Hannah Tran

Professor Lynda Haas

Writing 39C
15 April 2016
Treatment of Horses in Horse Racing
Suffering is really the important criterion for morality, not intelligence. We dont give
special extra rights to professors because theyre intelligent, or to priests because theyre very
religious. We wouldnt want that to happen within our own society. So why do we do it across
the species barrier, allegedly giving us more moral privileges, more rights, than the other species
merely because we seem to be a bit more intelligent? It doesnt make sense. This is Richard
Ryders, a leading psychologist and writer on animal rights advocacy, idea of speciesism that has
been applied to animals since the beginning of the human-animal relationship. This idea of
human superiority, or the mentality of its just an animal, is one of humankinds biggest flaws,
and has caused humans to engage in activities that demean animals. One such activity that is
guilty of this is horse racing.
Despite the scientific evidence that has gone on to show that horses do indeed have
emotions and feel pain that align with human emotions, the mistreatment that has gone on for
years in horse racing has not stopped. When allegations were made by organizations such as
PETA in 2014 on the abuse horses receive to become winning athletes, such as excessive
amounts of drugs injections to mask pain and make the horses faster, it came as no surprise to
anyone. Instead, people in the business either denied it or continued to stay quiet about it
(Cohen). This is an issue that cannot continue to be invisible, and the public needs to be aware
that the livelihoods of horses are more than just a business.

Animal rights activists, the general public, and event goers alike have been questioning
these issues, and horse racing as a whole. According to the article, "Sustainability, Thoroughbred
Racing and the Need for Change," only a mere 22% of the general public views thoroughbred
racing in a positive manner; 46% of current fans, defined in the study as someone who attends
an event three or more times per year, would recommend attending events to others; and a vast
majority of the fans, 78%, would stop placing bets entirely if they knew the horses were being
mistreated. This survey was taken three years after the implementation of the Equine Injury
Database, and even then there was still a large pushback from the people against thoroughbred
racing (Bergmann). This pushback stems from more pressing issues, because although injury to
the horses is very important and serious, it is what causes these injuries that the people find most
upsetting.
It is no question that thoroughbred horses are pushed to their limits, especially when it
comes to the actual race. They are pushed to such limits that most normal horses would have
died before even getting to the track. So how are these horses able to do it? Through the copious
amounts of drugs that are pumped through them. Racehorses receive so much medication that
they are often called chemical horses(Brumfield and Stapleton) These racehorses are pumped
with various medications that enhance their performance, such as, according to PETA, thyroid
drugs to speed up metabolism, muscle relaxants, sedatives, and the diuretic Lasix to prevent lung
bleeds during overexertion. If a professional human athlete were to take even half the amount of
performance enhancing drugs that these horses do, they would get kicked out of their
organization without a second thought. The drugging does not just stop at performance
enhancing either. These creatures are pushed to their witts end in both training and racing,
resulting in large amounts of pain, and according to Nancy Perry of the American Society for the

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA, instead of lessening the workload that horses are
given, trainers use more drugs. "They are injecting cocaine. They are injecting cancer drugs into
horses in order to mask pain," said Perry. "They are even injecting snake venom." (Conder and
Wian)
The abuse that these animals suffer does not just stop at the drugging either. They also
experience physical abuse in both training and racing, through whipping and electric shocks. One
example in recent years was an investigation by PETA on the treatment of racehorses by one of
the top trainers Steve Asmussen and his top assistant trainer, Scott Blasi in 2014. They
discovered that Blasi knew just how injured his horses were and how his jockeys mistreated
them. Blasi was recorded discussing injured horses, as well as how one of his jockeys, Ricardo
Santana Jr., 21, used a buzzer to shock horses [to make the horse run faster], a practice that is
banned in racing. (Drape). Although the use of a buzzer is illegal, a regular leather whip is still
allowed. These whips are used in the race to supposedly make the horses run faster; however
according to the study, An Investigation of Racing Performance and Whip Use by Jockeys in
Thoroughbred Races by David Evans and Paul McGreevy, veterinary scientists at the
University of Sydney, there have been no studies that correlate the use of the whip and the speed
of the horse. If anything, it decreases a jockeys chance of winning. A study found in the article
Effects of Urging by the Rider on Equine Gallop Stride Limb Contacts by animal scientists,
N.R. Deuel and L.M. Lawrence, in 1987, showed that the use of the whip, on the shoulder
specifically, ended up reducing the length of the stride in the horse and increasing the frequency
of the stride, and had no effect on increasing the speed. In fact, the use of the whip seems to
cause the horse to tire out quicker, ultimately doing more harm than good. Negative
reinforcement has been proven to be the least effective way to train a horse according to Evelyn

