Horse racing has fascinated spectators for centuries, whether they’re wagering on the favorite or enjoying a day out at the track. It’s a sport with many facets that has shaped culture and even influenced our laws. But it’s also a cruel sport that causes suffering to animals. An animal rights group called Horseracing Wrongs organizes demonstrations at Laurel and Pimlico every weekend. And Maryland organizer Jennifer Sully says that horses’ natural instincts are inhibited by their unnatural training, which can lead to behavior problems.
Generally speaking, a horse race is a fixed-length event in which horses carry a specific weight depending on their age, distance, and sex. They are ridden by jockeys who wear riding helmets and boots. They are conditioned with various drugs to ensure that they will perform well. These include sedatives to control anxiety, and medications to increase stamina and endurance. Some of these drugs cause a horse to bleed from the lungs, known as exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. This is a very serious injury and, in some cases, can be fatal.
The history of horse races dates back to the early Greek Olympic Games, when athletes rode bareback and hitched their horses to chariots. But the modern sport is a much more sophisticated affair that involves intricate betting strategies, dazzling costumes, and spectacular pageantry. The Palio di Siena, held twice a year in the Italian city of Siena, is an example of this spectacle. Each year, a horse and rider represent one of the seventeen Contrade, or city wards. The event is preceded by a massive parade, and the winner receives a prize of a tonne of grain or silver.
To win a horse race, a player must place a bet on the horse with the highest odds. A bet on a horse with lower odds than its chance of winning is a lay, while a bet on a higher-odds horse is an overlay. A bettor may also make an exotic wager, such as a Daily Double or Pick Six. A bettor who hits all of the races in a Pick Six wins the entire payout. Those who do not hit all of the races will receive a consolation payout, which is typically much smaller than the full payout.
A growing body of research suggests that when journalists cover elections by focusing on who’s in the lead and who’s behind instead of policy issues — what’s commonly referred to as horse race coverage — voters, candidates and the news industry suffer. In this updated roundup, we examine some of the most recent research on this subject, which includes findings on third-party political candidates, probabilistic forecasting and TV news coverage.