Horseracing: The Unbridled Truth

By Samantha Joles and Ralph A. DeMeo,  Vol. 99, No. 4   July/August 2025 pg 42

For millennia, horses have been integral to our civilization as dedicated providers of labor, transportation, sport, and companionship. To better fulfil these roles, humans have carefully developed horse breeds that are especially well-suited to particular tasks, such as Thoroughbreds that, due to their size and strength, generate incredible speed and are prized for their use in racing. Watching a sleek, muscled Thoroughbred race down the track is a unique thrill. When properly bred, trained, and cared for, the vast majority of these magnificent animals can have long and healthy lives. Sadly, numerous racehorses become seriously or fatally injured on the racetrack. This article explores animal cruelty within the horseracing industry in an effort to shed light on the need for legal, economic, and veterinary reform.

What Is a Horse?

• Nonhuman Animals — From a legal perspective, the key distinction between human animals, people like you and I, and nonhuman animals, defined by Florida statute as “every living dumb creature,” is that nonhuman animals are recognized as personal property to be owned by human animals.^[1] Despite the willingness of some courts to acknowledge pets as family members, as seen in Miami Dade County v. Davis, No. 2023-006429-CC-05, 2023 WL 8680059, at *2 (Fla. Cir. Ct. July 18, 2023), courts are reluctant to extend human-like legal rights and protections to nonhuman animals.^[2] Organizations like the Nonhuman Rights Project have dedicated copious amounts of time and money toward legal reformation that sees nonhuman animals as more than mere personal property, which would afford nonhuman animals basic rights and freedoms such as the right to life and freedom from torture.^[3] For now, the rights of animals remain within the legal bounds of personal property.^[4]

• Agricultural Animals — The 2018 Farm Bill federally established horses as agricultural animals, also known as livestock.^[5] The federal designation of horses as livestock allows for the use of horses in commercial enterprises and provides less restrictive protections for livestock animals that are more permissive of conduct that would be viewed as cruelty in the context of companion animals, like dogs and cats.^[6] Even further, horses have been designated as livestock animals under Florida law.^[7]
The categorization of horses as agricultural animals was a win for the horseracing industry, as the restrictive anti-cruelty laws for non-livestock animals no longer apply.^[8] Owners of racehorses are simply required to ensure compliance with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which is responsible for creating and enforcing uniform rules for all racing participants.^[9] Horses are permitted to race from the age of two years old, and are often raced perpetually throughout their prime.^[10] Once horses become too old or too injured to continue racing, the horses lose their value and are often surrendered to Mexico or Canada where they are slaughtered for their meat.^[11]

Florida’s Horseracing Industry

With one horse or pony for every five people, Marion County has the highest per capita equine population in the country.^[12] Ocala, located in the county, is referred to as the “horse capital of the world” and is host to nationally recognized equestrian events and facilities.^[13] Florida’s horse industry helps support the state’s economy, encouraging tourism and providing employment opportunities, generating billions of dollars annually in economic impact, accounting for 244,200 jobs.^[14]

In considering the economic impact horseracing has on the state, it is no wonder why Florida treats the industry with deference. For example, veterinarians are notably exempted from Florida’s anti-cruelty statute through the law’s “medical science” carve-out.^[15] Florida is considered a national leader in veterinary and equine research.^[16] While it should be said that the majority of equine veterinarians who work in the racing industry are ethical and keep the best interests of the animals in their care paramount, high demand for well-performing horses has led to serious incidents of veterinary misconduct.^[17] For example, Florida veterinarians have been caught administering performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to improve horses’ racing capabilities, regardless of the effects on the horses’ long-term health.^[18] Such drugs include: erythropoietin, which increases a horse’s red blood cell count to increase endurance and quicken race recovery; snake venom, which is used to deaden horses’ nerves and block pain; and SGF-1000, which is intended to stimulate tissue repair and increase stamina.^[19] Equine veterinarians have even used PEDs specifically designed to evade equine drug tests.^[20] Once produced, these off-market PEDs are sold and distributed among and by equine veterinarians for use in the horseracing industry.^[21]

Laws and Regulations

The laws regulating horseracing have come a long way in recent years. Prior to the federal enactment of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, the laws regulating the treatment of racehorses were confined mostly to the state level.^[22] While animal cruelty is still a pervasive issue in the horseracing industry, the expansion of state and federal regulations, alongside animal welfare organizations, have led to great strides in improving the treatment of racehorses.

• Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act — The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), effective since 2020, creates a national standard for horseracing.^[23] HISA aims to promote the safety and integrity of racing through two standing committees: the Racetrack Safety Standing Committee and the Anti-Doping and Medication Control Standing Committee.^[24] Both programs mark the first set of national, uniform rules of integrity and safety in the horseracing industry.^[25] HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Standing Committee has been in place since December 27, 2020, and provides nationwide guidance, with updated rules and regulations being implemented as recently as May 22, 2024.^[26] The ADMC committee aims to prevent horses from competing in horse races while under the influence of medications, foreign substances, or methods that affect their performance.^[27] The ADMC committee is dedicated to enforcing best practices through the creation of regulations, adjudication of violations and civil sanctions, and the testing of horses for prohibited drugs.^[28]

The Racetrack Safety Program (RSP), implemented under HISA, went into effect on December 27, 2020, with updates as recently as July 2022.^[29] The RSP provides a set of standards and protocols for training and racing of horses to ensure the humane treatment of racehorses.^[30] The RSP governs injury and fatality analysis for horseracing to ensure injury reporting and prevention.^[31] Lastly, the RSP is tasked with undertaking the investigation of racetrack and horse training facilities to ensure compliance with regulations and adjudicate violations and civil sanctions as needed.^[32]

• The Animal Welfare Act — The Animal Welfare Act (AWA), enacted in 1966, requires that a minimum standard of care be provided for certain animals that are bred for commercial sale, that are used in research or testing, that are being commercially transported, or that are on public display, even placing penalties on the trade of stolen animals. The legislative intent of the AWA was to eliminate burdens upon commerce and allow for effective regulation of transportation in commerce, animals used for exhibition purposes, and the use of stolen animals through an increased standard of care.^[33] Violators of the AWA may be held liable for a civil penalty of no more than $10,000 for each violation.^[34]

The intent of the AWA to ensure a standard of care for animals involved in commerce is especially relevant to inhumane activities in horseracing. Commerce remains a comprehensive aspect of the industry through the breeding and selling of horses, thus requiring a minimum standard of care is highly relevant to racehorse breeders. Under the AWA, breeders of racehorses must comply with the standard of care promulgated by the secretary of agriculture to ensure compliance with the AWA and avoid civil penalties.^[35]

State Laws

The state of Florida is committed to animal welfare, as demonstrated by the majority vote on the 2018 ballot to amend the Florida Constitution to ban commercial greyhound racing, implementing Fla. Const. art. X, §32.^[36] Activists who participated in the lobbying to ban greyhound racing made a nod to the progression of animal law in Florida, with one activist stating: “Future generations will be able to point to this change to the Florida Constitution as an important shift in the way animals are treated and as an example of our social and moral progress.”^[37] While the banning of greyhound racing appears to show that Floridians are adopting a more empathetic attitude towards animals, it would be incorrect to expect that Florida is likely to bestow the same fate upon its horseracing industry as it did upon its greyhound racing industry. Prior to the 2018 ballot, Florida’s greyhound racing industry was failing to bring in sufficient revenue to maintain profitability.^[38] By contrast, Florida’s horseracing industry is wealthy and thriving, bringing billions of dollars of revenue into the state every year.^[39] As there is no indication the horseracing industry will decline anytime soon, animal welfare organizations like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) have focused on improving the conditions of the tracks and protecting the welfare of the racehorses.^[40]
• Animal Welfare — Florida has its own anti-cruelty statute, F.S.A. §828.12 (2025), which protects animals from cruelty and neglect that cause unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering, unless done in the interest of medical science, or where there is a reasonable remedy or relief.^[41] Unfortunately, livestock animals, like horses, are not typically considered to be protected by anti-cruelty statutes such as, F.S.A. §828.12 (2025). The statute does, however, specifically protect horses from being purposefully tripped, felled, roped, or lassoed for sport or entertainment.^[42]
The Florida Gaming Control Commission promulgated F.A.C. r. 75 §2.023 (2025), which provides codes for facilities engaged in pari-mutuel betting. Pari-mutuel betting is the most common form of horse race betting that allows a bettor to place a bet on a specific horse and receive payouts from the pool of bets made.^[43] The regulations require the certainty of racetrack safety, such as required pre-race veterinary inspections to note if any horse is overworked or abused, and the completion of recorded walk-throughs of barns.^[44] The pre-race veterinary inspection also aims to ensure that no part of a racehorse’s leg is desensitized on the day of a race.^[45] Even further, the code requires notification within 18 hours of the death of a racehorse that occurred on a racetrack or training facility.^[46] Lastly, the statute provides that if a racehorse is declared medically unsound to race, the horse may not race until it is declared medically sound.^[47]
F.S.A. §550.2415 provides the penalties for violations of F.A.C. r. 75 §2.023 (2025). The legislative intent of §550.2415 is to ensure that animals participating in racing whereupon pari-mutuel wagering is conducted are treated humanely, both on and off the racetracks, and throughout their lives.^[48] Violations of the statute may result in the revocation or suspension of licensure, a fine of up to $10,000 or the purse or sweepstakes earned by the animal in the race at issue, and a full or partial return of the purse, sweepstakes, and trophy of the race at issue, or a combination of these penalties.^[49]
• Tax Breaks — The Florida Greenbelt Law, also known as F.S. §193.461, allows for any land used for “bona fide agricultural” purposes to receive property tax exemptions.^[50] All Florida horse farms, where horses are bred and trained, receive tax breaks.^[51] The state of Florida incentivizes further growth in the horseracing industry through various tax exemptions on the sale of horses, on feed and animal health products, on farm equipment, and on property dedicated to horse farming.^[52] The industry has even received federal tax breaks that allow Thoroughbred buyers to take the entirety of the horse’s purchase price as a business deduction, so long as the horse was purchased with the intention of making money off it and that the horse has not raced yet.^[53]

