A horse race is a contest of speed among horses that are either ridden by jockeys or pulling sulkies with their drivers. The sport is one of the oldest in the world, and its basic concept has changed little over the centuries. Today, races can involve enormous fields of runners and sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment, but the essential feature remains: the first horse to cross the finish line wins.
Horse racing has become a global industry that brings in billions of dollars in wagers each year. But behind the romanticized facade of a fluttering crowd in fancy outfits sipping mint juleps is a world of injuries, drug abuse and gruesome breakdowns. The horses, pushed beyond their limits to produce ever-increasing speeds, are injured at an alarming rate and often experience a fatal condition known as exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. And the sulkies, the wagon-like cars in which drivers pull the horses across the finish line, are noisy and dangerous.
The nimble, agile riders are the heart of this sport, but to excel they must have the right balance of skill and power. The most successful jockeys are those who can read the horses’ signals, anticipate their movements and use the whip at just the right moment to achieve a smooth, even rhythm. It is a delicate balance that can make or break a jockey’s day and, ultimately, a horse’s career.
Once a racehorse stops winning, it’s not uncommon for it to be sent to the slaughterhouse. Its flesh is used for glue and dog food, or sold in countries such as Japan and France, where it’s considered a delicacy. A discarded racehorse can cost its owner more than $100,000 a year in maintenance, medical bills and food. Consequently, few retired racehorses live out their lives in retirement pastures; most end up dead, either from injury or simply because owners don’t want to pay for them.
In business, proponents of the horse race say that an overt competition for top-level jobs is a good way to ensure that only the best candidates are considered for key roles. If executed correctly, they argue that it can also encourage leadership development by allowing employees to see that there is an internal path to the top of the organization.
To determine whether the horse race theory actually works in practice, researchers Johanna Dunaway and Regina G. Lawrence analyzed print news articles from 259 newspapers that ran in key state elections for governor and U.S. Senate in 2004, 2006 and 2008. They found that newspapers with multiple owners were more likely to publish stories comparing the campaigns to a horse race than those owned by a single proprietor. Moreover, such stories were more common in close races and in the weeks leading up to Election Day.