Hanggi, one of the leading researchers on horse cognition and the co-director of the Equine
Research Foundation, in her study The Thinking Horse: Cognition and Perception Reviewed.
It is no wonder that horse racing can stress out horses when they are forced to live in
these kinds of conditions. The many issues involved in thoroughbred horse racing is apparent.
From the high number of injuries and deaths, to the constant drugging of these animals, and the
unnecessary whipping and even shocking that they undergo. The Jockey Club even estimate that
15 thoroughbreds die on American racetracks every week (Conder and Wian). People within and
outside of the industry need to recognize that horses are not machines that are inferior to humans,
that they instead are comparable to humans in terms of their emotional capabilities and suffering.

Works Cited
Bergmann, Iris. ResearchGate. Proc. of Thoroughbred Racing and the Sustainability of Welfare
Concepts, Awaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. University of Sydney, Jan.
2015. Web. 12 May 2016.
Bergmann, Iris. "Sustainability, Thoroughbred Racing and the Need for Change."
Pferdeheilkunde 31.5 (2015): 490-98. ResearchGate. University of Sydney, Aug. 2015.
Web. 15 May 2016.
Brumfield, Ben, and AnneClaire Stapleton. "PETA Alleges Cruelty against Top Racehorses
Weeks before Kentucky Derby." CNN. Cable News Network, 23 Mar. 2014. Web. 15
May 2016.
Cohen, Andrew. "The Ugly Truth About Horse Racing." Antlantic.com. The Antlantic, 24 Mar.
2014. Web. 15 May 2016.
Conder, Chuck, and Casey Wian. "Animal Welfare Activists: Horse Racing Industry Needs
Reform." CNN. Cable News Network, 9 June 2012. Web. 15 May 2016.
Deuel, N. R., and L. M. Lawrence. Effects of Urging by the Rider on Equine Gallop Stride Limb
Contacts. 1987. Print.
Drape, Joe. "PETA Accuses Two Trainers of Cruelty to Horses." The New York Times. The New
York Times, 19 Mar. 2014. Web. 15 May 2016.
Evans, David, and Paul McGreevy. "An Investigation of Racing Performance and Whip Use by
Jockeys in Thoroughbred Races." PLOS ONE:. PLOS, 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 May 2016.
Hanggi, Evelyn. "The Thinking Horse: Cognition and Perception Reviewed." AAEP Proceedings

51 (2005): 246-55. ResearchGate. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

Ryder, Richard. What is Speciesism? Online video clip. Youtube. 25 October 2012. Web. 9
May 2016.

Notes:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270582820_Thoroughbred_racing_and_the_sustainabil
ity_of_welfare_concepts
QUOTES FROM THE ABSTRACT:
Thoroughbreds die on racetracks and in training and are exposed to a great number of
other welfare issues which are an inherent part of training and racing in competition.

Accordingly, horse welfare in thoroughbred racing has been identified as a growing

concern for the public so much so that it is considered a reason contributing to its
decline.
Cant access the paper

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282662580_Sustainability_thoroughbred_racing_and_t
he_need_for_change

Singer and Lamb (2011) report that thoroughbred racing suffers a strong negative public
perception. They state that despite recent safety initiatives such as the establishment of the
Equine Injury Database in 2008, only 22% of the general public have a positive impression of
thoroughbred racing. Only 46% of current fans a fan being someone who attends an event three
or more times per year would recommend that their friends follow thoroughbred racing. 78%
of fans would stop betting if they knew horses were not treated well.

There is mounting pressure from external sources demanding change within the industry,
including from animal protection organizations, the general public, and through public exposure
by the media.

Arguably, it is the issue of drugs that is taking thoroughbred racing to a tipping point across the
continents. High profile doping cases in recent years generated much publicity and scrutiny
leading to a questioning of the future of the industry (PETA 2013, Ross 2014, Bartley 2015).