Horseracing Injuries and Deaths

Until the enactment of HISA, there had been lame efforts to improve safety conditions on racetracks, and the races are rife with deaths on the track as a result.^[54] It is estimated that up to 2,000 racehorses perish in the U.S. each year.^[55] While the State of Florida has declined to report details or amounts of deaths or injuries which occurred during 2024, the statistics provided by Florida in years prior revealed about 94 deaths per year.^[56] Many of these horse deaths were noted as “sudden” and the majority of injuries were the result of fractured limbs.^[57]
The problem of racetrack safety is pervasive throughout the country. The Santa Anita racetrack of Arcadia, California, is infamous for its high number of horse deaths. Santa Anita recorded 42 horse deaths in 2019, though that number decreased to 17 in 2023, purportedly thanks to track safety improvements.^[58] Similarly, Kentucky’s Churchill Downs racetrack, home of the Kentucky Derby, accounted for 12 horse deaths on the track in 2023.^[59] A handful of the 12 deaths occurred during public races, where the horses collapsed and were subsequently euthanized in front of the public.^[60] In Florida, five horses died mid-race at Florida horseracing events in 2024. ^[61]
Horses that survive the horseracing industry are retired or surrendered to meat markets once they are no longer able to turn a profit through winnings. An average of 7,500 racehorses are slaughtered each year for human consumption.^[62] Some who are witnesses have said the industry is a “conveyor belt for slaughter.”^[63] Horses that appear healthy enough are shown at auction to be saved from the dire straits of the slaughterhouse. When being prepared for transport to slaughterhouses, horses are crammed into wooden crates where they stand side by side in large cargo planes and await their fates in international horse meat slaughterhouses.^[64] To combat the number of racehorses sent to slaughter, numerous organizations such as the Thoroughbred Retirement Program (TRP) give racehorses a chance to enjoy their retirements peacefully.^[65]

Conclusion

While significant, preventable abuses have pervaded the horseracing industry. The federal and state legislatures, in collaboration with animal welfare organizations, have made great strides in improving equine safety and accountability of trainers, track owners, and veterinarians. Horses die as a result of racing, whether through catastrophic injuries or being surrendered to slaughter, all too frequently. We hope to see further regulation of the multi-million dollar industry through federal and statewide efforts that will maintain and enforce the humane treatment of horses.

This column is submitted on behalf of the Animal Law Section, Laura A. Roe, chair, Ralph A. DeMeo, editor, and Macie J. Routa, special editor.