Horse racing is an event wherein a group of horses compete in a race and the one who crosses the finish line first wins the prize money. The horses are ridden by jockeys who try to steer them in the correct direction and jump hurdles (if any) so they can win the race. This is one of the most exciting events that people love to watch. It is also an event that can be a lot of fun to bet on.

The sport of horse racing has evolved over the centuries from a primitive contest of speed or stamina between two or more animals into an enormous public-entertainment business. Although the sport has expanded to include a massive field of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment and huge sums of money, its essential concept remains intact: whoever crosses the finish line first is the winner.

There are many ways to bet on a horse race, the most common being ‘to win’ and ‘to place’. To win a bet you have to choose the horse that will come in first, and to place a bet you need to choose the horse that will come in either first, second or third. If you bet ‘show’ you will get lower payoffs on average than those who place or win.

Regardless of the betting options you choose, a great horse race always involves great horses. Sometimes – as with Secretariat in the Belmont Stakes and Mandarin in the Arc de Triomphe – an individual performance can lift a horse to legendary status.

However, there are many things that can go wrong when a horse is bred and trained for the racetrack. The use of drugs in training is very prevalent. Trainers over-medicate and over-train horses to make them run faster. This leads to injuries that can be career-ending. Many horses die on-track, either from a catastrophic injury or as a result of being overworked.

In recent years, a series of high-profile equine deaths has brought renewed scrutiny to horse racing. There are now a number of states with laws requiring that every horse who dies on-track be subjected to a necropsy and an investigation of contributing factors, including medical records, interviews with veterinarians and racetrack officials.

While the for-profit horse racing industry will probably continue to thrive, it is important that it evolve into a sport that acknowledges that the 80,000 or so horses who compete in flat races are not mere commodities, but living, breathing creatures with rights. Those rights should include the right to be treated fairly and to live out their lives in peace. They deserve a better fate than Eight Belles, Medina Spirit, Keepthename and Creative Plan, who were all discarded after their careers ended in injury and death. They deserve the chance to find a forever home.