Under Drugs of thoroughbreds:

As Miller (2014) suggests, the protection of thoroughbreds is no longer considered a part of an
extremist agenda.
An ecological orientation of sustainability can take account of the need to protect the
thoroughbred, as it takes account of the need to protect nature, both in its own right and for
human survival (for example Washington 2015). The ecological sustainability orientation
assumes that all life, biotic and abiotic nature, has intrinsic, mind-independent value.
The underpinnings of the notion of ecological sustainability also lead to adopting a systems
perspective, seeing humans, nonhumans and the natural world as part of a larger interconnected
community. In the case of thoroughbreds, this means that they are part of a complex socioecological system and the integrity of the system depends on the emotional and physical integrity
and well-being of the thoroughbred.
They refer to the manipulation of the mares fertility with powerful drugs and artificial lighting
in the winter months, the global transport of breeding stallions with the inherent risks in long
distance travel, and the foal that arrives potentially with conformational and soundness issues.
They found that breeding is often based on speed not on soundness. This increases the need for
further intervention to address anatomical deficiencies and faults ( McManus et al. 2013).
McManus Et al. (2013) refer to this as a vicious cycle of conformational fault building, earlier
racing and retirement, rapid breeding and veterinary correction.
However, thousands of thoroughbreds are injured or die each year before they
even race.

In a New York Times investigation it is reported that in the US, 29 horses die each week on the
racetrack (Bogdanich et al. 2012). During an undercover investigation into the US thoroughbred
racing industry, assistant trainer Scott Blasi has been filmed exclaiming: You cannot believe
how many they hurt and kill before they even get to the race track. Its mind boggling (PETA
2014).
In Australia, the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR) (2014) explains that many of
those who are registered to race may not have the ability or temperament for racing, they are too
slow or suffer early injuries. Thousands of thoroughbreds born and raised will thus be of no
value for breeding and racing, and with no earning potential, they face an uncertain future
(CPR 2014). CPR suggests the number of thoroughbreds slaughtered in Australia each year is in
the high five figures (Ward Young 2013). Peter McGauran, CEO of the Australian Racing
Board, counters that the numbers are at an estimated 8000 but he admits that the fate of
racehorses exiting the industry is still an unresolved issue (McGauran 2013).

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015622
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/the-ugly-truth-about-horseracing/284594/
http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2011/05/06/the-kentucky-derby-must-kick-its-drug-problem/
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/20/sports/peta-accuses-two-trainers-of-cruelty-to-horses.html?
_r=0

PETA has accused Asmussen and his top assistant trainer, Scott Blasi, of
subjecting their horses to cruel and injurious treatments, administering drugs to
them for nontherapeutic purposes, and having one of their jockeys use an
electrical device to shock horses into running faster.

Blasi was recorded discussing injured horses, as well as how one of his jockeys,
Ricardo Santana Jr., 21, used a buzzer to shock horses, a practice that is banned
in racing.

In 2006, he served a six-month suspensionafter a filly he trained tested 750 times

over the legal limit in Louisiana for the local anesthetic mepivacaine, which can
deaden pain in a horses legs. Instead of losing his livelihood, Asmussen turned
his horses over to Blasi, who won another 198 races as the stable finished the year
with more than $14 million in earnings.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/21/us/racehorse-cruelty-allegations/
Racehorses receive so much medication that they are often called "chemical
horses," PETA said.
Horses in Asmussen's care received a thyroid drug to "speed up metabolism," muscle
relaxants, sedatives and the diuretic Lasix to prevent lung bleeds during overexertion, the
group alleges.
It did not say whether the treatments were legal or customary. But the group said one of
Asmussen's primary veterinarians at New York's Saratoga Race Course said "basically
all" horses trained by Asmussen are given Lasix.
As to Lasix, for example, a report by a Lexington, Kentucky, lab director Richard
Sams pointed out several racing commissions had once banned it only to reverse that
position in the mid-1990s. The NTRA said there has been "significant progress" toward a
program that has been or is set to be adopted in 14 states -- including Kentucky and New

York -- approving regulated administration of Lasix by third-party veterinarians or

technicians.
In 2002, the horse racing world was rocked by the news that 1986

Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand was apparently killed in a Japanese

slaughterhouse.
http://www.saawinternational.org/horseracing.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/09/us/racehorse-treatment/
The Jockey Club -- the registry for thoroughbred horses in the United States,
Canada and Puerto Rico -- estimates that 15 thoroughbreds die on American racetracks
every week. Those figures do not include other breeds of horses that also race in the
United States.
The ASPCA is pushing for federal regulation to halt the use of performance
enhancing drugs on the racetrack.
"They are injecting cocaine. They are injecting cancer drugs into horses in order
to mask pain," said Perry. "They are even injecting snake venom."
Nancy Perry of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or
ASPCA
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-22/torres-and-chen-horse-racing/4086304
http://www.veganism.com/richard-ryder-on-speciesism/
PROBLEMS DRAFT PEER REVIEW
Copy this Peer Review Template into a new file on your computer--then fill it out. Do not
paste it into the writers draft until instructed to do so.
_____________
WRITERS NAME: Hannah Tran
REVIEWERS NAME: Elva Tang
Read through the draft once just to get a good idea of what is in it--as you read, think about how
you will answer question 1.

