Animal Racing — The Tragedy Of Wastage

The racing of animals, and betting on the results is a thing that has been going on for a great many years, probably thousands of years, in some form or another. At the moment, in Australia, the country I live in, both horses and dogs are raced.

The racing of both animals is at industry level, with much money being paid into Thoroughbred racing, Harness Racing, and Greyhound racing from a variety of sources. From breeders, to owners, trainers, and other allied business connected with these forms, there are a great many people involved in the racing of these animals.

And of course there is the gambling industry, and with Thoroughbred Racing apparently being the second most popular sport in Australia, after Australian Rules Football (Go Adelaide Crows!), well there a great many people involved with these sports as both spectators and/or gamblers.

Personally, I have been involved in the Harness Racing (Standardbred) Industry, from a young age, being the daughter of an owner, breeder, and trainer of these lovely horses, the Standardbred, which are the breed of horse used for harness racing.

These noble beasts are calmer than the generally more skittish Thoroughbred horses, used in what is often called, the Gallops, being the horses that carry jockeys on their backs, as opposed to the harness racing horses, who pull a wheeled sulky behind them with a reins-person guiding the horse via the reins they hold onto, which are connected to the bit, in the horse’s mouth.