Some sports are known to us and we know of the things that take place outside the limelight, when the spotlight is not on and when the players are off the field/pitch/court. Some sports, however, leave us with more questions than answers. Horse racing is one of those sports. Horse racing is quite a sport which can be very extreme at times. The derbies and major competitions draw a lot of attention from both fans and consequently, bookmakers. Albeit, horse racing has always been intertwined with betting.
Regarding the extreme bit of horse racing, how extreme does it actually get? Here are the answers.
Horse Racing – Harder than it Looks
There is something about horse racing which people do not get unless they are quite into the sport. Christopher Reeve got injured for life, almost terminally, when his horse made a refusal and he was an experienced rider by the time he owned that horse. Plenty of people fell off a horse and got injured and many of those weren’t even racing at the time, but training or simply bonding with their favorite animal.
Now, horse racing can be really tough, because professionals race for a title and there is little to no holding back. If people get permanently injured on training sessions, horse races can end up with people dying, and they have.
Behind the Scenes – Horse Racing Training Sessions
If you think racing is dangerous, then you shouldn’t ever come to a training session. These can be detrimental to both horse and jockey and even bystanders. Some race tracks can be bad for the horse if the surface is bad. Some surfaces are less efficient than others, meaning that they promote injuries. This can be difficult, because an injured racing horse might as well be dead (racing horses who end their careers too young due to injuries often end up at a butcher’s shop or are picked up by someone who loves horses, the latter being the happy ending).
To What Extremes Are They Allowed to Go?
Even though horse racing might sound like a slaughterhouse at this point, it is most definitely not. There are rules and regulations and safer surfaces keep being invented or the already used ones get improved. Not only that, but race tracks and training tracks get penalized and a bad reputation if horses get injured there due to surface issues. That aside, as well as safety gear and better nutrition for the horses, it is still an extremely high level of performance which requires rigorous training. When you take anything that far, anybody can get hurt.
Horse racing is an extreme sport, quite literally. It might not look like it, but once you see a crash, things get ugly pretty quickly. Even workouts and training sessions can be quite dangerous, leading to multiple injuries, of both rider and horse. Regardless, it is a wonderful sport which will, hopefully, only get safer with the years to come.