December 5, 2023

Horse racing is a popular sport where horses are raced around a track, either on the flat or over jumps. Spectators place bets on the winner of each race, making it a profitable industry for bookies. The sport can be dangerous for horses, however, and they are often injured or killed. Moreover, horse races can be difficult for spectators to watch, due to the high speeds at which the horses are raced. Despite the risks involved, many people continue to participate in horse racing.

Whether you are looking for the latest horse race results or just wanting to know how to bet on a horse race, this section will help you with all your betting needs. You can bet on the winning horse of each race and also place accumulator bets. You can find all the horse racing results from today’s UK and Irish racecourses, as well as selected French, US, Hong Kong Dubai and other overseas fixtures.

The New York Times article, “PETA Accuses Trainers of Cruelty,” came on like a thunderclap. The video it accompanies provides the public with a glimpse into the treatment of world-class thoroughbreds at two prestigious training facilities—Churchill Downs in Kentucky and Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York. This is a glimpse into the dark underbelly of what is known as top-level racing and gives credence to what animal advocates have long suspected: that the cruelty, incompetence, and deception found at these elite tracks is pervasive and systematic.

In a sport where the stakes are so high and the pressure on the horses is so immense, one of the most shocking realities of horse racing is how common it is for horses to die from injuries suffered during competition. One study found that one horse out of every 22 races suffers an injury that prevents it from finishing. And it is estimated that three thoroughbreds die each day in North America from catastrophic injuries sustained during a race.

A lack of regulation, transparency and willingness on the part of the racing industry to address these problems has kept the truth of how many horses die on-track from equine fatalities hidden from the public. Only California and New York have public databases that catalog equine injuries and deaths; Kentucky does not.

A number of other issues plague the industry, including a waning interest in horse racing among Americans; just 1 to 2 percent list it as their favorite spectator sport. And horse racing has one of the highest rates of drug abuse in any sport, with most horses receiving cocktails of legal and illegal drugs to mask pain and enable them to perform at increasingly exorbitant physical stresses. Eight Belles and Medina Spirit are just the most recent of countless racehorses to die under these conditions. If they had survived, both would be approaching their golden years now. But they died at the whim of what they were made to do.

Gambling is an activity in which a person stakes something of value on an event that is determined at least in part by chance. The event can be an athletic contest, a horse race, a lottery drawing or a game of skill. The stakes can be money, goods or services. Some games of skill include chess, backgammon and cribbage. Other games of chance are poker, blackjack, and video slots. The earliest known evidence of gambling dates to about 2,300 B.C. Tiles found in China depict a rudimentary game of chance and have been interpreted as a form of lottery.

People gamble in many ways: at casinos, racetracks, and horse races; in the mail or on the Internet; and even by buying lottery tickets or scratch-offs. However, some individuals develop a pathological (problematic) gambling disorder that requires professional help.

The disorder is characterized by persistent and recurrent maladaptive patterns of gambling behaviors that cause significant impairment in daily functioning. The disorder can begin in adolescence or young adulthood and usually gets worse over time. The disorder is more common in men than in women, and appears to affect people of all ages, although it is most prevalent among those who begin gambling at an earlier age. Males who have a PG diagnosis appear to have more trouble with strategic forms of gambling, while females tend to have a harder time with nonstrategic or less interpersonally interactive forms, such as slot machines and bingo.

It is estimated that people legally wage about $10 trillion worldwide annually on lotteries and other games of chance. However, much of the gambling that occurs is illegal or unregulated and may be far higher in terms of total wagering. Some people who are addicted to gambling will engage in it in spite of the negative consequences, while others will hide their gambling habits from family members and friends or attempt to control it through denial or a variety of coping strategies.

Some people become addicted to gambling because it is a way to relieve unpleasant emotions such as boredom or stress, or to socialize with other people. Other problem gamblers are attracted to the excitement and rush of winning a game, or they feel a need to win in order to meet financial obligations or maintain self-esteem. Still others have a genetic predisposition to developing a gambling addiction.

Treatment options include individual and group counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and family therapy. Medications are not generally prescribed to treat pathological gambling, but some drugs can help treat co-occurring disorders such as depression or anxiety. For some people, inpatient and residential treatment programs are necessary for recovery from a gambling disorder.

Researchers are investigating ways to improve the effectiveness of treatments for gambling disorders, including new medications and combinations of therapies. One important goal is to conduct longitudinal studies. This method allows researchers to examine factors that influence a person’s propensity to gamble and their effects on that individual over a long period of time.