion in turnover last financial year.
Gambling brings in related issues such as corruption, using doping to rig results and the harm of gambling to society more widely. In addition, time will tell whether the very disturbing footage of the fate of 'surplus' racehorses aired on ABC TVs 7.30...affects audiences for race coverage.'
Critics claim that the win at all costs mentality linked with attracting gambling revenue results in illegal and cruel practices. Events such as the 10-month investigation by Victoria Police and Racing Victoria into the alleged use of jiggers (electric shock devices) by top trainer Darren Weir, who has been charged with animal cruelty and conspiracy offences, have the capacity seriously to damage the image of the industry.
A jigger is a battery-powered device which delivers an electric shock when applied to the horse's skin, causing significant pain and long-term distress when associated with other cues. Possession or use of a jigger is a breach of the rules of racing and is an act of cruelty under animal welfare legislation. Despite their clear illegality, some trainers and jockeys still choose to use these devices to coerce horses in an attempt to win races.
It has further been claimed that the use of illegal substances to enhance horses' performance is even more common than the use of devices such as jiggers. With so much at stake, trainers, it is claimed, will do almost anything to give their horse an advantage without considering the welfare of the animal.
Some drugs may mask pain and therefore remove an important protective mechanism to prevent further injury, whilst others may cause unexpected adverse side effects. For example, a study identified significant risks with the misuse of cobalt in racehorses, including thickening of the blood, and heart and nerve problems. Several cases of illegal cobalt use in the Australian racing industry have been reported over recent years.
Recent investigations have revealed wide-scale, long-term use of illegal substances. In May 2018, five horse trainers and three stable hands were found guilty by Victoria's Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board of 271 doping-related offences between 2010 and 2017. The Board concluded, 'There has been dishonest, corrupt or fraudulent, improper or dishonourable actions of the highest order.'
In addition to the negative impacts of gambling related issues on animal welfare, the gambling associated with horse racing creates major social problems. Analysis of the 2015 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey reveals that
nearly one million Australians regularly gambled on horse and dog racing. Their typical monthly expenditure on race betting amounted to $1,300 each over the year. 41 percent of all regular race bettors-403,000 adults-experienced one or more gambling-related problems. That is, their gambling behaviour caused or put them at risk of problems. This was more than double the rate among regular gamblers nationally. This further means that one third of all regular gamblers who experienced problems in Australia regularly participated in race betting. Those with severe problems spent up to four times as much on racing over the year ($3,815 vs $887). In 2015, close to a quarter of race bettors (22 percent; 214,000) bet more than they could afford to lose; 24 percent (237,000) tried to win back money they had lost on another day. For 10 percent (97,000) of race bettors, gambling had caused them physical or mental health problems. Gambling impeded their ability to pay their electricity, gas and telephone bills and affected their capacity to make rent or mortgage payments.