1. How does the writer frame the problem? Briefly summarize what you believe the problem to
be based on reading this draft.
The problem is that race horses are basically tortured by humans for this sport by the large
amount of drug injections, whippings, and unethical treatment they undergo.
2. How would you rate the specifics used and the precision of word choice in how the writer
defines the problem (on a scale of 1 to 10)? Highlight a few (3) words or phrases that you think
are excellent because of their precision and also a few (3) that are too vague and need
revision--add comments to suggest revisions. Do not choose the same words/phrases as a
reviewer before you.
9
3. Identify X* in the draft that you think works really well. Identify where the element is in the
draft and then explain why you find it to be so persuasive (it should be an appeal to logos or
ethos and not pathos)
In paragraph 4, the facts you give about the chemical horses and about all the drugs they are
given, as well as comparing it to how if it were a human that they would be completely
disqualified, is a very persuasive point because these facts are very shocking, but sounds very
scientific and grounded so that the reader really trusts your information. When you incorporated
the quote after about injecting cancer drugs and snake venom, it furthers your already solid
information by even more shocking information.
4. Identify X* in the draft that you think needs some work. Identify where the element is in the
draft and then explain why you find it in need of revision; suggest revisions if you have any.
Ironically, I think that your opening quote by Richard Ryder isnt as effective as it could be. I
think that maybe its too long and you should take only the first and last sentences to condense
it. Or, I think the shocking facts you provided in paragraph 4 could be a good opening as well.
*X could be a topic sentence, a transition, a quotation, paraphrase, or summary of a source, the
use of an image, the use of a statistic or fact, the introduction of an authority, an explanation of
some data, etc. In other words, it can be anything--just make sure you can identify what it is and
explain why youve chosen it in your comment
5. Identify a specific area where the writer should add a quote, statistic, or some other type of
authoritative data to help make the definition of the problem stronger. (should be something
different than what you identified in #4)
You can include a graph or table about how the drugs affect the horse's metabolism after the
paragraph you talk about the drugs theyre given.
6. If this were your draft, what areas of CONTENT (not grammar, language, etc) would you
prioritize for revision?
I would prioritize the introduction to make it more alarming to capture the readers attention.
Maybe you could move what you included in the intro about the moralities of suffering in your
conclusion to tie your paper together.

PROBLEMS DRAFT PEER REVIEW

Copy this Peer Review Template into a new file on your computer--then fill it out. Do not
paste it into the writers draft until instructed to do so.
_____________
WRITERS NAME: Hannah Tran
REVIEWERS NAME: May Han/ highlight color: green
Read through the draft once just to get a good idea of what is in it--as you read, think about how
you will answer question 1.
1. How does the writer frame the problem? Briefly summarize what you believe the problem to
be based on reading this draft.

The writer started with Richard Ryders quote. Based on reading this draft, I believe that
the problem will be the mistreatment of animal.
2. How would you rate the specifics used and the precision of word choice in how the writer
defines the problem (on a scale of 1 to 10)? Highlight a few (3) words or phrases that you think

are excellent because of their precision and also a few (3) that are too vague and need
revision--add comments to suggest revisions. Do not choose the same words/phrases as a
reviewer before you.
3. Identify X* in the draft that you think works really well. Identify where the element is in the
draft and then explain why you find it to be so persuasive (it should be an appeal to logos or
ethos and not pathos)
4. Identify X* in the draft that you think needs some work. Identify where the element is in the
draft and then explain why you find it in need of revision; suggest revisions if you have any.
*X could be a topic sentence, a transition, a quotation, paraphrase, or summary of a source, the
use of an image, the use of a statistic or fact, the introduction of an authority, an explanation of
some data, etc. In other words, it can be anything--just make sure you can identify what it is and
explain why youve chosen it in your comment
5. Identify a specific area where the writer should add a quote, statistic, or some other type of
authoritative data to help make the definition of the problem stronger. (should be something
different than what you identified in #4)

It will be better if you put the pictures or statistic.

6. If this were your draft, what areas of CONTENT (not grammar, language, etc) would you
prioritize for revision?
I think on the first draft there are too many quotes.