In a guest essay published earlier this year, the New York Times offered a harsh critique of horse racing, characterizing it as outdated, cruel, and artificially sustained by taxpayer handouts. While perhaps appealing to emotion and promoting outrage in those unaware of a broader factual record, it omitted crucial information and the big steps that have been taken in the sport to reform and modernize.
Horse racing today is not what it was even ten years ago. Horse racing has never been safer, more regulated, or economically impactful in the United States. Statistics are kept. Statistics prove it. Around North America, racetracks and officials have introduced sweeping changes to tackle precisely the concerns the Times flags. Uniform monitoring and safety and welfare dictates are now enforced by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). Veterinary involvement and oversight are omnipresent. New technology is being embraced, making it possible to spot potential issues even before they are visible. Tracks are pouring money into safer surfaces as the research and knowledge about optimal maintenance are advancing. A national framework of rules is in effect. “Bad actors” involved in doping are suspended, prosecuted,or even jailed. These regulations go way beyond cosmetic. They are real progress, with identifiable metrics, driven by industry people who are determined to do better in committing to jockey and horse first practices.
The opinion piece’s description of subsidies is also misleading. What it calls taxpayer handouts misrepresents the long-standing revenue-sharing deals involving casino and lottery money that would not exist in their current form if it weren’t for horse racing. Racetracks had the infrastructure and systems to quickly establish casinos. The agreements help sustain the economies in agricultural and rural communities. Overall, horse racing generates 36.4 billion in economic impact, including 491,000 jobs. It supports a huge ecosystem: from breeders to trainers, jockeys, grooms, farriers, veterinarians and staff, animal transportation, food service workers, and others employed at the venues. To imply that cutting this funding would have no consequence is naïve and harmful to those whose livelihoods depend on the sport. For many, working with horses is all that they know and want to do.
Also omitted is the societal benefit far beyond the economic contribution of thousands of jobs. Did you know that the revenue from slot machines in casinos at New York racetracks supports more than horse racing? The casino at Aqueduct racetrack is New York State’s largest taxpayer, generating more than $4 billion in revenue since 2011 and helping with the state’s public education fund.
Racehorse ownership is now accessible to a broader audience than ever before. Check out MyRacehorse or West Point Thoroughbreds, where fractional ownership in buying groups of racehorses can be attainable for a few hundred dollars. Seize the Grey won last year’s Preakness. Sandman raced in this year’s Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and other high-level races. They and other top horses are raced by these owner groups. To date, about 75,000 people have entered the sport through this model. It is hands-on right into the winner’s circle.
There has been tremendous growth in after-care programs for horses whose racing careers are over. No less than 80 accredited organizations now rehome and retrain them. Programs such as The New Vocations and the Retired Racehorse Project have helped over 18,500 horses find new careers. Increasingly, owners pay into mandatory aftercare funds.
The argument that racing is no longer relevant or desired is hyperbolic and ignores the reality of how people consume sports. While the number of people in live attendance at racetracks may have decreased, digital platforms have fostered new modes of engagement. Fans watch races, bet, and follow horses online. The concept of “empty stands” is an unfair measure of a sport’s popularity or viability. This is true across many sports, not only in horse racing, and to single it out for condemnation ignores larger cultural changes. Yet, even as we can engage in sports differently, recent increases in handle and attendance at some major races in venues such as California and Kentucky show that the public still very much enjoys watching these beautiful animals run, as nature has designed them to do. Overall, fans wagered 11.2 billion in 2024, while 16.7 million people watched the Kentucky Derby in 2024, a 13% increase in one year. Whether in person or online, the bond between horses and people remains unbroken.
It’s important to acknowledge that the sport, like society, is evolving. Initiatives are promoting transparency, safety, research, and public education. There’s a reckoning taking place from within, and horse people are reacting with action, not excuses. Industry professionals acknowledge prior failures and the responsibility to improve.
As with many legacy institutions, horse racing will come under criticism. But it has deep cultural roots, a loyal audience, and a willingness to continue to advance. No reasonable person who cares about its future is asking for blind trust. The New York Times posited some legitimate questions, but failed to provide balance in answering them. Its framing suggests that reform is impossible and the sport should be abandoned altogether. The question we should be asking is not whether horse racing is flawed, but whether it is committed to change. All indications are that it is. Let’s discard the misleading claims and outdated tropes.
Horse people of every type are on the road of progress and improvement, a process that is dynamic and evolving. All they’re asking for is fairness and an opportunity to continue their passion within a framework of reform. So why aren’t horse racing’s critics acknowledging that? Ultimately, the readers of their one-sided opinions are ill-served. Everyone needs to do better.
If you are interested in learning more facts, check out @lightupracing.